Table Saw Tripping Circuit Breaker – Diagnosis & Solutions

Women Using Table Saw

I don’t know much about electricity, plugs, circuit breakers, and such, except that electricity can kill you if you don’t know what you’re doing and touch the wrong thing. I did once dare to replace a copper lantern outside my front door – turned the switch off, shut the circuit breaker off, wore my sneakers … Read more

Must Know Alternatives To Table Saws For Every DIYer

Table Saw

We like our table saw.  It’s a great tool for ripping plywood or other boards, but it can do much more.  We use it often, maybe not as often as the chop saw, but still quite often. But what do you do if your woodworking shop is too small for a cabinet saw – a … Read more

How Long Do DeWALT Batteries Take To Charge?

DeWALT

How long does it take to charge a DeWALT battery, you ask?  It depends, we say.  Like many questions, “it depends” is an appropriate answer.  We’ll tell you why and what it depends on in a moment. There are certain conditions of the battery, its age, its use, and the charger, among “it depends” things … Read more

Is Black and Decker A Good Brand?

BLACK-DECKER Logo

The official brand name is BLACK+DECKER, but we will refer to it as Black & Decker or Black and Decker. What is good?  What one might consider something as good for their particular use, while another might choose to go in a different direction. With so many power tool brand names to consider and choose … Read more

Alternatives To Festool Domino

Festool Domino

Our woodworking projects go in cycles.  A burst of enthusiasm overcomes us, and we rush to the shop for the next project.  Or, a particular need arises, whether it’s a desk for one of the kids or a new platform bed for another. Most of our projects have particular joinery needs of one type or … Read more

How Does SawStop Detect Fingers?

Finger Saw Blade

No matter how many times I watch the SawStop video demo using a hot dog to show how quickly the blade stops spinning when it comes in contact with the dog, it still amazes me.  The mark left on the hot dog is minimal, at worst, hardly a nick, and had it been a finger, … Read more

DeWALT Brushless Drill Problems

DEWALT Drill

DeWALT is a quality name in the power tool world, and most of us likely have at least one of their tools in our woodworking shop.  Its cordless drill is a very popular tool, a generally reliable and durable tool that we use often. As with all things in the world, though, problems do occur … Read more

Porter Cable Air Compressor Common Problems

Porter Cable Air Compressor

Air compressors are not the most common of features in a woodworking shop, although they do come in handy on job sites to power nailers and in painting around the house. But air compressors did not make our list of “Must-Have” tools for the woodworking beginner. Key Points: Still, they are handy to have around, … Read more

Laguna 1216 Lathe Problems & Tips To Fix Them

Laguna Tools Logo

So many times on these pages, we have written “the right tool for the right job.”    Expecting a tool to perform in ways it was not intended is a bad habit, as it can lead to injury or, at the least, frustration.  A project comes to a standstill, and maybe we need to consider … Read more

Why Does My Miter Saw Keeps Tripping The Breaker?

DEWALT Miter Saw

My house is 130 years old, and the “cellar” is a dirt floor with original stone walls.  I’m 6’1″, and have to stay low as there is only about 5 feet of space height. After tripping a breaker as I added appliances in the kitchen and laundry room too many times, I had the electrical … Read more

DEWALT Circular Saw 20v Problems & Troubleshooting

DEWALT Circular Saw

We all know of the DEWALT name in power tools, and most of us likely have at least one DEWALT tool in our shop, whether it’s a cordless drill, a bench planer, or a circular saw.  It might surprise you to learn that DEWALT is part of a family of power tool manufacturers that includes … Read more

DEWALT Thickness Planer DW735 Problems

DEWALT DW735

I own the DW735 and can attest it is a fantastic planer, the best “lunchbox” style planer on the market, in my opinion. Among the many power tools commonly found in the woodworking shop is a thickness planer.  Depending on the types of projects and the types and sources of the wood you use in … Read more

What Grit CBN Wheel For Lathe Tools?

What Grit CBN Wheel For Lathe Tools

Once again, with the acronyms.  If there isn’t a terms and terminology book for woodworking shops, there ought to be just to keep up with the acronyms. Key Points: Today’s 3-letter term is CBN, and to understand the answer to the question of what grit CBN wheel to use for lathe tools, it is necessary … Read more

Bosch 4100 Table Saw Problems

Bosch 4100 Table Saw

Woodworkers tend to be pretty free in expressing frustration or anger with their power tools.  The things that get said to them are NSFW, to be sure.  Bulletin boards among woodworkers are filled with complaints and venting just as much as they are filled with requests for advice, sometimes even in the same post and … Read more

DEWALT DCN660 Finish Nailer Problems

DEWALT DCN660 Finish Nailer

The advancement of tools and their talents and strengths is pretty remarkable in the time we’ve been involved in woodworking.  It was hammer and arm strength/fatigue we dealt with when I was framing back in the late 60s and early 70s.  The job still got done, of course, and houses were built and lived in, … Read more

What Are Some Drill Press Alternatives?

Drill Press Alternatives

How steady is your hand?  How accurately can you make a cut with a circular saw or a cordless drill?  The answers will have something to do with your experience as a woodworker.  Certainly, professional woodworkers are accustomed to having power tools in their hands and don’t think much about making that quick cut or … Read more

Staining Wood Filler Problems: How To Deal With Them

Wood Filler

Whether it’s a piece of furniture, some new baseboard or window trim, or any other woodworking project, in most instances, there are going to be holes.  Nails, screws, and accidents all make holes, and unless they are pocket holes out of sight, they need to be filled in order to give our project a professional … Read more