Learn Woodworking Tips & Tricks with Rockler

The trickiest part of installing stair treads is often cutting them to fit perfectly between the walls or baseboard. The Perfect Fit Stair Tread and Shelf Gauge makes it easy to measure the length of the tread and determine the angles of the sides walls at the same time. The gauge adjust to match the length. And, if the side walls are not perpendicular to the tread, the gauge also adjusts to match the angles of the side walls. It works with treads from 28" to 48" long.

How to make a Kubb yard game set. Kubb is a popular lawn game. It is sometimes described as a Viking chess game. The name Kubb is pronounced similar to koob. Kubb lawn game is played with wood blocks and wood batons. While Kubb’s origins are obscured by the passing of years — a lot of years— it seems most likely it was invented in Scandinavia more than a thousand years ago. The Kubb game spread throughout much of northern Europe. Originally the playing pieces were likely firewood. As with many such folk traditions, the rules varied with the region and the period of time. It can be played with anywhere from one to six on a team.

How to make a porch swing for your home. This DIY porch swing features a contoured seat and back, plus cup holders on each arm, making it the perfect place to relax and enjoy a cool drink. If you’ve ever built an Adirondack chair or a simple picnic table, you’ve got the skills you need to make one of these swings for your special outdoor getaway.

This porch swing can be hung from a porch ceiling that features a minimum of 2x6 framing rafters. If you don’t have a porch, a sturdy horizontal tree limb could offer another hanging option, or you could build a freestanding framework or arbor to install the swing practically anywhere in your yard or garden. The porch swing pictured was made 4/4 African mahogany. But cedar, cypress, white oak or redwood would be other good choices, too.

Tax season is here and I quickly realized how much I needed a filing cabinet. So I designed and built one to fit under my desk that also matches the black and walnut aesthetics in my office. For this build, I used ash that’s stained black for the case and drawer boxers, and then used walnut for the drawer front.

The case is made from 3/4” ash and walnut lumber that I got from Rockler.

Running out of room in your shop? Try These 5 Space-Saving Work Tables. If you do your woodworking in a small workshop or even the corner of your garage, these five work tables are strong, sturdy and easy to store when you're not using them. Some act as a table top extension for small workbenches and work tables. Others are work tables that fold up to save space and easy storage.

Now you can have the capacity and efficiency of a cyclone dust collector that doesn't take up a lot of space. The Wall-Mount 1250 CFM Cyclone Dust Collector . Thanks to its wall-mount design, it consumes a minimum area of floor space. HEPA filtration ensures that the air in your shop is clean, and 2-stage dust separation keeps the filter clean for longer, and minimizes the need to empty the drum. The filter is easy to clean by rotating the top handle to agitate the pleats inside the filter. When the time comes to empty the drum, simply raise the lower handle and roll the drum away on its casters. This dust collector also includes a remote that makes it easy to activate the collector from anywhere in your shop.

In this video, Chris Salamone tries a different technique for engraving or embossing on woodworking projects..

A blanket chest makes a beautiful and useful addition to any home. Making a blanket chest is a classic woodworking project. A blanket chest is essentially a large box with a hinged lid. You can design your blanket chest to be as simple or ornate as you like.

This blanket chest is designed with clean lines and few ornate details. It features box joint corners that are structurally strong and beautiful. Box joints are easy to form with a router table and a Router Table Box Joint Jig . The following video walks you through the basic process of using a Router Table Box Joint Jig. Plus, you can download the Free Blanket Chest Plan.