After discussing the possible causes of the orange peel it became obvious that he needed to add lacquer thinner to the mix.

Ben at display fixture manufacturer Xylem Design, shows Brad Cairns a baffle he set up to channel flying sawdust from next to the CNC machine. It's an example of innovative ideas developed under Lean management.

We were looking to improve CNC bed cleaning after sheet processing, and it was a chore to vacuum the bed with a shop vac after removing the processed pieces from the bed to ready it for the next sheet.

I am always being asked about tools and woodworking products. Around this time of year, a lot of those questions turn into: 'what would make a good gift?'

I wear two hats: woodshop worker and public face. If I could find a way to schedule different days for all my meetings and all the days I am banging, cutting, and sanding it would be easy. More often than not I have to split my days and showing up to a luxury high-rise caked in sawdust is not an option. Enter Milwaukee's stylish gear.

Sometimes even TV stars have good ideas. Jonathon and Drew Scott, co-stars of HGTV’s ‘Property Brothers’ home renovating fixer-upper reality show, shared their top five favorite gadgets - no hammers, saws or drills involved.

For the woodworker, it's going to be tools, lumber and veneer. And more tools. Developing the 2015 shopping list for someone who works with wood all day, the editors at Woodworking Network tried to think out of the dovetail box. Besides exotic hardwood that can inspire a project, or a specialized tool or jig that's so cool it doesn't matter if its useful, we added some good works suggestions this time around: it's better to give than to receive.

Filling a roundish hole in a plank is a not-uncommon requirement: covering screw holes, knot holes, or reclaimed wood accompanied by cuts for plumbing and heating, can present boards that need something beyond wood filler - they need a plug. Here are four tools we've run across, and a bit about a project involving hole plugging.

Staining wood to give it a darker, richer color is an age-old practice; while methods have improved, staining still has drawbacks - since a stained surface can be damaged, and surfaces accept stain unevenly. Fuming with ammonia is an alternative, and Ottawa, Ontario-based Lee Valley Tools offers this advice on how to do it.