Seven Woodworking TikTok Tips That Really Work

TikTok has a corner for every person and interest, including woodworking, but it can be hard to know what to trust. Some alleged TikTok woodworking “hacks” will leave you scratching your head, especially when the shortcut is harder than the original task or the video is poorly filmed to the point of being confusing, if not misleading. To save you the effort, I’ve tested the following seven TikTok woodworking tips and I guarantee they really work: they’re useful, time-saving tricks to help you improve your skills and complete your projects faster.

Use magnets to properly place the screws in the frame

When you’re assembling something with a frame and a top or face, such as a shelving unit, lining up the screws inside the frame when attaching the pieces can be tricky. You should take your time marking and measuring, and it’s easy to skip a few and make holes where you don’t need them. This carpenter uses strong magnets—one on the side of the frame and one on the front side—to easily find the right place to insert a screw without the need for marking or measuring. This is a definite time saver.

Use masking tape to cut down on putty and sanding.

Even with a nailer, you’re left with nail holes that need to be filled and sanded if you don’t want them to be visible. But use a strip of masking tape before firing the nail gun and you can quickly fill in the remaining holes. Simply insert some wood filler into the holes and then when it dries, peel off the tape. No spatulas or sanding required, and nail holes will virtually disappear when you use the hack from this video .

Make cleaner cuts by using a binder clip to secure the wood

Use a binder clip to hold the ends of the board together when you cut with your circular saw. You can place it after you start cutting; this gives you more stability as you walk and helps keep the trims close to the side you’re using. Using this hack will allow you to make better cuts in less time, so it’s definitely worth it, although it won’t work for thicker boards unless you have really massive binding clips.

Mark the corner on the molding without resorting to math.

Anyone involved in woodworking knows that eventually you will have to use math. However, when you have a casting cut to size, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to resort to geometry and fractions. Most walls aren’t really square, so a joint that looks like a right angle could actually be a 46/44 joint or some other really close combination. To correctly mark the stucco without the math, the video shows you how to mark it on the wall – no more guesswork or calculations.

Make a sandpaper dispenser

Anyone who has loaded an orbital sander a few times knows how hard it is to align paper with dust collection holes. If you don’t align it correctly, the paper will clog and wear out faster, slowing you down. This video demonstrates a simple grinding wheel dispenser with a pin system that ensures the paper is perfectly aligned every time.

Bending wood with a simple technique

If you’ve ever wondered how carpenters bend boards for furniture, check out this video that demonstrates a simple bending method known as flexing. The thicker the material, the wider the cut you will need to make in order for it to bend, but for thinner materials, this hack is indispensable.

All the ways to use your combo square

You may have thought that your combination square was only good for marking right angles and perhaps for leveling small objects. But this little tool can do a lot more, including searching and marking depth. Definitely worth using the techniques in this video for your next project.