You would be surprised how often good woodworking skills come in handy through life. Even if you do not do it full time or in construction, you may need to make yourself a great deck, or even need to do some crafts with your children Continue reading this article for crucial advice in terms of this body of knowledge.

Make your own reusable sanding blocks. Cut 6 blocks from scrap wood in the size of the sandpaper you use. Be certain they are approximately 2 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches. Use some spray adhesive on your blocks and the cork tile. Apply the cork to the block and use a utility knife to cut the cork flush with the block. Spray some adhesive on a sandpaper sheet and stick it on each cork block face down. Finally, trim the sandpaper and label each block.

TIP! Use the right wood for your project. When thinking of work with wood, there are some pieces of wood that aren’t able to handle the stress other woods can.

If you are going to be staining your project, test on a scrap of wood or an inconspicuous area. If you test the stain color first, you will not have any unpleasant surprises. Because wood tends to be fickle, mistakes can be avoided by testing it out beforehand.

You can use stair gauges to make crosscut guides. Clamp them to a carpenter’s square while making sure they line up with the rise and run of your stair jack. Mark each notch. If you place them on the tongue you’re using for your carpenter square, that combo is a good crosscut guide for your circular saw.

Your workbench height is important. Measure the distance between the floor and your waist to learn the perfect height for your workbench. This lets you know what the best height is for your workbench.

TIP! Avoid using your fingers as guides while cutting narrow pieces of wood. Instead, use a piece of scrap wood to safely push the lumber through your table saw.

Be certain you know what your budget is able to handle. Frequently, you overestimate how much you can afford to invest in your projects. Do not get excited about a project before making sure you have enough money to get everything you need. Write down the costs beforehand so you can see if it fits within your budget.

If you need to rent a tool for woodworking, lease one from a tool company and ask them how to use it. Many times, they have specialists that will show you how to use the tool properly and safely. Find out if they have any helpful handouts or worksheets you can use.

A handy tool for every woodworking shop is a stair gauge. They not only assist with stair jack layouts, but can also be used when your carpenter’s square needs to be clamped. It will convert a carpenter’s square into your guide for the circular saw. The square will get you wonderfully straight cuts all the time.

TIP! Be sure to wear solid, closed-toed shoes when pursuing woodworking projects. There are a lot of wood chips and nails that you will need to navigate through.

Know the characteristics of any wood before you buy or use it for a specific project that requires staining. Low quality wood is considered “paint grade” and isn’t meant to be stained. Particleboard and products labeled as “veneer” do not absorb stain evenly. Using the right wood ensures that your project will turn out just as you expected it to.

Golf Tee

If the hinges on your interior door have become loose, you can fix it with a simple golf tee. Take the door off and remove the hinges, then lightly tap the golf tee into the screw holes. Cut off the length of golf tee that protrudes from the hole, then you put your door back up. The tee will allow the screw to bite into the door.

TIP! Use recycled wood when available. A lot of places that use or work with wood often throw out pieces that you can use.

After reading this article, hopefully you better understand woodworking. You may find this information incredibly useful the next time you want to try a woodworking project. Think about what you now know, and consider just what possibilities might exist for you with your new knowledge.