Tip: Hot glue holds small stuff better than clamps. When you have to cut, shape, file, sand or finish something small, reach for your hot glue gun and glue the piece to a pedestal stick. The hot glue will hold just about anything as well as or better than any clamp ever could—if using a clamp is even possible. When your project is complete, try to pop it loose with a putty knife, just do it softly.

Quote: "By All means read what the experts have to say. Just don’t let it get in the way of your woodworking."
~John Brown, Welsh stick chairmaker

Tip: Use a drafting square for more accuracy. When you need an accurate square in the 2- to 3-ft. range, your options are limited. Drywall squares are notoriously inaccurate and cumbersome. Carpenter squares involve that nagging hassle of having to hook them onto the edge of your workpiece. If you have a drafting square lying around, drag it out to the shop.

Quote: "The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists."
~Charles Dickens

Quote: "Each plank…can have only one ideal use. The woodworker must find this ideal use and create an object of utility to man, and if nature smiles, an object of lasting beauty."
~George Nakashima, woodworker, author of “The Soul of a Tree”

Quote: "It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time."
~David Allan Coe

Tip: Use tape to catch excess glue. To prevent stains caused by oozing glue along joints, clamp the pieces together without glue. Put tape on the joint, then cut along it with a sharp blade. Separate the pieces, apply the glue and clamp them together again. The glue will ooze onto the tape, not the wood. Peel off the tape before the glue dries.

Quote: "One only need two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop."

Quote: "When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong."
~R. Buckminster, inventor, architect and designer

Make your own reusable sanding blocks. Cut six blocks from scrap 3/4-in.plywood for each sandpaper grit you commonly use. Make them 2-1/2 in. x 4-3/4 in. Spray adhesive on both a square of cork tile and each block. Stick a block to the cork and cut the cork flush with a utility knife. Then spray adhesive on a sheet of sandpaper and stick it on each block cork side down as shown. Cut the sandpaper flush with the cork, and label each block.