I’ve never been in two workshops that are the same. The reason partly is that we all have different preferences and different ways of working. Mine is different in some ways and yet harkens back to a more traditional past: Why? Because I’m more a traditional hand toolist rather than a machinist. Most machine-only woodworkers…
Don’t you love the way wood works? Below is another flea-market find that’s slightly surface pitted. It’s an old Marples from the pre Irwin days when the Marples clan were still involved. They are still readily found here in the UK and can be had for no more than a £1. Most often less. For…
You know it’s true. I find many overseas makers now produce finer tools than we do in England. It really began to happen in the post war era when the real austerity of the war years changed the quality of hand tools in Britain forever. Here is an example of what I mean. I took…
It could possibly have been a bad apple, but another plane I considered for a review turned out to be substandard. For some time I have heard about the new Sweetheart line coming in from the Stanley stable. I got excited when in a magazine the press release stated that Stanley of Sheffield had brought…
Ever thought about where you work? I mean, the space you occupy is your place of occupation and it’s more important then that you customise it to suit your personal needs. Even shared space necessitates that you create a working environment within the greater whole: a place of functionality if you will, that allows the…
I’ve used the best of all planes from Scottish Spiers, Norris and Edward Preston to the old and not so old Marples, Stanleys and Records. Being raised with the conventional Bedrock’s and Bailey’s, I am most familiar with the styles and the idiosyncrasies surrounding them and I must say they’re my strong favourites in the…
I designed this bookcase for an article I wrote recently for one of the magazines I write for. It’s simple enough to make using my three joints and ten hand tools methods, but it has a hidden feature you might like that really works in a variety of ways. You can use it on a…
This has been a very busy week preparing for the Alexandra Palace Masterclass presentation I have next week. Thankfully, help was on its way all the way from Patagonia in Argentina in the form of John Winter, my new apprentice. John loves working with his very capable hands and also in wood and so this is his first…
In one month New Legacy will be at the Ally Pally woodworking show. I will be teaching some masterclasses and we will be demonstrating throughout every day. If you get chance to stop by the booth I will be glad to meet you and talk wood, tools, classes and more. I think that these events are…