If you don’t have a 1 3/8" Forstner Bit to drill a hole for a clock insert. All is not lost if you don’t have this particular bit which can be a little pricey at around $8 to $10. You can cut the hole for the clock on your scroll saw. Cut slightly inside of the line and sand or file gradually to fit the clock. The hole does not need to be exact as the face of the clock insert is wider than the hole and no one will ever know you cut it instead of drilling it.

Here is a good tip for cutting Styrofoam without making a mess. Put a blade in the blade holders backward (have the teeth facing away from you). When you make the cut, it will be clean and there will be no mess.

This tip is from Kathy Wises's Intarsia Woodworking Projects Book. "If you stack cut an ornament with two different colors, the pieces will fit together perfectly and you will have two complete ornaments."

The most important gluing tip is to not wipe the glue off of any of the surfaces to be finished. This will just spread the glue into the grain of the wood and sanding will be much more difficult. The easiest way to remove the excess glue is to let it dry and then use a good glue scraper to remove it before it is completely dry. Waiting 3-4 hours before scraping is a good rule of thumb.

Here is a sanding tip from Richard Bergstadt. When sanding your project, whether using a sanding block or just folded up sandpaper, be sure to sand with the folded edge of the sandpaper and not the open end of the sandpaper exposed to the grain direction. If you fail to sand this way, you run the risk of having the end of the sandpaper catch on a piece of the grain and splinter your project which can ruin your project, rip your sandpaper and also drive a sliver into your hand. Please don’t ask me how I learned about this tip!

Here is a tip Richard Bergstadt shared with us at the recent workshop held at his home. When you need to sand a cut on your project, make a unique sanding stick to fit the piece. Cut the stick to shape and then use spray adhesive on the back of some sandpaper and wrap it around the stick. Presto, you have a custom shaped sanding stick for your specific project.

This tip on how to keep the dust from collecting on your magnifier lamp comes to us from Barb Schmit. Brush off as much dust as you can from the lens and then take a USED fabric softener sheet from the dryer and wipe both sides of the lens. The fabric softener sheet leaves just enough chemical so that dust is repelled from the lens. Please follow these instructions and don’t do what I did. I thought, heck, if a used sheet is good a new sheet must be better. Not so! After I got all of the residue off of my lens so I could see through it, I wiped it with a USED fabric softener sheet and it worked great. Here is to better vision!

Here's a way to make removing your pattern from a finished project very easy. Put a single layer of blue painter's tape on the wood. Then, spray the back of your pattern with Super 77, from 3M. Glue the pattern to the blue tape and smooth it. After finishing your cutting, simply peel the blue tape from the wood. 

From Ron Posten. If, when cutting with a small blade, it no longer tracks, for example, you try to cut to the right and the blade cuts to the left. Here is the probable cause and one solution. If the blade was cutting fine before, but you stopped the saw and re started it, and the blade slammed the work piece down onto the table – you have probably “reset” or twisted the teeth. Once this has happened, the blade will not go where you aim it. You can continue to fight the blade with little success or you can throw the blade away and use a new one.