As with his previous programs dedicated to a single tool, Norm takes viewers on a special two-part program that explores the usefulness of the table saw. He begins by showing various table saws and what they can do and goes on to describe and demonstrate adjustments to make them more accurate. In the first program, he concentrates on the most common task a table saw will be asked to do—ripping. Norm discusses how to do it safely and accurately. He demonstrates his technique for cutting large panels and shows a safe way to handle narrow stock. He completes show number one by building an ingenious “out feed” table—so clever every saw owner will want one.

In the second part of Table Saw 101, Norm goes on to demonstrate dadoing, setting up stacked dado cutters, the making of rabbets, and the building of a sacrificial fence. Then he turns to evaluating miter gauges and shows how they may be used to make precision miters. He demonstrates the process of making accurate tenons with a factory-built jig. In the same program, he builds a cross cut sled and a stop block that extends any table saw’s potential.

See Note below

Everybody knows Norm likes to work alone. Although he does get some help finishing the projects, Norm does the wood working all by himself. Sometimes that’s not easy, so Norm finally decided to enlist the help of some workers who never show up for work late, never get tired, and are willing to work until the job is done. Meet them.

Roller Stand: a sturdy, height adjustable, rugged stand for use as an out feed appliance for the table saw, the band saw, or the drill press. It even comes to work ready with its own homemade, self-storing crank.

Stock Cart: a lightweight, very strong, wheeled wagon that comes with five shelves to organize the parts needed to complete a project and travels from machine to machine, carrying the parts as needed.

Mobile Tool Stand: a shop-built table to support bench top tools like planers, small saws, and jointers that, when combined with a mobile base, can add versatility and convenience to any shop.

Project #0603, Workshop Helpers, 12/4/06: For the mobile tool stand, the material for the top is missing from the Material List. We used 3/4 inch MDF but you could use any grade of 3/4 inch plywood.

See Note below

Norm's original router station is the most popular shop project he's ever done. So why change it? Well, in the years since he built the first one, he's been thinking up ways to improve it. Now comes the deluxe edition of Norm's router station with an improved storage system, a more stable and easier-to-use fence, an improved top, and updated electrical hookups. These small changes add up to a more useful and versatile upgrade on the original.

Project #0301, Deluxe Router Station, 1/20/04: The materials list instructs the builder to cut the 16x16 inch plexiglass to 16 7/8" square. But it should be cut to 15 5/8" square.

Surely one of the most useful projects Norm’s ever built for the shop is this work table. It’s a light weight, yet sturdy, assembly table that is easily raised up on casters to move around the shop as necessary. The mechanism for the caster assembly was borrowed from a nearby scenic shop where mobility is essential. Also with the table, Norm creates a storage cart for his collection of woodworker’s clamps. When he needs several clamps, he can easily wheel over his collection to make his choice.

A well-equipped workshop will need a bench for a miter saw. In this two part project, Norm builds a useful model with extensions on both sides of the saw, an adjustable stop block, an auxiliary guide for use with an adjacent radial saw table, and much more. The bench base is fully equipped with pull-out drawers sized to house Norm’s most-used power tools and accessories. One of those, the “dedicated” mortiser, has its own pull-out shelf with a bench-top fixture that secures the tool and provides extension to support and stabilize longer stock. This will be a popular project to anyone who wants to build useful organized storage in the workshop.

When Norm felt it time to remodel The New Yankee Workshop, he seized the opportunity to build an ingenuous workshop hutch that promises to be a must-have for every home woodworker. It features a backbench with a system of adjustable shelves that offers endless options for organizing the tools and materials every woodworker needs to have at his fingertips. The hutch also has a renewable bench top complete with electrical outlets, and roomy pullout drawers to store and keep a serious collection of power tools dust-free.

Norm celebrates the 13th season of The New Yankee Workshop with jigs. Proclaiming them "as important for the workshop as any power tool," Norm devotes the new season to building a variety of these useful devices, which will allow home woodworkers everywhere to build their projects with greater efficiency and accuracy. In part one, he shows how to create a panel cutting jig for cutting wide panels on the table saw, a tapering jig useful for tapering table legs, a circle cutting jig for the band saw, and a feather board for safely holding stock in place at the saw or at the router. Part two includes a jig which accurately guides a plunge router for making adjustable shelf pin holes, an ingenuous jig for mortising louvered doors and shutters, a circle cutting jig for a router, a hinge mortising jig, and a simple device for making box joints.

