Shop Accessories & Aids

Yost Rapid-Action 7” x 6” Wood Vise

The Yost vises are fairly close copies of the legendary Record vises that were discontinued in 2000, and they seem to work just as well. We have mounted two of these to one end of our bench about 24” (60 cm) apart so we can secure long workpieces in both vises, when necessary.. Opposite each vise we’ve drilled a row of 1” (25 mm) diameter holes 6” (15 cm) apart on center. These holes mount round wooden bench dogs to be used in conjunction with the pop-up vise dogs. This allows us to secure large assemblies, sometimes as large as the top of the workbench.

Jorgensen 9” x 7” Wood Vise

If you’re wondering why the Pony vise is so much less expensive than the Yost vises we recommended, it’s because this vise does not have a release mechanism that allows you to position the jaws quickly. You have to wind or unwind the vise screw to open and close the jaws. The front jaw does, have a pop-up dog, however – it’s not completely bare bones.

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Eleon Self-Centering Doweling Jig

If you’re thinking about buying this jig, go to the Eleon page on Amazon and read a review by Gary A titled, “Well made but lacking needed registration marks.” Gary gives the Eleon 5 stars, but also offers a way to improve it further by adding some helpful registration marks. Gary’s insightful comments are proof that even though this is a latest and greatest in a long line of doweling jigs, there’s still some reinventing left to do.

Kreg Pocket Hole Jig 320

I’ve tested a lot of pocket hole jigs, and Kreg makes some of the best. This is the one I use in my work. Kreg has bigger sets filled with interesting accessories, but this simple set – the “320” – has everything most of us need, with the exception of an 1/8” (3 mm) drill bit for pilot holes -- I explain the reason for that in our video “Pocket Holes Overexplained”. That aside, the Kreg 320 is extremely versatile, reasonably durable, and relatively inexpensive.

RZ Dust Mask

This is the first effective dust mask I’ve found that you can get on and off quickly and easily. There’s just one Velcro strap! You don’t have to remove your eye and hearing protection, and then put them on again around the mask. Or remove them to take the mask off. Lightweight, reasonably comfortable, adjustable, reusable, replaceable active carbon filters remove particles down to 1 micron in size. You’ll see me wearing this whenever we do any sanding in our videos – check out “Bandsawn Nesting Boxes” – I do an enormous amount of sanding in that.

LHKNL Headlamp

An unbelievably capable and rechargeable headlamp for an unbelievably reasonable price. Dim and strong beams, narrow or wide, point it where you need it, turn it on and off with a button or just wave your hands. I bought this when I built a set of cabinets and needed to see the interiors as I was installing hinges. Now I use them for everything, including plumbing and wiring. Extremely handy if you don’t have a third hand to hold a flashlight. We don’t yet have videos that show this headlamp in action yet, but this is just too handy not to share with you.

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Spacecare Retractable Casters

Every tool in my shop is movable. I began making them mobile when I had a small shop and needed to rearrange my tools quickly to get the space I needed to work with long boards or large assemblies. Later on, I found it useful to rearrange tools for some processes to make them more precise and productive.

For years I mounted my tools on casters and used wooden chocks to keep them in place. Then I found these retractable casters. They let you make a tool mobile or immobile with a few levers! Each caster is rated for 600 pounds (272 kilograms) and I have yet to find a tool or a workbench I couldn’t mount them on. My main workbench, which appears in almost all our videos, is mounted on these casters.

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