Saw handles revisited

Saw handles revisited

This is how the handle was from the maker in the 50’s. Watch what happens. See my slightly earlier post on saw handles previously.   Well, saw handles are more than just grips on a pair of dumbbells. I have owned many saws with handles made from strange substances ranging from crushed pecan shells cast in…

Colour at work

Colour at work

Just really quick and short. Thought you might like to see what i saw this week. I imagine you in New York City or Singapore. You may never have seen the leaves turn red on Penrhyn Castle walls where I have my workshop…   …or a fly atop a thistle overlooking the sea below.

Why we work with hand tools

Why we work with hand tools

The left hand never denies the right. They are a true team. Though one’s strength is greater than the other, neither can live without the other. The two have strengths. One is strong and muscular, can wield the hammer and push the saw and plane with great skill and power, but the other has no such…

Gramercy frame saw kit

Gramercy frame saw kit

I have neglected bringing this tool to the forefront. Some years ago Joel of Tools for Working Wood (www.toolsforworkingwood.com) came out with a very special kit named under his brand name Gramercy the Gramercy 12″ Bow Saw Kit. It is an incredible kit and once you’ve made the saw you’ll find it works so beautifully…

Investing in future woodworkers

Investing in future woodworkers

Compelled to make a difference For years I have seen woodworkers struggle to make their way in woodworking from home workshops. They set themselves up with machines bought with borrowed money from relatives or the bank and then face the payback. Advice on how to mass-make their products, speed up operations, micro-manage time streams in…

Tool V Machine

Tool V Machine

I work with wood most days. Much of my work is with tools. I don’t mean machines. Americans in general call machines tools. It’s what gets the job done. The term has spilled over into other countries now and so the word needs redefining or reasserting. It’s dispiriting to call machines tools because the machine…

Diamonds

Diamonds

Working cutting splitting hard     wood    dense riven   legs   carved   seat shaved shaped wooden chair  complete   rest

Personal training

Personal training

Perseverance produces endurance it’s said. Practice makes perfect say’s another. Another, a cello teacher, says practice makes permanent. But he says this only when his student begins to practice bad habits in playing.   We all need practice to establish skill yet our culture of immediate self gratification denies the weightiness of practice somehow believing they…