Every artisan must develop and then own his or her sphere of creativity in which to produce their works. My creative workspace holds all of the essentials I need to work productively and the more people working with me in that sphere the more the sphere of creativity increases in potential. A…
Some planes fly and some level the surface of wood. Well, this Norris of London plane does both. It fair flies across the wood and it superbly surfaces the defects to perfection at the same time. This one needed no repair and has all of the original components. It’s a well-used model as can be…
My day started in my home workshop working on some old oak I recycled from an old oak gate-leg table made from quartersawn English oak stock. It planes so beautifully and the quartersawn oak figuring is stunning. I really like the idea of making something recycled from old pieces that seem not to fit with today’s lifestyle….
Today, I drove my car up to the castle workshops. On my bike I see things I would never see, and hear things I would never hear. The road is quiet. I stop to smell yesterday’s mown grass in the fileds beyond the castle walls and hear the newborn lambs call for their…
OK. Here’s an ugly looking box that’s over 100 years old. Looks dog rough but I liked the size and the dovetails and the wood. Mahogany. Very sweet, rich grain beneath the bleached outside and the poor paint job inside. First discovery. This box never saw any glue anywhere on it. The top and bottom are screwed, bars…
I think it a sad thing When we miss Spring And Summer dissolves the petalled spray In the blistering heat of a hot day I thought you might like to see these images. They are quite lovely to me. he bluebells are beginning to replace the daffodils There are delightful areas under the trees…
The day moved along quickly for everyone, but for the main part all the legs were mortised and the tenons cut and partly fitted. Mortise and tenon joinery is not necessarily easy, but I teach several ways to make the joint and they try these out to see which they prefer. Tomorrow they must shape the legs…
It’s different working in oak than softwoods like pine. More consistent, less twists and turns in the grain, even texture, no knots if you pick prime grades and such. People use the term “hard as oak” quite a bit, but its easy to chop mortises in and you get really crisp edges that pop right…
If you have any questions on woodworking, we will try to answer them from a working craftsman’s background. I answer hundreds of questions each month. These questions are often duplicate questions and my answer could actually be answering your questions and your questions might be someone else’s. From the wood finishes we use or don’t use to…
In my creative workspace I make new pieces from old wood and old center-pieces complementary with new wood. Today I took the panels from my dismantled car-boot find to the workshop and started to patch up the fractured and missing inlays and refinish the surfaces as needed. In places the strings of checkered inlay were…
