Woodworking Tips, Tricks, and Secrets

In this first lecture on enhancing your woodworking skills, Mr. Vondriska introduces you to a host of tips and tricks, including how to mask cracks with baking soda and CA glue; how to make preliminary scoring cuts to improve cut quality on the table saw; and how to more efficiently use your belt sander.

Learn how to build a picture frame on a router table. Discover how cutting shallow glue gutters makes it easier, and less messy, when gluing on wood moldings. Explore a method for curving wood that doesn't require steam or a band saw. Use a jointer to square a warped piece of wood.

Mr. Vondriska invites you into his workshop for more woodworking lessons. In this lecture, you'll learn how to make your own clamp pads and handles; how to pick up small tool spills in seconds; how to build a custom sanding block; how to better manage your power cords; and more.

Explore a shop-based solution for stabilizing pieces of wood on your bench; learn how to transform screw pockets into decorative accents for your projects; practice smarter ways for tuning up a smoothing plane to get paper-thin shavings; and other invaluable tips and tricks.

How can you make better cuts to get the right dimensions on furniture projects the first time? What are some ways to extend the life of your router and router table? What's the most effective way to tune up your jointer? Get answers to these and other woodworking questions.

Among the discoveries you'll make in this lecture are methods for squaring your drill press table, ways to use a mirror to to ensure holes drilled by hand are perpendicular, proper approaches to tightening the tension on your band saw's v-belt, tricks for applying waterborne finishes with a foam brush, and more.

Join Mr. Vondriska for a closer look at even more woodworking tricks. Among the topics you'll cover here are making arts-and-crafts knobs in your shop, building a handy push pad for your router, working optimally with plastic laminates, and using a table saw to make raised panels (and save money).

Continue to increase your confidence as a woodworker with expert advice and information on different kinds of glues (and their strengths and weaknesses for specific projects), transforming new brass hinges into antique wonders, making your steel rulers easier to use, and a smarter way to sand.

Biscuit joiners, handheld routers, table saws - discover tips for getting the most out of these and other tools in your workshop. Plus, learn techniques for getting perfect cuts on a miter saw, achieving the right depth when turning a bowl, and making tighter dadoes.

Focus on shop-made problem solvers that can help you accomplish your woodworking projects with greater ease, whether you're picking the perfect dado location, cross-cutting tiny pieces of wood, tracking the holes you make with a plunge router, or accurately cutting pieces of wood prone to chipping.

In this last lecture, learn how to work with sodium hydroxide, how to repair hairline cracks, how to improve your workflow (like storing brushes while varnishing, building shop-made stir sticks, or clamping irregular surfaces), and tips for getting the most out of sandpaper (especially for finishing a project).