…Me in Good Stead It was a sad day for all The day George left the workshop was filled with much well-wishing but it was a sad day and especially so for me. Until now we had both ridden our bikes out of the yard and on up the cobbled streets to see who gave…

I have probably owned or used just about every type of plane and saw produced, be they the lowest of the low end and the highest of the high end and then those in between. That’s not altogether true, but I have used a lot. One of the nicest planes I ever used to plane…

Going South Over the past few months I have been looking at vintage pillar drills (or they could be called drill presses too if you live in the States.) I didn’t know too much about them in the beginning but my knowledge grew as I investigated. The difference between the models is fairly significant as…

My day unfolds without a plan some days, but I embrace the steps as each one obviates the course I’m taking. Today I cut wood for the dovetail tester box I promised and I was happy that from it’s rough state it planed out so well with a jack and smoother. Sharpening up takes but…

It’s the number one fear for most woodworkers, a little agitated skip from foot to foot as you toss the rag from hand to hand. I understand this. Mostly it’s because it’s an area of work that is indeed the least predictable for a guaranteed outcome and especially if your read up on the subject…

My reason for revisiting the issue of shaping wood by hand is this: I think that it is very likely that people in general cannot spend a £120 on a rasp to make a project like say a spoon that they do not know if they will like producing more of into the future. We’ve…

I walk every evening after supper for about an hour or so, so three or four miles works well for me. This happens no matter the weather, but a storm might stop me once in a while or at least shorten the distance by a mile. I don’t watch the TV much once every three…

It’s more a vernacular bookcase really. Something locally designed and built to last at a fair price without going cheap in any way. The thing is it is self-assembly, solid wood, manually, mentally and emotionally demanding/stimulating, but all in the most positive doable thing to do which is more than I can say for the…

I did! It was a review on some chisels a person bought. The commenter said it took her or him four hours to flatten the back of a chisel on a diamond sharpening plate. I thought to myself, ‘Is that really true or even possible? Can fine-grained, chrome manganese steel hardened to 59HRC be so…

There is no substitute for practice before and in the process of actually cutting dovetails. Occasionally someone gets it straight off but mostly not. The exercises early on improve your chances of success and aiming for the bullseye of a good result is definitely a question of ‘getting your eye in’ before the real work…