If you ever get a dent in a piece of wood furniture, you can actually use steam to pull out the dent and make it flush with the surrounding wood. Here’s how it’s done:

First, saturate the dent with water, and let it soak in for a minute (Fig. 1). Next, moisten a rag, and lay it flat over the dent. Set an iron on its highest setting, and press it onto the rag for just a few seconds (Fig. 2). This creates steam, which expands the wood fibers to remove the dent.

Use an eye dropper to saturate the dent with water.	Apply an iron to a damp cloth to steam out the dent.

To finish up, sand lightly where the dent used to be, and apply a coat of finish.

Have a nice weekend,
Wyatt Myers
Online Editor
Workbench Magazine

EPOXY CLEANUP Using alcohol is a great way to clean up excess epoxy, if you do it before it cures.
“FIXING” CHALKLINES A smudged chalkline is worthless. So I “fix” the line with hairspray.
SIMPLE SCRAPER RACK A plywood block with a saw kerf in the top edge makes a handy scraper rack.

Have a nice weekend,
Wyatt Myers
Online Editor
Workbench Magazine

If you tap a T-nut in with a hammer, it often goes in crooked. So I use a socket wrench and a hex-head bolt to draw the T-nut into place. This way, it goes in straight.

To use this method, start by slipping a Fender washer over the bolt to distribute pressure evenly. Hand-tighten the bolt until the T-nut begins to bite. Then use the socket wrench to seat the T-nut.

Have a nice weekend,
Wyatt Myers
Online Editor
Workbench Magazine

Storage for plywood cutoffs and other sheet material is extremely limited in my garage shop. So I built an overhead storage rack that takes advantage of the unused space above the garage door.

The rack is made up of four 2×4 frames and a ¾” plywood bottom that keeps small cutoffs from falling out (Illustration, below).

Each frame consists of two short ends that are rabbeted to accept a pair of long rails (Frame Detail). Simply screw the frames together. Then mount them to the ceiling joists with long lag screws. Just be sure the frames clear the garage door opener and the drive track. Once the frames are installed, slip in the plywood bottom, and nail it in place.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor
Workbench Magazine