You can't do the work, unless the tools are sharp... is the mantra of woodworkers everywhere. Norm celebrates this sentiment with a with a sharpening station that features enough space for a grind wheel and water baths, and plenty of drawers to store blades and other tools. In the process of building this workshop accessory, Norm enlists an expert to offer a range of advice and techniques on how to properly sharpen common woodworking tools.

If only I had a workshop like Norm’s, I could build anything! Norm puts an end to this common viewer lament when he shows how to turn an average garage bay into a great home workshop. Using common building materials and hardware, he builds all the elements needed to make a workshop functional cabinetry, storage units, and a portable chop station.

The genius of Norm’s original design, however is that each element can be put away to make room for the family car when not in use or easily transported to any space a woodworker decides to set up shop. At the conclusion of this ambitious two-part project, Norm gives his list of must-have bench top power tools to ensure that every home craftsman will be able to utilize the workshop to its fullest.

Most woodworkers and homeowners own at least a portable light weight table saw for a variety of projects, but are limited to the size of wood they can cut due to the shortcomings of its design and a lack of accessory work surface. Always looking to expand the versatility of common tools, Norm created this season's home workshop accessory to expand the function of the common table saw. Using basic construction techniques, he shows how to build this station out of melamine and wood and to how to make an auxiliary fence, feather board, and push stick which will allow the home woodworker to safely cut and rip large pieces of lumber for more ambitious projects. Watch and learn: basic construction techniques, how to build a sawhorse, how to make essential saw accessories such as a panel cutter, feather board, and push stick.

For any woodworker who aspires to have a home version of The New Yankee Workshop, Norm builds a portable chop saw station, an accessory that he promises will "make your power mitre box much more versatile." This station can be used in the workshop or can be carted out to a job site to trim a house or to the backyard to build a deck.

Norm's original router station is the most popular shop project he's ever done.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PLAN IS FOR THE OLD STYLE ROUTER TABLE AND NOT THE NEW DELUXE VERSION - THE PICTURE SHOWS THE DELUXE VERSION WHICH IS AVAILABLE BY CLICKING HERE

Like the hugely popular workbench of the first season, Norm's rolling shop cabinet has become an indispensable accessory in the New Yankee Workshop. The cabinet incorporates several construction techniques and materials not seen before on the series. Built from veneer plywood, it features a high-pressure laminate top which provides a durable work surface that allows wood to slide over it. The cabinet rolls on lockable swivel casters.

A good workshop begins with a well-equipped workbench, and master woodworker Norm uses one from his own shop as a model for the conveniently-sized and affordable workbench he builds in this episode. After a look at a workbench used 100 years ago by the craftsmen at Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts, Norm builds a workbench featuring an oak-edged hardwood top, a bench vice, a recessed tool storage area on top and a shelf beneath.

Please Note:

There are currently some issues with the supply of this plan, if you want to pre-order your copy you can do so here, you will not be charged until your items are dispatched. We are expecting the next batch of plans around mid to late August.

As with his previous programs dedicated to a single tool, Norm takes viewers on a special two-part program that explores the usefulness of the table saw. He begins by showing various table saws and what they can do and goes on to describe and demonstrate adjustments to make them more accurate. In the first program, he concentrates on the most common task a table saw will be asked to do—ripping. Norm discusses how to do it safely and accurately. He demonstrates his technique for cutting large panels and shows a safe way to handle narrow stock. He completes show number one by building an ingenious “out feed” table—so clever every saw owner will want one.

In the second part of Table Saw 101, Norm goes on to demonstrate dadoing, setting up stacked dado cutters, the making of rabbets, and the building of a sacrificial fence. Then he turns to evaluating miter gauges and shows how they may be used to make precision miters. He demonstrates the process of making accurate tenons with a factory-built jig. In the same program, he builds a cross cut sled and a stop block that extends any table saw’s potential.