Making Do

Every woodworker wishes he had the New Yankee Workshop at his diposal. If only we all had the budget of a national television series to purchase tools with. Norm Abram has it all! Yet, for the most of us, a decked out workshop is a dream we pursue for a life time. We buy tools one at a time as we need them. In the end, sometimes we just have to make do.

There are lots of tricks that we woodworkers use to get a job done when we don't have the right tools. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Router as jointer - when laminating up panels a good edge is essential. If you don't have a jointer, use your router. A straight cutting bit and a very carefully set fence on the router table make a perfect jointer replacement.

Make a jig - long before I had any panel raising bits for my router I was raising panels on my table saw. I built an adjustable jig to hold the panels upright while I pushed them through a tiped blade. I've found that just about any problem in the workshop can be solved with a jig. I've made jigs for the router, the table saw, the drill press, the rotary arm saw and so many more.

If at long last you finally decide to buy a tool but still have a tight budget, sometimes you can find great deals on the internet. Check out our store at Woodtoolstore.com. Our whole purpose is to supply woodworkers at reasonable prices.