I’m standing beneath a giant skeleton of a dinosaur staring from its immense framework at another less dominant presence made by a man’s hands some decades past and respecting his design skills in the form of what appears at first glance to be a simple oak bench seat. Though I may not be speechless, as …
In discussing accuracy, I can’t help myself but to continue pointing out the two distinct differences between handwork and machine work simply because many see machine work as the more progressive and advanced way and handwork as primitively backwards and retro-thinking. My skills with handwork are highly developed, I know that, but many think that …
I sharpened up my sensitivity and discovered that accuracy is always tolerable by degrees. How can this be? I asked myself this question as I walked towards the sharpening plates for the fourth time with the three plane irons I’d been using all morning for about four hours. “Well,” I said to myself, “the more …
Gauging Gauges Another consideration from my workbench musings. In the pandemics dogging the world, working wood and being creative has become even more than ever the safer place to be. My small garage space, 18 square meters, is, to me, my certainty of greater sanity levels. It’s here, mostly, where I feel that I continue …
As you grow older you perhaps consider doing what you are used to to be a better thing and might not experience by experimenting because, well, you might over-stretch your comfort zone to the point of extending yourself too far. The root of the word extension is to ‘stretch out‘, and we don’t necessarily find …
I thought it might help if I posted some life-at-the-bench practicalities for you. Much of the information on hand tools is available in my book, Essential Woodworking Hand Tools, but I can expand on some things a littler more with my reasoning here too. Also, go to commonwoodworking.com if you are new to or relatively …
I’ve been a maker all of my life. From age fifteen, I’ve made and sold everything I’ve ever made except the things intended for my home and my family and friends. That’s over five decades and some thousands of pieces large and small. I don’t sell now although I could but I don’t know if …
I have written on the illusion of perfection before now. How in some fields perfection is a number, a calculation; it follows that in some fields an outcome can indeed seem to be perfect, or at least it might seem perfect at the time and then for a period too. The Swedish inventor of a …
Last week I worked on a how-to booklet written and unpublished from a decade and a half ago. Reworking the work took me back to those days when I began to use my first digital camera two decades back now. Digitals irreversibly changed the dimension of photography, but in the beginning, a camera now costing …
In my world, the real and true power in woodworking is in hand tools. Simplistic? Not at all. I deal with one of the two key realms that have gradually evolved in the world of woodworking. I am not interested in the so-called professional realm. Amateur woodworking is of primary importance to me because it …
on Pockets that Surprise UsYou have solved one problem in your career - bringing others into hand tool woodworking & making them into craftsman. In this post you are venturing into another area - probabl…
on Pockets that Surprise UsEchoed my sentiments. I had wondered where Paul had gone!
on I’m SharpThank you, I needed to be reminded of this today. I am stoked to have your response! -Christopher
on Pockets that Surprise UsAh! Paul. I'm extraordinarily gratified that you took a jaunt stateside for a respite! I was afraid the ethereal masters of our communications had struck down my account! At our sh…
on Pockets that Surprise UsGlad to see you made your way home for a while. I know the UK is your pave of birth and where you reside. But, Texas gets in your blood, don't it? I guess I'm a little biased, but…
on Pockets that Surprise UsWe have all missed you. You are the voice of sanity.
on Pockets that Surprise UsI have been looking everyday to see if there was a new blog or Instagram post. Enjoy your well earned vacation. When visiting monuments I also look at furniture (since a few years…