The articles below were selected because they stood out as particularly high-quality pieces in WOODWEB's Knowledge Base. Some were chosen for the unique information they contain, others for their human interest aspects, and finally a good many for their detailed illustrations and photographs. New articles are added to the top of the list every two months.

Teaching an Employee to Optimize Materials
It's happened again - an employee broke into the new sheet stock instead of using up the scrap designated for the job. Does this make you hopping mad? Then read on for ideas on consistent shop optimization.

Hard Layoff Choices
A decision must be made on whether to lay off a valued employee when sales fall off during a downturn. Tough times call for tough choices, but this one really stinks...

Skilled Woodworker Employee Wages
A highly qualified shop employee with broad responsibilities asks how to assess his own fair wage rate, and kicks off a spirited discussion among employers, employees, and self-employed craftsmen.

White Stain for Cabinets
Subtly revealing but solidly white - this is the stain effect a client requests for her new kitchen. Learn how to achieve a nice white without obscuring the wood's grain at:

Backyard Shop Ideas
Building your first real shop in your backyard... Prudent, or foolish? Shop owners who have been there and done that argue their points...

Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods
This Forest Products Laboratory publication provides authoritative kiln schedules for 500 different domestic and foreign wood species.

Creating a Spiral Staircase Handrail
Here's a fully illustrated, step-by-step how-to on laying out and assembling handrails for spiral stairs.

Creating a Spiral Staircase Handrail
Here's a fully illustrated, step-by-step how-to on laying out and assembling handrails for spiral stairs.

The Kiss II System
The name says it all... "The KISS II System: A Simplified Approach to Building Cabinets Using the 32mm System" is just that. This 22-page PDF from Joel Ketner serves as a starting point for designing your own variation on frameless cabinetry.

Carpenter Bee Facts
Carpenter bees ... regardless of whether you're intrigued or infuriated by their destructive ways, you're likely curious about these powerful little wood-borers. Learn about their lives.

Profit-Sharing and Incentive Pay
A profit sharing or incentive pay program may be designed with the best intentions, for employee and employer both. This article addresses the possible outcomes of such a system, both positive and negative.

Business Basics for a Timber Sale
Structuring a deal to cut and mill a landowner's timber can be difficult, especially with a particularly large amount of valuable wood. This article discusses how to structure such transactions to be fair for both parties.

Improving Rough Mill Yield at the Moulder
Though the percentage of material lost during moulder production may seem small, these numbers actually figure significantly in overall yield and cost. This article from the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Kentucky may help you improve your rough mill yield.

Creating a High-Traffic Wood-Shop Website
If you think your business is missing out on the benefits of the technology trend, it may be time to pump up your web site's traffic. Learn about improving your search engine ranking.

Baseboard-to-Stairs Trim Transition
In this five-star article, a few takes on how to resolve the baseboard around a staircase are presented, along with photos of a complex crown moulding job.

Understanding Log Scales and Log Rules
The title of this article says it all. This 8-page PDF publication from the Agricultural Extension Service gives a solid lesson in scaling practices.

Hidden-Pivot Bookcase Door
That handsomely built bookcase, built by our technical advisor Gary Katz, is more than it appears. See how crafty construction hides the door in this design. Excellent images and step-by-step instructions are included.

Chatoyance
If you'd like to put a little dazzle into that dining room table, read on to learn all about "chatoyance," and how to achieve this beautiful light-changing effect in your finishing.

Adding Floor Space Versus Re-Designing Workflow
The opportunity seems like a good one: a large shop that can be leased at a low cost, a promising potential client base, and steady production. But before this owner considers growth, should he inspect his shop's efficiency more closely?

Installing Cabinets: Uppers or Lowers First?
Attention cabinet installers: should uppers or lowers go in first? Opinions fly across the countertop!

Kiln Drying Large Timbers
In this discussion on kiln drying large timbers, Wood Doc Gene Wengert sums up the debate with a final sentence: "So, the question is, are you in business to dry wood or make money?"

Vacuum Veneered Drawer Faces
A five-star tutorial on vacuum veneering drawer faces has just been added to the Knowledge Base. You'll find step-by-step instructions and excellent photographs here.

Employee Overpayment Snafu
The office manager appears in your office in tears: she's been mishandling the payroll for five years, and only just discovered her mistakes. Should any action be taken after her gross overpayments?

Finger Versus Tablesaw
The title says it all. Which do you think won?

Working Exclusively for One Client
You've been asked to work exclusively for one client. Do the risks of putting all your eggs in one basket outweigh a steady supply of predictable jobs?

Small Auxiliary Dust Collection Solutions
Turning on your high-powered, central dust collection system just to make one cut with the miter saw probably seems like a huge waste of energy. This article discusses dust sucking solutions for those small but frequently used pieces of machinery.

