In preparing for the house full of furniture I found myself reflecting on all of the pieces I’ve made over the years both to sell on the one hand and then to teach others. Woodworking masterclasses has been a dream come true because when I was teaching my classes more one on one I was…

I think that maybe the hardest part is the start. The start is believing in yourself that you can in fact actually do this; especially is this so if you’ve never made a piece of furniture or woodwork in your life before. That unbelief is compounded by the additional unbelief that somebody will actually pay…

I’ve used a wide range of so called Danish oil products made by different manufacturers. The one thing they all have in common is the Danes had nothing to do with it. There is no such thing as Danish oil as an oil, and there is no recipe that constitutes Danish oil. If I took…

My plane skims the surface of quarter-sawn oak and I feel the corduroy corrugation I want to telegraph from its inner fibres through to the finished surface the work justifies. Undulations follow the long and wide cells in emanating rays intrinsic to oak in the uniqueness of oaks structure and colouring. Other woods have beauty,…

I had to stop working on my project after my prototype was completed and half way through the real one because we had work being done on the building and the noise levels would have sounded like a violent horror movie. It’s funny that I enjoyed making both, even though there is no difference between…

When people say that machines are faster and more economical time wise, things like that, that’s because mostly they are, but that’s only true in the hands of the unskilled or inexperienced woodworkers. Many of my daily tasks, bevelling the ends of legs, planing a drawer side, making a dovetailed drawer and such, are exponentially…

I live about four hundred yards from work. I cycle five miles to get there each day. That’s the distance of the circuitous route I take through the countryside, woodlands and fields, cycle paths and mud tracks to get there. I cycle again at lunchtime and often too in the evening but then that’s if…

Some people have asked why I don’t always use the hand router plane to surface my tenons to perfection after sawing or paring. It’s a good question and soon everyone will ask everyone one else why they don’t, taking it for granted that everyone does it that way. Well, it won’t be any different than…

The Q&A’s on hand tools is popular and the video we did on sharpening the blades for router planes to keep it square and perfectly parallel to the sole and the surface of what you are routing is also proving popular. You can submit your questions for me to answer in a video at my…

…”Have you made your dovetail template yet?” No, I replied. Do I need one if I’m using yours? It was a genuine question, not intended to be cheeky at all. You’re not using mine any more after today.” He dropped a short piece of mahogany my side of the bench and told me to copy…