Handle the goods you may, but for breakages someone must pay !

1. Cramp head marking your work! Look no further! Cut out some ( normal )softwood blocks to suite the size of your sash cramp bar in the style below, and then slip in between the cramp heads for mark free cramping.

2. Fed up with sash cramps falling over! Look no further! Cut out some softwood blocks in the style of the extended feet above, to suite the size of your sash cramp bar , and then slip in between the cramp heads for trouble free cramping.

3. Softwood is the best wood for a bench for the cabinet maker or antique restorer, because it is soft and won't damage the work you are working on, if you were working with a hardwood bench of Oak and drop a softwood table on it, the table would come off worst.

4. Scratch stocks For the same reasons above I make my scratch stocks out of softwood on the bandsaw and while the saw is set up I cut out five at a time. I also round the bottom of the sole (see above end view ) which allows for a gradual cut in either direction ( by tilting the angle of the scratch stock ). Remember to grind the cutter square so that it uses a scraping action this will give you a fine finish which will need little or no sanding. I have seen so called "College Lecturers" (who should know better) recommending grinding scratch stock cutters at an angle, this means that you are using a cutting action in one direction only, at best this will tear out the grain.

5. Car Inner Tubes are excellent for cutting into strips about an 1 inch wide and used as a wrap around cramp, just over lap the strip to start off and finish off by tucking the loose end under a strip to hold it in position, especially usefully on repairing chair legs or round work etc.

6. Thin Chisels are useful for cutting out Dovetails and can be made out of machine hacksaw blades that are used for metal work and ground to the correct shape. ( Just grind off the teeth ).

7. Fine pencils When marking out Dovetails or anything that you require accuracy in marking out, I use a drawing pencil with a long nose and 0.5mm lead. This enables you to get right into the tails when marking out for the pins.

8. Pinchers I would recommend any one to grind up there pinchers to look like the following diagram, this will enable you to extract pins and nails closer to the wood, but do make sure there is a flat on the inside faces or all you will do is to cut the heads off !

9. Aluminum Angle Center Finder Here's a simple jig for finding the center in round and square stock. I used 3" aluminum angle by 9" long over all, Cut a 45 Degree slope on one side and then cut 3" off this end and rivet it as shown on to the remaining section. To use the center finder simply hold against the angle and mark off on the end at least twice or four times if the center finder is off center !

10. Center Finder all you All you need is a batten, pencil, two dowels, drill for the two dowels first, then find the center for the pencil. In use just turn the batten so that the dowels touch the sides of the work and use the pencil to mark the center. This system can also be used to divide up differing size boards into three, four or any number of equal parts, the same batten can be used for each but I would recommend that you mark or colour code the pencil holes to be on the safe side.