I wrote of my stick making days here some three months back and no one should question that making a cane for someone, buying a hand made cane for someone, carries with it a sense of care and love for craftwork that goes beyond what might otherwise be an Asian import of standard equipment for…

Today I designed a new dovetail template I think everyone will like. I designed it six months ago actually but haven’t had the time to make it. It’s fairly radical I think. Different and highly functional. I also looked over the stars ready for the blog and decided to make the same one we recently…

Christmas is very near and sharpening looms high on the agenda for any hand tool enthusiast and real woodworking demands it. This would be a good time to state your needs and perhaps acquire your sharpening plate ready for the New Year and the woodworkingmasterclasses.com training. I have one of these EZE-Lap two sided plates…

Buying tools for Christmas gifts makes gift-buying quick and simple, especially through eBay and online buying. This is the reality of woodworking. The price can be matched to any budget from a few pounds and on into the hundreds. I am glad there are so many Stanley 4s and 4 1/2s on eBay I wanted…

On tools for Christmas Presents Wood is an inexpensive commodity even though we do complain about the prices we pay. It’s cheap in this one way; from a short board of wood and with three tools like those in this blog, you can make several projects ranging from cutting boards to spatulas and walking sticks…

A week or so ago I posted in a three-hand tool gift set as an introduction to woodworking for someone you know and you want to get them started. Here are four projects with three tools in a 30 minute video to watch with the kids and the grandkids that are quick and simple as something to do over…

This past year some things have impressed me. Tools, equipment, books. I used a C.K. Square awl for many years and then they switched maker and the square bit snapped on many of their awls so I had to abandon them. C.K. probably changed to make 10 pence more per awl. I was given a…

I recently blogged about saw handle sizing because many handles since the last World War often became undefined, utilitarian and too big for anything but brutish work. That’s true of most hand tools that are mass made. Some of you responded with suggestions for high-end saws ranging in price between £100 – £200 per saw…

Christmas in the US starts after Thanksgiving Thursday for the busiest shopping day of the year (USA), but for those of us living around the rest of the globe making gifts and decor begins when we find half a day to do it. To give you a heads-up we made this video for Woodworking Masterclasses…

It was Christmas day in the workhouse……so here we are.