Buying wood Numbers game: When buying a piece of dressed timber, you’ll find that its actual dimensions are a bit smaller than those specified. That’s because timber is sold by’nominal size’ — the size it is when it’s cut at the sawmill. After planing and shrinkage, the actual size is a bit smaller. To remind [...]

Edge, miter and tenon An edgy solution: The table saw is the best tool for cutting straight gluing edges. If a table saw isn’t available, first glue together the sections to be joined. When the glue has completely dried, cut the pieces apart with a circular saw, making sure the blade runs dowm the center [...]