Stock wood-dowel diameters are often slightly too large for the holes that you've drilled. To ensure a snug fit--and avoid the possibility of splitting your workpiece--chuck the dowel into a drill press or portable drill and sand the dowel as it spins. To maintain a consistent diameter (and keep your fingers cool), move the sandpaper up and down the dowel as you sand. Don't oversand! --From the WOOD magazine shop

Drum sanders save a lot of time in the shop. You lose a lot of that saved time, though, when you have to change the sleeve and it's stuck to the rubber drum. Sprinkle a little cornstarch on the rubber sanding drum before you put on the sleeve. Cornstarch prevents the two from sticking together, so sleeve changes are easy. --Al Lantinen, Portsmouth, N.H.

Exposed handsaw blades are a triple threat: They can injure careless hands, they inadvertently mar wood, and they damage easily. The plastic spines from business-report covers (sold at office-supply stores) perform superbly as blade guards. --Carl Dorsch, Oakdale, Pa.

Neatly applying woodworker's glue to plugs can be tricky. You just can't dribble a small stream out of the bottle. Pour some glue onto a plastic jar lid. Then, roll the bottom edge of the plug in the puddle of glue to apply an even coating right where you need it. Glue buttons, Shaker pegs, axle pegs, and other similar parts in the same way. --Glyn Roberts, Woodruff, Wis.

When you apply pressure to boards or sheet goods that you're attempting to surface-laminate, the stack wants to slide around. To prevent this from happening, drive wire brads into the material before applying the glue. Snip off the brad heads at a sharp angle. Now apply glue and, after aligning the boards, tap them together with a mallet. --C.P. Squires, Warrensville, N.C.

Before a project reaches completion, it can suffer a lot of dents and dings in the shop. Cabinets or bookcases built of plywood often end up with chipped face veneer at the bottom from being shoved around on the shop floor. Attach scrapwood blocks to the bottom corners of your project with finishing nails or small screws. Leave the temporary feet on until you've finished the project and moved it to its final location. --From the WOOD magazine shop

Squaring up a tilting table on a drill press so it's perpendicular to a drill bit can prove tedious. Instead of using a square, a small length of coat hanger will do the job quickly and accurately. Cut a length of wire approximately 6" long, and bend right angles in it as shown. Don't worry if the angles aren't exactly 90 degrees. Chuck one end into the drill and tighten. Raise the table so it touches the wire. Slowly rotate the drill chuck 180 degrees by hand so you can detect any high or low spots in the table. --John Clark, Cuddebackville, N.Y.

Some projects call for you to drill holes perpendicular to a surface. But, what do you do if the piece is too large for your drill-press table, and you don't own a guide for your portable drill? Join two blocks of wood at a 90 degree angle. By holding your drill bit in the corner of this jig, you can accurately bore perpendicular holes with many sizes of twist and brad-point bits. --Mike Fagan, Elgin, Ore.

Precisely locating dowel holes in matching pieces with curved shapes will help you produce a properly fitted project. Here's a method that's quick and accurate. First, mark the centerpoints of the dowels with an awl. Then, tap BBs slightly into each awl mark. Place the corresponding curved top piece precisely on top of the first one and tap with a rubber mallet. When you separate the two wood pieces, the BBs will make dowel center marks that match exactly. --Bernard Paumier, Baltimore, Ohio

Even though you hammer carefully, your nail occasionally splits the wood. Blunt the tip of the nail by tapping it with your hammer to let the nail hit its way into the wood rather than part the material. Or, chuck a properly sized nail into a drill (you may need to cut off the nailhead), predrill holes, and then hammer and set the nails. --From the WOOD magazine shop

Some tasks require using a combination square for measuring and for drawing perpendicular lines, and a marking gauge for drawing lines parallel to an edge on a long work surface. Wouldn't it be nice if one tool could do both jobs? Drill a 1/16" hole through the center of the guide slot in the blade at the 1" mark as shown. Insert a pencil tip or a scribe through the hole for marking. To figure the distance from the mark to the edge of the stock, remember to subtract 1" from the distance shown on the scale where it intersects the crosspiece. Hold the pencil and square steady as you mark. --R.L. Watkins, Naches, Wash.

If you've ever used a scrollsaw to cut intricate pieces from stock 1/8" or thinner, you've probably noticed that it's hard to negotiate sharp curves and still stay on the line. It's also tough to get a clean cut. It's easier to make tight cuts in stock at least 1/2" thick because the blade cuts less aggressively, giving you better control. Also, it's easier to control the stock with your fingers. So, tape several pieces of thin material together and stack-cut them. Need only one? Tape the thin stock to a scrap of 1/2" knot-free softwood. --From the WOOD magazine shop

Carefully fitted dowels will trap both air and excess glue when inserted. Unless you provide an escape route, that air or adhesive may prevent you from bringing together the joined pieces. If you force them together, the built-up hydraulic pressure may cause the dowel to pop out of its hole when you're not looking. For dowels 1-1/2" to 2" long, build a jig out of scrapwood as thick as the dowel length. Near one end, drill a hole the same diameter as the dowel and then crosscut the scrap so two-thirds of the hole remains as shown right. Insert the dowel in the jig and cut a 1/16" saw kerf 1/16" deep with a bandsaw or scrollsaw. One groove lets air and glue escape. --George Mitro, Jr.., El Paso, Texas

For safe and effective carving of flat workpieces, you must secure the carving in a way that frees both of your hands and doesn't mar your masterpiece. It sure would be nice to have a hold-down that adapts to any carving. Drill a series of 1/2" holes, set apart 2" on center, into a piece of 3/4x12x18" plywood (or larger if desired). Then, make at least two T-shaped pins from 1-1/4" lengths of 1/2" dowel and 3/4" lengths of 1" dowel such as those shown above right. Drill a 1/2" hole 1/2" deep into the center of the 1" dowel lengths and glue and insert the 1/2" dowel pieces. From 3/4" solid stock, cut a cam according to the full-sized pattern above, and drill a 1/2" hole as indicated. Glue a 1-3/4" length of 1/2" dowel into the hole in the cam so 1/2" of dowel protrudes from each face. Now, you can hold a carving of most any shape between at least two pins and the cam. Clamp the board to your workbench or hold it in your lap, whatever's the most comfortable to you. --Gordon Humphrey, Victoria, British Columbia

You want to drill a tiny hole, but you don't have a bit smaller than 1/16". Chuck a sewing-machine needle into your drill to make the tiny hole (they're sold at fabric stores and sewing-machine dealers). Choose needles with sharp points instead of blunt or ball-end styles. Look for an enlarged shank, too, to give your chuck a better grip on the needle. Drill slowly to avoid burning. --Don Greenidge, Floral Park, N.Y.

Stray even a bit when installing shelf standards, and your shelves will rock maddeningly. Fit a spacer block between the cabinet bottom and a slot near the bottom of the shelf standard. Install a shelf clip upside down in the slot, and then rest it on top of the block to position the standard while you drive in the screws or nails. Repeat for the other standards for accurate placement. --Lance Lewis, West Newbury, Mass.

Trying to force glue into a tight spot such as a crack on a board or a split in an old furniture part can exasperate even the most patient woodworker. And sometimes the spot that needs the glue is so tight you can't even get a hypodermic needle in there. Place the board so the place you need to glue hangs over the end of your bench. Now, bring over your shop vacuum, turn, it on, and hold the nozzle underneath. Apply glue to the top, letting the suction pull it in. When glue comes out the bottom, clamp the workpiece. --Jim Reister, Walla Walla, Wash.