Sometimes I do wonder why woodworking as a trade or profession is declining. I wonder whether it could ever return for people who like me knew there corner in their early teens. Some say it was easier for me then than those looking for a way of work today, but few really understand the fight…
I find myself testing the truth of good tools at the bench and know some things get harder to find around the world. Finding good tools should get easier but for some small principalities it seems hard if not impossible. How it is in Malaysia or the Philippines I don’t know but all the more…
The next hands-on nine-day workshop filled straightaway and the next one will begin June 19-27 2015. That’s a Friday start date with no days off throughout the nine days of class. I’ve taught this workshop since I first developed it in the 1990’s. I cannot tell you how many lives it’s changed and continuous to change….
Had I at fifteen been told to make my workbench I know it would have been intensely gratifying. I know too that I could have done it. But waiting a few years and allowing the process of work to change me did something to me. I matured, grew in knowledge and strength. The men had…
There is no doubt Sam has developed skills quickly over the 30 or so days he’s been here. This week he’ll finish making his first workbench and he has his top laminated up, planed, cut to length and ready to go on the completed leg frames. All the time he meets any and all issues…
I’m still surprised to see how little it takes to keep things sharp and uncomplicated. I have always fought against complication in everything I write about and work on and work with. One thing is very very clear to me. Sharpening has been made complicated all the more by a mass of choices. The issue is…
Question: My question is about a Stanley No. 4 plane I just bought on Ebay. I am not sure if I made the right buy. The seller didn’t know when it was from but was guessing 50’s or 60’s. I’ve bought It with what seems to be the original box and manual all of which…
I’ve written my blog these past few years from a unique background lifetime woodworking. I’m more fortunate than most, I chose my future and stuck with it decades before the internet and blogs came to be. I’m glad because I lived the reality of earning my living from hand work. The methods I’ve used are…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sPilT-tlUs&list=UUc3EpWncNq5QL0QhwUNQb7w
I filed scrapers today, preparing for new work this coming week. I generally sharpen four at once because they get hot and I never liked anything but my fingers, thumbs and the heels of my hands on the steel. They get hot on large surfaces like tabletops so with 16 cutting edges to work with…