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Featured Tips & Techniques

Tips and techniques from Canadian Woodworking give you the insight you need to improve your skills, solve common shop challenges, and work more efficiently and accurately.

  • Mineral spirits

    The Difference: Mineral spirits and paint thinner

    Mineral spirits and paint thinner are often thought to be the same thing, and while they are closely related solvents with over­lapping uses, there are some key differences in terms of purity, odor and performance.

    April 13, 2026
    Carl Duguay
  • Steve Der-Garabedian

    Woodworker’s resources for veneering

    Wood veneering is a time‑honoured woodworking technique that uses thin slices of wood to create beautiful, stable, and visually striking surfaces.

    March 23, 2026
    Canadian Woodworking
  • rideau canal

    Rebuilding the gates on the Rideau Canal

    When things work there’s no point in messing with them. That’s been the case for the wooden locks designed by Colonel John By and installed on the Rideau Canal 190 years ago.

    March 13, 2023
    Bruce Kemp
  • lounge chair

    Designing and Building the Lounge Chair No. 3

    Through passion, determination and preparation, Nova Scotia designer / maker Jonathan Otter built this award-winning lounge chair. Learn about the process he went through to complete this piece.

    September 13, 2018
    Jonathan Otter
  • black walnut

    An Appreciation of Black Walnut

    Walnut is one of the most highly prized domestic woods, and for good reason. For colour, grain, figure, workability and other valuable attributes, the wood is in a class all by itself among domestic hardwoods.

    March 11, 2016
    Jesse Vernon Trail
  • lute of illusions

    Lute of illusions

    The original Bosch Lute was made in the 1500s. There is only one of them in the world, but a skilled luthier from Saskatoon completed a very similar lute. Learn how he assembled all the pieces that make up the back of his version of the Bosch Lute.

    March 11, 2016
    Weldon Gray
  • seniors woodworking

    Keeping Woodworking Alive as we Age

    Keeping your mind and body active as you age is crucial to long-term happiness and health. Learn about what two Canadian centers have done for seniors by bringing woodworking into their facilities.

    November 21, 2014
    Melissa Martz
  • Power Carving

    Power Carving

    Practical tips on power tool carving tools and techniques.

    May 23, 2011
    Conrad Sarzynick
  • Router & Bit Care

    Keep your router and bits clean to avoid the problems caused by the two deadly enemies of all powered woodworking tools - heat and dust.

    January 23, 2009
    Michael Kampen
  • mallets

    The mighty mallet

    Roughing out a large carving, or even a medium-sized one, can be a very laborious process. In the interest of saving time and energy, many carvers opt for 'power'.

    January 23, 2008
    David Bruce Johnson
  • Routing Basics – Part 1

    Perhaps no more than forty or fifty years ago, grooving, decorative edge work and intricate joinery in most small wood shops would have been done by a wide range of hand tools.

    May 23, 2007
    Michael Kampen