We Sold The Box

We Sold The Box

Some of you will have noticed that we offered one of my boxes for sale on eBay and that the money raised, £640, went to support the work at a local preschool my granddaughter attended for two years before starting primary school. We were glad to be able to do this and decided to do…

It Was Just a Dream . . .

It Was Just a Dream . . .

. . . Or Was It a Vision The day was just about starting with the usual hint of the bright sunshine Texas is known for. I’d loaded the U-Haul box trailer with my display panels and furniture pieces to drive to the small town called Mesquite, Texas the night before. Mesquite’s only fifteen miles…

Crispness

Crispness

Crispness comes in things we least expect––and then too, as if to surprise us the more, at times we least expect. There comes a sharpness to what we do that defies our ability to encapsulate what we feel yet undeniably it came from our own imperfect hands, causes us to stop, to hold our breath…

Own it or Make it!

Own it or Make it!

This box is my latest offering in box design. I was very pleased with the outcome and decided we should video its making for others to make. I cannot recall the timing of things but in the way of how all things often come together, my family wanted to contribute something in support of my…

Choosing a Wood

Choosing a Wood

How often we see figured grain and say how pretty that looks (and it does), imagine exposing such beauty and such wood to enhance a piece like the neck of a spoon, a ladle’s bowl. Why choose so for the back of a cello and a violin, its neck and scroll and more in the…

Is Woodworking Self-care :-)?

Is Woodworking Self-care :-)?

Well, of course, it is! It seems that all things extra in life now carry the added titles of well-being, mental health care, and quality of life together with two dozen others. Often this state of well-being breaks down into something encapsulated as physical wellbeing it’s really a relatively new term identifying what has always…

This Wooden Plane . . .

This Wooden Plane . . .

. . . .cuts grooves fast and accurately. But it does a lot more if you want it to. I think we might have undervalued the wooden plane but even more so the men that used them for centuries before we abandoned them almost altogether. It’s the lightness of them that we really lost but…

Would the Router . . .

Would the Router . . .

. . . by any other name be as sweet? Mention router to anyone and the mind immediately conjures up thoughts of a screaming, two-handed hand-held machine in Bosch turquoise, Dewalt yellow or Festool bright green and black. Additionally, that is with you the machinist wearing protective headgear like a gladiator ready to do battle….

Ten Years Ago

Ten Years Ago

Looking back through my archives I found this piece I designed, made and videoed for Woodworking Masterclasses. I wanted a piece that could be made from store-bought one-bys but that would enable me to teach a variety of things surrounding housing dadoes by hand. It was a great project. Ever since I began teaching other…

The House Update Video

We created a video covering the progress on the Sellers’ home up to the end of 2023, to show what we have achieved over the last three years making two dozen and more sizeable pieces primarily using commonly available hand tools and a bandsaw for resizing stock. When everyone says it can’t really be done…