In no particular order, and with no guarantees, a series of tips and tricks that might make your work easier.
Applying Veneer: A very good way of applying veneer to a flat surface is to use yellow glue and a household iron. Thin the glue with a little bit of water to brushing consistency, and brush a coat on the back of the veneer and on the surface you want to put it on. Allow the glue to dry well. Now take a regular household iron and set it to maximum heat (usually this is the 'linen' setting). Position the veneer and set the iron on it with a little pressure for about 3 seconds. Lift the iron to a new location and repeat. Keep doing this 'til you've 'ironed' the entire surface. Examine the surface for bubbles and lifting edges, and re-iron if needed. As always a little practice beforehand will let you perfect your technique.
A Handy Thing To Have: Something I find useful in a lot of situations is just a piece of 1X2 stock about a foot long, with some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper glued to it. Its handy for knocking off glue dollops, 'erasing' pencil marks, knocking off the fuzzies from saw cuts, etc. You'll find yourself reaching for it a lot.
Filling Nail Holes: Use a crayon! Yes. Melt it into the hole, cut it smooth with a scraper and apply your finish. If using lacquer, put a spot of shellac over the wax first else the lacquer will do bad things to it. To get a color match, melt and mix the wax from different crayons. (dm44[Mark], #woodworking)
Sticky Miter Gauge: The face of most miter gauges is too slick and will allow your stock to 'creep', particularly if you're cutting at an angle. To make it much easier to keep your stock tight and in one place, line the face of the gauge with 600 or 800 grit silicon carbide paper. I use 3M "77" brand contact adhesive, sprayed just on the back side of the paper. This will make it stick to the gauge, yet it's easy to peel of should you need to. I've had the same piece of paper on my gauge for several years now (Unknown)
Cleaning Sanding Belts: Any DIY guy will eventually collect up one or more tubes of dried silicon caulking. Cut the paper from it and use it to clean the belts on your sander(s). Same as those commercial belt cleaners you can buy, but the price is much better. Dried latex caulk might work too but that's untried at this writing. (Apocylyptic][ce{Traves} #woodworking)
Avoid Nails Splitting Your Stock: A sharp nail will wedge itself between the wood fibers and can cause splitting. Dull the point, and now the nail will crush thru the fibers with no splitting. (Apocylyptic][ce{Traves} #woodworking)
Make A Holder For Your Scraper: Scrapers can get uncomfortably hot and can put a real strain on your fingers. Check this link for a holder that's quick and easy to make and alleviates the problems. http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip050500sn.html (dm44[Mark]
Got A Good Tip? : /msg it to Tuffie or LimaPapa on #woodworking [DALnet] or email it to TheBoss@ridgeworks.com