Work Smart -- Half Rounds & Portable Table

I've learned a lot of smart tips while working at Robert Ortiz Studios - http://www.ortizstudios.com/ - and lots of them are just as valuable for crafts and DIY projects as they are to the professional woodworker. 

Tip #1 ---   Half Rounds ---Once you see how smart it is to use 'half rounds' you will wonder how you ever got along without them.  Half rounds can be described as a wooden dowel literally cut in half! Use them to lift your project off the work table - which provides just enough space so you can reach the sides and ends neatly.   I suggest you have at least 4 - maybe 6 - half rounds.... ask your hardware store to cut them 24-30 inches long.   A sturdy mailing tube is a great way to store them - you can even store your yardsticks and levels in the same place.

Here half rounds are shown with the flat side up --

but you actually use them with the flat side down....

This bubinga top is lifted so I can easily reach the sides and ends..

Tip #2 -- Portable Work Table -- Don't have a work table?  No worries - for about $50 or less you can easily assemble a portable work table.  Invest in two folding saw horses and half a sheet of plywood (2'x4').  You can set up this table in minutes wherever it's needed, and then store it away without taking up valuable floor space.  Add a pretty table cloth and you also have an extra buffet table..  and who doesn't need an extra table sometimes?