I cut the drawer bottom to size and planed the bevel to the underside until it fit neatly into the 3/8″ grooves to the sides and front of the drawer. Notice the rubberized (or silicone) non-slip shelf liner. This is a must buy for any shop. Grip stuff in the vise for an absolutely non slip…
I think that real woodworking is to work wood by hand and not machine. I say this because the energy I use and the thought processes I use for hand work are so very radically different than those I use for machines. I am no novice in either camp. I have used them both in…
OK, last one on the Paul Sellers palm gauge-cum-beading tool. As a boy I was shown the screw in the block of wood method for making side beads quickly with no fuss and no tearout that can typically occur with moulding planes run against the grain. This method is highly efficient use of…
Setting hinges seems problematic to woodworkers and on furniture pieces, box lids and cupboard doors, neatness often seems less neat than it should. Recessing hinges adds a lot of dimension to a project not the least of which is strength followed by the resultant longevity. It’s good to master recessing hinges and it should take…
More work on the Hope Chest today. I managed to rough out the oak for the bottom of the chest and my drawer bottom. For the drawer bottom I used the bandsaw to rough cut my 1” stock down to 5/8” and hand planed it down to a full ½” ( a 1/16th inch full)….
This is an unusual tool. One of the most useful and the cheapest on the market. I have used them for many years, almost 45 I think. My students often complain that marking gauges are difficult to use. They are not, but they can be at first. The problem is that people spike them…
As my Hope Chest nears completion I become increasingly conscious that the colour and composition is being conformed by my decisions, hence my last post. Life is very much about composition and from my very limited sphere of creativity I am indeed composing in my work. When I was young I never realised this because…
A difference I see in a man’s life when he works with his apprentice is this: In moulding and shaping the wood, cutting away the waste and forming the parts to interlock with one another, each part becomes known by characteristic features. Perhaps a knot or knotted area, some reverse grain, straight grain, open pores…
I think Eclipse made the best sawsets of all. They made the Eclipse sawset #77 from bronze but there is an unnoticeable difference between the old sets and the new ones that you should note. The old sets, the one on the right, had a much narrower hammer than those made after 1965 when they…
Stay-set cap irons and what they are worth. This is from my working experience having owned them and replaced them with a standard sprung steel cap iron. I admit that the removeable chunk of steel seems like a practical application patented by Record in the 60s. reality is it is of very minimal value…