• Home
  • About
    • Personal Posts
  • Privacy
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Checkout
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Sawdust Girl®

Sawdust Girl®

Renovation, cabinet building and woodworking plans and tutorials. Build like a Girl®

  • My Home
    • Clinton TN House
      • Clinton TN House in Progress
    • Maryville TN House
      • Maryville TN House Tour – Completed Rooms
      • Maryville TN House in Progress
        • Basement
        • Basement Storage Closet
        • Bedroom Office
        • Craft Room
        • Dining Room
        • Entry
        • Garage
        • Guest Bedroom
        • Hallway
        • Jack and Jill Bathroom
        • Kitchen
        • Kitchen Entry
        • Laundry Room
        • Library
        • Living Room
        • Loft
        • Madison’s Room
        • Master Bedroom
        • Master Closet
        • Pantry
        • Porch
        • Powder Room
        • Wes’ Office
    • Illinois House
    • Calderwood Cottage
  • My Workshop
    • Clinton Workshop
  • Build & Breakfast
  • Cabinet Making 101
    • Cabinets
    • Doors
    • Drawers
  • Projects and Plans
    • Countertops
    • Beds
    • Benches
    • Bookshelves
    • Desks
    • Gift Ideas
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
      • Halloween
    • Home Accessories
    • Kids
    • Kitchen Cabinets
    • Lockers
    • Nightstands
    • Organization accessories
    • Recipes
    • Sewing
    • Tables
    • Vanities
    • Wardrobes
    • Woodworking
      • Wood Finishing
    • Workshop
    • Workshop Storage and Organization
  • Remodeling 101
    • Baseboard and Trim
    • crown molding
    • Demolition
    • Door and Window Casings
    • Door Installation
    • Drywall
    • Electrical work
    • Flooring
    • Home Maintenance
    • Painting
    • Plumbing
    • Resources
    • Safety
    • Tile
    • Wall and Ceiling Treatments
  • Sawdust Squad
  • The Sawdust Diaries
    • Andrea
    • Ava D.
    • Beckie F.
    • Cara C.
    • Courtney B
    • Fawn T.
    • Jenn D.
    • Kelly C.
    • Kristy K.
    • Lara T.
    • Malisa B.
    • Marnie D.
    • Robin C.
    • Val F.
  • Tools
    • Products
    • Tool Reviews & Overviews
    • Inspiration & Ideas

Best Carpentry Gadgets

All Posts, Cabinet Making 101, Cabinets, Products, Tool Reviews and Overviews

These must have carpentry gadgets are a great addition to the power tools I use on a regular basis.  I covered those in my Power Tools for the New Carpenter post. There are a few other tools and gadgets I use when building cabinets and built-ins that help me get professional results.  If you are a new carpenter and want to have everything on hand for that next project, these are some items I would consider getting ahead of time.

Must-have Carpentry Gadgets

Carpentry Gadgets

Porter-Cable pocket hole jig.  This jig is awesome carpentry gadget!  You don’t have to ever have to change the collar on the drill bit when you change material thickness.  There is just a quick twist of a knob to adjust for material thickness and you’re good to go.  I have a post, showing how it works so check it out here.

Porter-Cable 560 pocket hole jig

Kreg Jig Jr. pocket hole jig.  This is a good little pocket hole jig for times when you need to drill a pocket hole on a large piece of material or a cabinet that’s already put together and you can’t use the larger jig.

Gadgets for new carpenterWith that you’ll need a face clamp

gadgets for the new carpenter

Square check  for tape measure. Squaring up your cabinet “box” is VERY important!  This keeps the tape measure in exactly the same spot on each corner and keeps it from sliding off.  I do have some trouble with the entire square check falling off when working alone but if you have a helper, they can hold it in place easily.  If you work alone, you put it back in place 3 times, swear a couple times and somehow get it done.  Still, this little $3 tool makes the process as easy as possible.

EZ Mark Line Cords   For when I staple the back onto my cabinet.  It saves some time so I don’t have to measure and mark where all my shelves are.  Just line up the cords with the shelves and staple below (or above, depending on how you place your cord.)

Assembly square  I have many of these.  I clamp them on my cabinets while I secure the shelf to the side.  It makes sure everything is going together square.

