Tools in Gear

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Cutting, drilling and filing steel without wrecking the bit

Steel punishes the habits wood forgives. Slow down, clamp harder, add oil, and a $25 file will do work you'll be proud of.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Router basics that keep your edges clean and your dados tight

Feed direction, depth per pass, and the reason your 3/4-inch bit won't cut a groove that fits 3/4-inch plywood.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Your first bowl on a lathe and what goes wrong

Pick the right chunk of wood, mount it so it stays put, and cut in the one direction that doesn't tear the grain.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

Woodworking6 min read

Pocket screws, mortise and tenon, dovetails, in that order

Three joints cover nearly everything you'll build. Pick the wrong one and the table racks by Thanksgiving.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build a real workbench from two sheets of plywood

A 67-inch bench with a shelf, a clamping overhang and no wobble, cut from two 4x8 sheets in a single Saturday.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Start with a cutting board, not a bookshelf

Hard maple, six strips, one bottle of Titebond III, and the mistake that doesn't show up until you oil it.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Bringing a rusty Stanley No. 4 back to work

A car boot plane, a sheet of 80 grit and an evening at the bench will out-cut most of what's sold new in the shops.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The mower that won't start, and the order to check it

Nine times in ten it's the fuel, not the engine. A working order for diagnosis, and the point where you stop and buy a new machine.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Turning a storage garage into a working shop

Light, power, wall space and one bench you can always get to. The order you do it in decides whether anything ever gets finished.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Build the workbench first, and buy only four tools

Skip the floating shelves. Your first project should be a flat surface at the right height, and it takes four tools to build it.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Measure and Mark So the Cut Is Right the First Time

Most bad cuts aren't saw problems. They're marking problems, and every one of them is fixable in about ten seconds.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build a sawbench first, then build everything else on it

Two boards, a box of screws, and four tools you'll keep for thirty years. The best first project isn't a birdhouse — it's the thing you'll work on.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Everything I Do Differently After the Shop Hurt Me

Nobody gets hurt on the hard job. You get hurt on the easy cut, at the end of the day, on the tool you've used ten thousand times.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Raise a burr, and the rest of sharpening follows

One skill, one piece of feedback, and about fifteen minutes to learn it. After that your chisels, kitchen knives and axe all get easier.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Woodworking6 min

Build a garage workshop you'll use on a Tuesday night

Woodworking6 min

Build a tool tote first, and buy these five tools

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideCountry BroDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

Set up the block so your worst swing hits wood, not your shin

Most splitting injuries are decided before the maul leaves the ground. Get the block, the stance and the wedge right, and a bad swing costs you nothing.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Can You Fix It7 min read

Sweating a Copper Joint Is Mostly About Getting the Water Out

The torch is the easy part. A dry pipe and clean metal decide whether the joint holds, and most first-timers skip both.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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