There are always new people taking up woodworking, and sometimes they need a bit of help getting up to speed on techniques and equipment. Even veterans sometimes need a skill building boost!
We have lots of free info on this page, so scroll down to see it all. Don't forget to like and share on social media!
Stop kneeling on the floor to find your things! Pullouts are an easy way to add storage and convenience to your base cabinets. Watch as Ralph shows you how to make them with Drawer Lock joinery or by using box joints.
Download the free Side Template
These affiliate links are for the tools to make this project. Using these links helps keep Woodcademy free while costing you nothing.
Bessey Strap Clamp- Check out the video on this one, you may recognize the shop.
Cove cuts on the table saw are highly useful and done right easy and safe.
Learn how to set up and use a cove cutting fence and how to set for cutting the size and radius of the cove you want. Click on the button at right to get our newsletter and always know when great content like this appears.
Microjig ZEROPLAY Stops 2 Needed for Cove Fence
Whiteside General Purpose Blade
Above are affilliate links, when you use them you help keep Woodcademy free at no cost to you.
You always want to keep glue off your pipe clamps and prevent marks on your project as you clamp.
I found a way to do both with your pipe clamps for less than $1 per foot: Foam pipe insulation that you can find at any hardware store or home center.
Check out the video to see how easy it is.
Trimming the ends of edgebanding on cabinet parts, shelves and the like can be a chore. But a while back, I figured out an easy way to flush cut these overhanging ends very accurately using MicroJig’s Dado Stop.
If you do not have a Dado Stop, you can clamp a shop-made stop to the fence, just leave enough space for the overhanging banding.
I made this video some time back but for some reason it never made it to this website, so I am posting it now.
You can finally use that high school geometry to use, employing the hypotenuse of a triangle to divide a board with almost no math.
This is not a new trick, but it is worth sharing.
We’ll also show you why an old fashioned folding ruler is still worth keeping in your tool kit. Get your own 3’ folding rule.
Box joints are certainly one of my favorite joinery techniques, especially when I need to make drawers or other utility type boxes. I believe that many woodworkers do not use them as often as they should because of the time needed to set up the jig. Even if you have one already made, it is fussy to set up, requiring test cuts and adjustments.
If this video I show you a very simple method for creating box joint jigs that mount accurately to your miter gauge to give a perfect joint every time. It literally takes 2 minutes to set up on my saw.
I created this tenon jig to hold parts safely while making cope cuts using a molding head. I got the job done, but using the sled showed that the design was not quite right. So in this video, I explain where my design went wrong, and how I fixed it without remaking the entire jig.
Ralph teaches how he determines the proper location of miter bars under different styles of sleds, and why he prefers to use the ZEROPLAY Guide Bar from MicroJig to get the best results.
Safety and accuracy at the table saw begins with a proper and accurate setup.
This easy to make jig allows for very precise set ups by accurately holding a caliper within the miter slot.
Download your free plans and follow along with Ralph as he walks you through how to create this elegant drop-leaf sofa table. Learn to make the drop-leaf joint that makes this adjustable and versatile table perfect to place behind any size sofa.
A little planning and a good set of cove and bead cutters make creating this solid wood sofa table a breeze!
Watch Ralph's presentation from the February 2018 Hartville Tool show on table saw optimization.
A properly tuned and set up table saw is safer to use, produces cleaner, more accurate cuts, and lets you focus on your work, making your shop time more pleasant and productive.
Make your shop more productive and get your very best work out of your table saw. In this presentation, Ralph shares his more than 30 years of professional shop experience with you to help you get your very best work out of your table saw.
Thanks to Hartville Hardware & Lumber for hosting the event and filming the session. Thanks also to Micro Jig for their support.
Nobody enjoys sanding, and the worst sanding chore of all is sanding out flaws in moldings and trim work.
Learn how to avoid tearout, chatter, tool marks and burning. In our Three Tips for Sand-Free Moldings video, Ralph shows you three solid router table set up tips that will ensure your moldings come out clean, crisp and ready to work with.
Whether you use just a few or a wide array of blades with your table saw, it can be challenging to keep them stored safely away, protecting their fragile carbon teeth while keeping them easily accessible. Woodcademy’s Table Saw Blade Box allows you to find the blade you need instantly and change blades as needed with minimal down time.
Our blade box is easy to make in a weekend, and we show you how to make yours the size you need using common, inexpensive materials.
Download free drawings and a cut list and make this cabinet for your shop.
Links to tools used in this video:
Freud Box Joint Cutter Set- http://amzn.to/2ruJ7on
Freud Ultimate Plywood & Melamine Blade- http://amzn.to/2Dwk9cM
MicroJig GRR-RIPPER Advanced Push Block- http://amzn.to/2FV1uFT
If you're anything like us, you spend more on bits than routers - a lot more. Ralph created this router bit storage cabinet for the Woodcademy shop to better organize his router bits and extend their life. The router bit cabinet featured in this video can help you protect your investment and find the bits and accessories you need quickly.
Download free drawings and a cut list and make this cabinet for your shop.
Links to tools used in this video:
May include affiliate links that help support Woodcademy.
Freud Glue Line Rip Blade
Freud Ultimate Cut Off Blade
Freud SBOX 8 Box Joint Set
Freud Lock Miter Bit
MicroJig GRR-RIPPER GR200
MicroJig GRR-RIP BLOCK
Rockler Bandy Clamps
Bessey Revo Cabinet Clamps
In Part One, Ralph explained what molding head cutters are, how they are set up, and discussed some of the safety aspects to help you understand if your shop can benefit from having one.
In Part Two, you will see some of the tasks that a Molding Head can do, and what they can do better than any other method.
Molding head cutters for table saws are not common, so can you know if one is a good fit for your wood shop?
In this first video Ralph will explain what choices you have, how they work, and explain the safety aspects.
Watch for part two, where Ralph shows you what molding heads excel at.
The scratch stock is simple to make and easy to use. The style we feature in this how-to tutorial video is a modified marking gauge. This type of scratch stock allows for cuts well off the edge and can handle curved edges as well.
When spraying finish on small parts, how do you keep them from sticking? Here's a quick trick using aluminum foil.
This ancient, but highly useful, tool technique can help you add fine custom details quickly and inexpensively.
In this video, Ralph demonstrates how to use a scratch stock. If you don't own a scratch stock - don't worry! We also have a video that walks you through how to make a scratch stock in your shop.
Drilling a pattern of holes (an array) accurately does not have to be complicated. This video shows you how to do it on your drill press using a few blocks of scrap.
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