Workshop Miscellaneous

When gluing up a solid-wood panel, the boards always seem to shift up or down slightly. So I used 1 3/4 inches square hardwood, as shown in the drawing.

Australian Woodsmith is a practical magazine for all woodworkers. From Issue 30.

Here is one way to hang and use a two sided magnetic tool bar.

Quick to build and makes for a handy helper in the workshop.

When it comes to gluing up a project, I can never seem to remember where I left the glue bottle the last time I used it. And once I find the glue bottle, I am forever shaking it and pounding on it as if it were a bottle of ketchup, trying to get the glue to come out. My solution was to make this simple glue bottle tote.

Finally, I got the motivation to sort out my collection of nuts and bolts, screws and nails. And to make the job less tedious, I put together this sorting tray.

At the link you will find a video as well as free plans to build your own outfeed roller for your planer. It is easy to build and works like a charm.

Build a portable paint and adhesives cart using the free downloadable woodworking plans at the link. You will be able to wheel it over to your project for finishing.

Every shop needs a vise. But if you do not have a workbench on which to mount one or maybe you just want to add an extra vise, here is a simple way to do it.

Here is a handy little tool for marking the center on the edge of a board. It will work on just about any thickness of board.

Whenever I clamp a wide panel or long board to my workbench on edge for sanding or planing, I need a way to support the other end. So I built this simple bench vise helper, as shown in the photos to the right. It is easy to make and allows me to support panels up to three feet wide.

The problem is holding the chisel at a consistent angle as you sharpen. To do this, I clamp the chisel to a simple sharpening guide.

This simple center gauge will either mark a spot or scribe a line down the edge of a board, it is easily made with a short wooden bar, two dowels and a screw.

The caul press costs little to build and can easily be stored out of your way when you are not using it.

We all have extension cords laying around that have bad ends on them. This neat extension cord holder makes great use of these old cords. Extension cords, especially long ones, can be a real mess to string out and coil back up. Also plugs on the ends can become damaged by just yanking on the cord to unplug a tool. This is a good project to untangle those cords and fix the old damaged ones.

This mobile tool stand would be handy in any workshop. At the link you can download the free plan to build it.

This is a link to a Google 3D SketchUp drawing for a cart for moving sheet goods and for infeed/outfeed for table saw. You will need the SketchUp software to download this drawing and its freely available online. We do not provide support for this software. Not all drawings have the measurements displayed but you can use the measurement tool in SketchUp to easily and accurately determine the dimensions of each lumber part. Most drawings do not have instructions, its assumed you can build it based on the completed drawing provided.

I like to use a sharp marking knife to make crisp, accurate layouts for my projects. But too often I could not find one when I needed it. So out of necessity, I decided to convert one of my over-the-hill hacksaw blades into a handy and inexpensive marking knife.

Locating the depth of drill bit collars, determining the length of dowels, or accurately setting the cutting depth for tools can be challenging. To make this task easier, I built this set-up gauge.

Here is a fun project that will help you customize your tape measure.

As I get older, the sheet stock that I have to manhandle into and around the shop seems to get heavier and heavier. So rather than continue to rely on brute strength, I built this wheeled helper.

Very clever design for folding outfeed table for TS. Dimensioned in millimeters. DXF Format.

It can be a little tricky measuring for and sizing a drawer bottom. Thankfully, this handy tool eliminates the measuring altogether and guarantees the right size.

Since my workshop shares space in the garage with cars, my tools need to be mobile. So I made a simple base for each tool.

Build a vertical sheet good cutting stand with this detailed tutorial. Everyone should build one.

The knobs are made from hardwood scraps that I cut into round blanks with a wing cutter at the drill press...

With a few sheets of plywood, MDF, some 2x4s, and common hardware, you can build this complete storage system and workcenter. It is designed for maximum utility in a minimum amount of space. Plus, you can customize it to suit your needs and shop layout.

Keep your shop-vacuum hoses in check with this hose/cord holder from IDEA SHOP 3.

I never seem to have enough storage space in my shop....So, to store these and other small items, I built a pull-out storage case, like you see in the photo. The case is large enough to hold a couple of small plastic storage cabinets with lots of drawers (the kind you find at hardware stores and home centers). I also added a few shelves to store other items.

Organization is the key to making any shop work well, no matter what the size. And if your shop is like most, it could use some additional storage space. (I know mine could.) That is where this shop system comes in. It is obvious there is a lot of storage space packed into this wall system. What is not so apparent is its easy-to-build design. Each unit is assembled from standardized components. And it is made from inexpensive, easy-to-find construction lumber, MDF, and plywood. The cutting diagrams and materials list are available to download in this Online Extra.