I have relied on a Stanley #4 1/2 smoothing plane for forty years plus. Next to the #4, this plane sits squarely in my tool chests where ever I go and work. I need them both, but can manage adequately with either one. I like the light, versatile weight of both, but choose the lighter-weight…
This week I have two workshops as well as a few people finishing off their rocking chairs. It’s wonderful being there and seeing the work come together at the different levels. It’s a small group of seven woodworkers that find excitement at the cutting edge of a plane and a chisel. A saw that didn’t…
The crossrails are now fitted within the side walls and its best to establish the shoulder lines for the stub tenons whilst the clock is assembled. The distance between the side pieces determines the shoulder lines of the tenons and so we must subsequently add a further 5/8” to the overall length. Making this second…
Sorby chisels cover the spectrum I think many people feel the same way I do and that is that plastic handled chisels work well and will equal the performance of some of the most expensive chisels produced. I try to present tools of value that are suited to task first, affordable and comfortable to use….
The next part in the process is to form the grooves in the two cross rails. These rails receive the raised panel and line up with the grooves in the side pieces. The grooves therefore remain 3/8’ wide and are cut to the same 5/16” depth. These grooves are situated exactly in the centre of…
This seemed interesting to me. I thought it might help others to know what actually happens in this important aspect of chair making. Some time back, around June this year I think, I read in an issue of Fine Woodworking where a person wrote to FW for an answer on an aspect of chairmaking. The…
In a couple of weeks the Online Broadcast we started will come to an end and the next projects will take us into the new year. You can of course still sign up for the series on the wall clock and the methods and techniques will give a solid beginning for hand tool instruction. Over…
Understanding the past Years ago I discovered something key to my future teaching and training woodworkers. I discovered that those who worked wood only by machine methods for more than a few years considered themselves intermediate level woodworkers. There are many problems to this not the least of which are the false assumptions that machine…
Making a Craftsman-style Rocking Chair in Oak I think making chairs can be challenging to any woodworker and even experienced furniture makers avoid making chairs and are indeed daunted by the very thought of designing them….
Reconnecting with your wood The trees stood all around me in a circle as if watching my careful move with the Echo or the Stihl. I lay one throbbing saw on the ground as I eyed a 30” diameter mesquite tree and wondered if I could drop it right onto the flat bed of my…