• zero clearance miter saw fence and holding stick
• grain direction - bark side - outside of the rings, toward the tip of the cathedral
• sacrificial fence clamps!

Wooden hand screws are versatile, but they can be confounding to use. We'll help you eliminate frustration and show you a few tricks to get the most from these clamps.

The trick is to always hold the top handle in your left hand and the bottom handle in your right hand. When you tighten the clamp, you only spin the handle in your right hand, which is much easier to control than spinning both handles. Plus, if you hold the clamp like this on a consistent basis, you build muscle memory and soon you won’t even have to think about which direction to turn the clamp to get it to tighten or loosen. I struggled with these clamps for years until I realized that I wasn’t holding the clamp consistently, so I never knew which direction would tighten or loosen the clamp.

In issue #285, Clark Kellogg assembles the sides of his hexagon boxes with some innovative clamps from an unlikely source: a bike shop.

#2 – A Handscrew Is a Stop Block, Too

My drill press fence has a built-in stop block, but for some tasks I need a second stop block. On those occasions, I simply clamp a handscrew to the fence at the desired position.

#5 – Turn a Handscrew into a Bench-Top Vise

Did you know you can plane a long board held in a bench vise without the need for a deadman? Here’s how. First, glue or screw a board as a wing to the side of the outer jaw of a handscrew. Then, secure one end of the workpiece in the handscrew and clamp the wing in the vise. Now, you have a benchtop vise working for you!