Dealing with a Deadbeat Client
A promising job turns into a no-pay nightmare... unfortunate, but all too common. Whether you've been burned in the past or just want to protect yourself in the future, this article on "Dealing with a Deadbeat Client" will be of interest.

Ready for Takeoff
The sales pitch is simple: automation will increase your productivity, and therefore your profit. But is it really appropriate for your small shop? Read this reprint from Modern Woodworking Magazine to learn about some of the variables you should consider.

Dressing for Success
Bet you didn't think you'd find an article about dressing in style at WOODWEB. This piece is all about looking good - but we're talking Carhartt here, not Cartier. The question on the minds of many woodworkers who must sell their own jobs? How to impress with the proper dress.

Planning Guide for Small and Medium Size Wood Products Companies
This guide provides steps on preparing strategic, marketing, operating, financial, organizational and business plans. This publication is authored by WOODWEB's Value Added Wood Products Forum Technical Advisor Steve Bratkovich, along with Jeff Howe.

Showing Off Some Curly Maple
A very proud sawyer shows off a massive maple log here... and the spectacular figured lumber that he cut from it.

Bevel Cuts for Slope-Sided Boxes
This article was sparked by a request for help with some complex, slope-sided boxes. There are drawings and formulas, along with detailed explanations, to help you calculate the cuts needed.

Employee Bonus Strategy
After an excellent run of efficient production and increased profits, how do you show your hard-working crew some appreciation? A scheduled bonus plan might sound like a good idea at first, but some say spontaneity is better for morale...

Green Cabinetry
As environmental awareness grows, clients are increasingly interested in commissioning ''green'' cabinetry. This article discusses incorporating eco-friendly products into construction, and includes an image of a very slick, contemporary kitchen built of bamboo.

Selecting the Right CAM System
David Hayden, owner of CAD/CAM for the Home and Small Shop, wrote this excellent rundown of how to choose a CAM system. From a list of questions to ask yourself, to points on selecting by price, programmer preference, and brand name, this article is thorough and objective.

Liability for Breakage
When a little prep work for a new kitchen island causes glass and crystal to come crashing down, the customer wants to lay blame on the contractor. Is someone really at fault, or should the unfortunate consequences simply be accepted with grace?

Eyewitness: Injury
Ever take your fingers for granted? If so, read ''Eyewitness: Injury'' to remind yourself that power tools can be blood-thirsty, and it always pays to play it safe while you're working.

Advertising Signs on Your Vehicle
The decision to have your company's name painted on the side of your truck might sound like a simple one, but the considerations involved are numerous... From what fonts and colors to use to the persona you'll be projecting. Careful thought is critical.

Pros and Cons of Sawing Your Own
How many cabinetmakers have considered processing their own materials? While some claim that sawing and drying your own lumber would be a wise way to expand the business, others say it's only a draining distraction to what goes on in the wood shop...

Stupid Woodworker Tricks
These stories will make you chuckle... and cringe. Most of all, you'll be glad the main character isn't you. Enjoy these accounts of accidental agony.

Drying and Control of Moisture Content and Dimensional Changes
Correct drying, handling, and storage of wood will minimize moisture content changes that might occur after drying when the wood is in service and such changes are undesirable. This Forest Products Laboratory publication covers this topic in depth.

Method for estimating air-drying times of lumber
This paper from the Forest Products Laboratory describes a method for estimating air-drying times for specific locations by optimizing a drying simulation using existing experimental air-drying times for northern red oak, sugar maple, American beech, yellow-poplar, ponderosa pine, and Douglas-fir.

Clamp Cart
Is your collection of pipe clamps a jumbled heap of bruises and pinched fingers waiting to happen? Or maybe just a hefty pile of poundage, begging to produce a backache? If so, it's time to craft yourself a handy clamp cart.

Best Ways to Advertise
It's true - some of the best ads in life are free. Word of mouth can play an important role in a woodworker's livelihood. But when your business decides to invest dollars in an effort to increase exposure, which path should you take? Spend a few bucks, or a few grand? Put it on paper, or present yourself in living color?

Estimating Start-up Costs
A thousand questions come into play when beginning a business, particularly how to handle the finances. Is it possible to determine how much one will lose (or make) in the first year? And just what information is it prudent to show the loan officer?

Strange Stories From the Sawmill - Part 2
Here's part 2 of a classic WOODWEB article, where forum participants share tales of the weirdest (and most destructive) things they've encountered with a bandmill blade.

Custom Cutting Tally Sheet and Contract
Want an easy tip on how to simplify the business aspects of your sawmilling? Download or print out this sheet from Wood-Mizer. You'll find a straightforward system for keeping track of the lumber you mill, and an easy-to-understand sample agreement which spells out the deal you arrange with your customer.