Gadgets for new carpenter

These Clamp-It, corner clamping jigs pair with the assembly square and are awesome for holding cabinet parts square.  I use these on the floor and they hold the cabinet parts up as well as holding them square.  These have been a Game Changer!

I use these Bessey Corner Clamps to hold the top of the cabinet parts square while I secure them.

Squares come in different sizes and different prices.  This square has a lip on one edge so it sits on the edge of the wood you are marking and ensure that you have a square mark every time.  You can use it for marking  and for cutting. Some inexpensive squares can be dead on but it is important to note that not all squares are square — check yours to make sure it is square before using it.

You can get pick up a decent, inexpensive square at the hardware store or home improvement store.  But you’ll only know if it’s actually square if you check it so I’d take a pencil and scrap of wood with you when you pick one out.Gadgets for new carpenter

Or you can buy one that is guaranteed to be square.  This Woodpecker 12″ precision square costs about $100.  It’s an investment for sure.  It’s accurate to .001-inch, guaranteed for life.  Definitely something you would only need if you’re seriously concerned about precision.

August 3, 2017 · 13 Comments

« Repaired but not fixed — plumbing issues continued
Must Have Remodeling Tools »

Comments

  1. Malisa says

    January 12, 2013 at 5:40 am

    I have three of those items. Maybe I should get some of the others. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Maren says

    January 12, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    I have most of those and find them invaluable. But the EZ mark line cords are new to me. What a handy gadget! Gotta get me one of those!

    Reply
  3. Maren says

    January 12, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    BTW, I’m so glad your blog is back. I’ve missed it.

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      January 13, 2013 at 3:11 am

      Me too. Thanks. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Grant says

    January 12, 2013 at 11:24 pm

    Great list! After reading this I am going to get me some of those assembly squares and a square check.

    PS – what happened to your cabinet making tutorial. I went to pull it up, and it says “page not found.”

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      January 13, 2013 at 3:12 am

      Unfortunately one of them lost all the pics during my “down” time. I’ll try to fix it and get it back up but I unpublished it for now. It’s not much of a tutorial with only half the information. 🙁

      Reply
  5. Anne @ Unique Gifter says

    January 14, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    Drool! I haven’t heard of some of these things and they are SO CHEAP and would have saved SO MUCH headache and heartache. I’m adding them to my amazon basket right now! (ie: ez mark line cords).

    Reply
  6. Feral Turtle says

    January 22, 2013 at 2:27 am

    I put three of them on my wish list! Thanks so much. Cheers.

    Reply
  7. Tanja @ Postmodern Hostess says

    January 24, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    Sandra, thanks for these tool/gadget recommendations! I still use the gloves and ventilator you recommended a few years back, and these are just the recs I was looking for. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Ed "Sawdust Guy" says

    June 19, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    When you want to use the square check by yourself, try a little double-sided tape to hold it on the corner. It’s the next best thing to another set of hands.

    Reply
  9. Nancy Williams says

    June 26, 2013 at 6:08 pm

    Those EZ Mark cords are really cool but the prices on everything have really gone up since you posted this!

    Reply
  10. Darin says

    December 29, 2013 at 10:32 pm

    was looking at those HF corner clamps. do you still find them useful? I’d be looking to use them while pocket-holing shelves and cabinet bases

    Reply
  11. Jake Williams says

    March 29, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    Great info on some very useful tools. Thank you for the info!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

New Post email notification signup

You Subscribed!

Legal Stuff

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Disclosure

Recent Posts

  • March 2023 Lodge Update- Moved in
  • January 2023 Lodge Update
  • Lodge Update – Floors, Cabinets, Countertops, and Appliances
  • Lodge Kitchen Cabinet Progress
  • Halloween Mad Gab – Halloween Party Ideas

Disclaimer:

Although it is my intention to provide accurate plans and clear instructions, not all plans have been tried and tested. Using plans or information found on SawdustGirl.com indicates that you agree with the Terms of Use policy and will accept full responsibility for the process and outcome of any project you attempt. All plans are for private use only. Plans and information published on SawdustGirl.com may not be reproduced, republished or distributed in any manner without written permission from Sandra Powell, Sawdust Girl. Actual projects built using Sawdust Girl plans may be published on your own site without instructions or "tutorial" as long as you provide a link to my original post with full post title or "SawdustGirl.com" as link title.

Copyright © 2023 · anchored theme by <a target="_blank"