I slide the drawer open in my workbench. I do it a hundred times a day I’m sure. Once a month something I’m working on or holding in my vise gets in the way and stops me opening it. Once in 2,400 openings is not a problem yet others say it is. These others also […]
I think it’s true that when you first start to handle a plane you might feel more a bit like a juggling klutz than someone fully controlled and conversant with its idiosyncrasies to smooth and refine wood with. Jerks, jams, stammers and stutters usually trip up our intent on straightening, smoothing and squaring wood. So […]
I spent the day with two woodworking teachers from Russia today. They came to meet me and ask questions on issues they felt passionate about. They took many answers and left questions. I saw the kind of penchant teachers often have that’s unique to teachers I think. They were passionate about woodworking and what they […]
I would like to talk to an experienced Design and Technology teacher living and working here in the UK for a few minutes. Ideally two, one male and one female. If that’s you, please leave a comment which automatically gives me your email and I will email you in private. Thanks, Paul
Stepping out of our own familiar comfort zone can be a challenge yet I have always encouraged everyone to do it so that they grown in pursuit of their passion. Well, I like my comfortable feeling with the things I am or have become familiar with, I hear. OK, this week it’s been Paul’s turn. […]
George kept his plane upright on the bench, mine near his, his a Woden #4 1/2, mine a Stanley #4. One day he said, “Sharpen my plane!” I was filled with fear and doubt to the point of freezing any and all movement including brain on the spot. I didn’t think about whether I could […]
Window of Opportunity I was trying. All the time it was a challenge and woodworking did not come naturally to me, especially with the standards at the bench. We were in the middle of making a mix of a hundred window frames, many with four opening sashes. Jack, the foreman, did all of the layout […]
I looked for a chisel on eBay. I wanted a specific one, a W Marples 1 1/4″. It took me less than a minute to find one I liked even though it was the lesser common type on the larger size. I wanted a wider bevel-edged chisel made by Marples or Ward—what might now be […]
The ever important element to my life was and has always been the constant moving forward in my craft. I read all that I could and went to where I needed to go to learn more. There was no world wide web and all mail was delivered by had through a letterbox. The library was […]
Joseph once told me that he saw how significant it was for me to repair things, you know, an old saw, a plane or a piece of discarded furniture. He said in all the years he had consciously known me at my workbench as a furniture maker he’d noticed there were always pieces dotted around […]
