Skill Builder: Tuning Planes and Chisels
Master woodworker Len Cullum shows you how sharpen, or “tune” your woodworking chisels and planes.
Workshop
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
Espresso Machine Brain Repair
I returned home from a recent trip to a tragically non-functioning espresso machine. When I powered it on, I could hear a relay clicking, probably trying and failing to turn the pump motor on. On a commercial-grade machine like mine, a Fiorenzato Bricoletta E-61 design, this often means your microcontroller box, or brain, is kaput. […]
Folding precision tweezer
Just saw these in a magazine and, although have never tried a pair, I am intrigued. If, like me, you’ve spent a lot of time fumbling with cheap tweezers, I might humbly suggest that, like me, you will discover that a bit of extra scratch spent on a quality pair will prove well worth it. And if, like me, you’ve ever ruined a pair of nice tweezers by tossing them carelessly in your luggage, you may, like me, also be curious about these folding precision tweezers from pocketweez.com. I’m gonna spring for a pair, I think, and I’ll let you know how it works out. In the meantime, if anybody’s got any first-hand experience or opinions, kindly let us know, below!
Cardboard bins!
OK, that may not be the most exciting headline I’ve ever written, and I’m not sure the exclamation point really helps all that much. But I am, personally, nonetheless very excited about cardboard bins right now, because thanks to them, for the first time in almost five years, I am no longer burdened by a giant unsorted junk parts bucket. I have tried a lot of organizational systems, over the past few years, and I’ve finally decided that bins are where it’s at. Unfortunately, professional parts bin systems are prohibitively expensive for the number I need to satisfy my organizational compulsion. But these fold-up corrugated bins I bought off Amazon only cost 69 cents apiece, including shipping. I took an old bookcase and added an extra “halfway” shelf to each level; 6″ per shelf leaves plenty of room to toss parts into the bins without wasting space. The finished unit holds ninety 4 x 4.4 x 12″ bins, which are labeled with a thermal-tape printer and arranged alphabetically. You can see the whole enchilada in my Flickr set.
Skill Set: Understanding Basic Woodworking Tools
For our Woodworking Skill Set theme, we asked MAKE contributor Len Cullum to contribute some pieces on understanding basic tools and techniques. His first piece looks at five must-have beginner woodworking tools. As Len says below, your choice in tools may vary. Tells us about your beloved woodworking hand tools in the comments below. — […]
Dust Sniper, a DIY dust extractor
If you have computers in or near your woodshop, don’t underestimate the need for a dust extraction system. In fact, even if you don’t, you still need one. This how-to, by Instructables member bongodrummer, shows you how to make your own. In this project we turn a bunch of old free stuff, including two old […]
Make: Skill Set: Woodworking
This month, for the Make: Skill Set theme, we’re going to be covering woodworking. We’re excited. While many of us are more than comfortable dramatically brandishing a soldering iron, we’re far less confident in firing up a skill saw. We’ve invited a number of woodworking pros and hobbyists to come over and help us out. […]