Induced plane chatter is a difficult task that even accomplished woodworkers cannot achieve no matter how hard they try yet novice woodworkers seem to somehow do it without even trying. Doesn’t that tell you something about this mysterious myth? If what I say is the case, that even experts have difficulty inducing plane chatter, why…

Saw chock sizes For those who sought the sizes for the saw chocks I posted of, here they are. Seems straightforward to make, though the hardware is not standard. A bolt and wrench would work well as would a rod welded to the bolt. Anyway, you can see there are but two 5/16” M&T joints…

Secondhand tools still prove best value for money. Whereas you may prefer to buy new woodworking tools, secondhand tools are still the best way to go, especially if you know how to restore them for use, which is mostly elbow grease and sharpening skills. Last week at the Woodfest Show in St Asaph I found…

Rain set in for the day and the wind drove it hard in every direction. In the castle it makes little difference to us as we work—the walls are three feet thick and solid stone. Nick Gibbs, the editor of two magazines, Living Woods and British Woodworker, came by for a visit yesterday and we…

NOTE:Just so you know, this is an older workbench series. Paul has a newer Workbench series. If you are interested in the updated version of Paul’s workbench please click the button down below. This page links to a cutting list, tools list, FAQS and much more. Click here to go to the workbench page This…

Today’s work meant chopping mortise holes, eight of them, for a table we are making in oak. It doesn’t take me but five minutes per hole to chop a 3/8” by 1 ¼” deep mortise 3” long, but it took us most of the day. Why is that? Well, here’s the reason: Chopping mortise holes…