The Clean Shop Challenge: Before, During, and After
There are three philosophies of shop cleanliness. The first: clean before you start each major task, because a clean shop is a safe shop and a safe shop […]
Archive
Archives: Shop Builds
From Drawer Chaos to Labeled Perfection: One Shop’s Story
The drawer chaos problem is insidious because it develops slowly. One day the junk drawer is just a few loose items that didn’t have anywhere else to go. […]
Eye and Ear Protection: What Serious Builders Actually Wear
The gap between what woodworking safety advice says to wear and what working woodworkers actually wear is educational. We surveyed 60 readers who have been in the shop […]
Reader Roundup: Best DIY Tool Storage Builds of the Year
Every year we compile the DIY tool storage builds our readers have shared – the builds that solved real problems, used creative materials, or achieved something we hadn’t […]
First Aid in the Shop: How Experienced Builders Prep Their Space
Every experienced woodworker has a shop injury story. Not a catastrophic one – those are rare, and if you’re reading this you’ve presumably avoided them – but the […]
Build a Custom Tool Cabinet That Matches Your Shop Aesthetic
There is a category of shop builder for whom a tool cabinet is not just a storage solution but a statement – a piece of furniture in its […]
The Electrical Upgrade That Changed Everything
Most home shops run on one or two circuits originally installed for a garage door opener and a few outlets. This is adequate for a single cordless tool […]
The Wall-Mounted Everything Shop: Zero Floor Storage
In a sufficiently small shop, floor space is so precious that any storage on the floor – any rolling cabinet, any tool stand, any lumber pile – is […]
Noise Control in the Shop: What Actually Works
The loud shop is a neighborhood problem, a family problem, and a health problem. Extended exposure to sounds above 85 decibels causes cumulative hearing damage. A standard router […]
The Router Bit Obsessive: 200 Bits, Perfectly Organized
Most woodworkers have between 20 and 40 router bits. Gary has 218. He also has an organizational system for them that makes the 218 feel smaller than most […]