Six Sigma Strikes
If you haven't already encountered Six Sigma, it may not be long before you do... This system for improving business processes is showing up more and more in the woodworking world. When a client demands profit information that makes you uneasy - all in the name of Six Sigma - whose best interests do they really have in mind?

Cost of Estimates
No one but you appreciates just how precious your time is. It can be discouraging to spend time and effort on estimates for jobs that may or may not come to fruition. Will charging the prospective client for your time spent solve your dissatisfaction, or is there a more customer-friendly way to recoup your cost?

Outfeed Table Plan
This article on building an outfeed table with under-mounted router is well illustrated with photos from a few different shops. Discover the designs that other pros have conceived.

Copyright Issues and Architectural Drawings
A general contractor hands you a set of project drawings to bid on, but the drawings were copied, and don't have the proper copyright stamp. Does this present an ethical - or even legal - problem? If these drawings are protected by copyright law, what does this mean when you decide to bid

Photographing Your Work - Professional Versus Amateur
Do your best looking jobs deserve professional documentation? This thread focuses on hiring a photographer to prepare the contents of your portfolio. Whether you're tempted to do it yourself, or are considering the added cost of hiring a pro, you'll find relevant information here.

Photographing Kitchens Professionally
If you have any interest in job portfolio photography, check out this article, which focuses on taking pro shots yourself. Zoom in to learn about the tools and techniques you'll need to document your best work.

Sample Subcontractor Agreement
Have you ever had a disagreement with one of your subcontractors? This piece from John Michael Hivatal of JMHsoftware explains why a contract is so important in your relationships with the trades people you hire. Included is a sample Subcontractor Agreement, which you can download and alter to suit your needs.

Toekick Drawers
There's more to this kitchen than might appear at first glance. The secret is in the toekicks, which open up to reveal a little extra, easy-access storage space.

Cleaning Glue out of Edgebander
Cleaning stubbornly stuck (and very crusty) glue out of an edgebander can be a daunting task. This article includes details on how owners have emptied out their equipment, with step-by-step photos to go along.

Cost of an Employee
When it comes to adding an employee to a growing business, cost is a major issue. With insurance and other concerns, what does this expansion mean, in dollars and cents?

Radius Cabinet Job - Project Review
A very thorough and fully-illustrated account - from fabrication to installation - of Jim Chestnut's most challenging cabinet job ever. Learn about the creation of a beautiful roomful of cherry cabinets, complete with raised-panel, rounded corner cabs.

Spreadsheet Calculation Program
Paul Huntington's original Spreadsheet Calculation Program (for curves, angles, compound miters and springback), upgraded by Carl Stammerjohn to include enhanced springback funtionality. Free downloadable program(s) in both Excel and MS Works, including illustrations that support the formulas.

Drying Hardwood Lumber
Forest Service publication focusing on common methods for drying lumber of different thickness, with minimal drying defects, for high quality applications.

Dry Kiln Operator's Manual
Forest Service publication describing both the basic and practical aspects of kiln drying lumber.

Utilizing Municipal Trees -- Ideas from Across the Country
How municipal tree removals are being utilized for traditional wood products. Written by Forest Products Specialist Stephen Bratkovich, who also serves as technical advisor at WOODWEB's Value Added Wood Processing Forum.

Set-ups for spraying cabinet doors
Methods for clean and efficient finishing. Includes photos.

Milling Large Logs
Techniques for sizing down logs too large for the mill. Sawyers share photos of some real monsters.

Aching Glue Joints
Diagnoses and cures for a variety of problems related to the gluing up of panels in solid lumber.

Clickable Tree Species Map
Locate tree species by hardiness zone, state or province.

Vacuum application FAQ
All aspects of vacuum and how it is used by the woodworker.

Blind woodworker's story
A blind cabinetmaker tells the story of his education and career in woodworking.

Gluing Door Veneer
Systems for gluing hardwood veneer to stave-core stile and rail doors. Illustrated.

Strange stories from the sawmill
Sawyers trade tales of unusual objects discovered in wood during processing.

Crown Moulding along cathedral ceilings
Drawings and details on how to deal with crown mouldings on cathedral ceilings and outside corners.

Solar Heated, Lumber Dry Kiln Designs
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
An in-depth, illustrated article by Gene Wengert and Luiz Carlos Oliveira.

How I cut a 5-sided beam
Fully illustrated details.

Home Made Trailer and Crane
Fully illustrated description of a home-built log trailer and crane.

How to move logs
Creative and practical ways of loading, unloading and transporting logs. Illustrated.

Face frame versus frameless
An innocent question invites a deluge of information and pictures on a popular subject.