5 Clever Woodworking Tips for Your Shop

Banding Strap Organizer. Harrold Black of Charleroi, PA has limited shop space, so he needs to make the most of it. To make sure he has his plans where he needs them, he’s mounted banding straps around his shop. Magnetic clips make it easy to hang the plans wherever they’re needed — plus, banding straps are easy to find at the hardware store or in the scrap bin. Replaceable Vise Face. Sam Ritchie of Shawnee, OK uses rare earth magnets to make replaceable jaw faces for the vise on his bench. The magnets glued into these wood faces hold them tight to the jaws of the vise. They make removing and replacing jaw faces a snap when he needs something more forgiving to hold a workpiece. Table Saw Standoff Block. Ed Torrez of Live Oak, FL uses the standoff block you see above to prevent small pieces from getting trapped by the blade. The block is plywood with a magnet installed in the bottom face. The magnet holds the block in position against the table. Sanding Pad Cleanup. Keith Hoffman of Afton, MN likes to keep around a few extra toothbrushes for cleaning his sanding pads. A bit of naphtha or paint thinner on the brush helps dissolve any resin. By attaching the sander to an active vacuum, any debris can be brushed down the holes. Hinge Mortise Depth. Lee Collin of Hastings, NE came up with an easy way to get the right depth on his router when he makes hinge mortises. On a flat surface (and with the bit in place) he rests the router baseplate on the hinges and lowers the bit to the surface, as you can see in the photo above.