John finished his saw today. The ‘before-and-after’ is remarkable and this first sharpening lesson stood him in good stead for the larger tenon saw he bought from Tony Murland at the Ally Pally Show. The 10″saw shown at left now has a reshaped handle as you can see. All the hard corners are reconciled and…
It’s been a productive week back here in the workshop. My schedule all week has been interspersed with people passing through now that the main Penrhyn Castle is open again. Outside, the snowdrops have vanished and clustered daffodils amass in fielded patches ablaze in bright canary yellow. Part of my apprenticing work is to spend…
PaulI very much enjoyed your demonstration on Saturday, and our chat afterwards and came away from the show full of new ideas for further developing traditional-style woodworking in the context of my design technology lessons. We discussed the possibility of sharpening some of the grotty old saws which are available for the use of my pupils….
The workshop is almost back in order after the woodworking demonstrations in London and it’s nice to reenter my home Creative Workspace again. Here my tools and equipment rest and wait to work again it’s true, but more important to me is my creative workspace because here with my tools I can move freely within…
Q: We saw your demonstrations and they were great. I wondered if you could guide me on which saw to buy for making dovetails? A: A problem I saw (no pun) at the show is that most people there are divided into two categories: On the one side you have people looking for information, while…
Q: Recently saw your demo at ally pally and it was great, thanks. Just a question on chisel sets and what you would recommend as a good low to mid range set to purchase? A: In a recent blog I recommended the Aldi chisel set, but not just as a starter set. These are serious chisels that…
Slipping the tools up the ramps and into the workshop I became aware of my working space again. I recall my travels over the years and whenever I have spent more than a few weeks in one place the first thing I’ve done is create workspace where I can whittle on wood, photograph my work…
I unloaded the van at the Penrhyn Castle workshops this morning and then rested by taking a ride in the crisp cleanness of Anglesey and Snowdon. Winding along the Welsh roads I was struck by the brightness as I drove to return the van to the hire company. Snowdonia with it’s light frosting of freshly laid…
You may not know this, but there is phenomenon in London you don’t see in capital cities around the world. It surrounds a unique tree that thrives in inner cities called the plane tree. Here in London the trees shown here have been ‘docked’, pollarded if you will. They are not there to provide shade…
I’m back in North Wales with blue skies, a few puffy wisps of cloud and the same essence of inner contentment I get when I’m on the verge of finishing a new piece of furniture or carving a spoon or building a shed or something like that. I demonstrated to several hundred fellow enthusiasts all…