The Q&A’s on hand tools is popular and the video we did on sharpening the blades for router planes to keep it square and perfectly parallel to the sole and the surface of what you are routing is also proving popular. You can submit your questions for me to answer in a video at my…

…”Have you made your dovetail template yet?” No, I replied. Do I need one if I’m using yours? It was a genuine question, not intended to be cheeky at all. You’re not using mine any more after today.” He dropped a short piece of mahogany my side of the bench and told me to copy…

Just in case you’re not subscribed to my YouTube channel I thought a nudge was worth it. I need 1,000 more subscribers to take us over the 350,000 mark and of course that triggers the giveaway of my adjustable Stanley #90 bullnose plane (I’ll post about that soon). As always it is important to keep…

Of all the things I have done in and with my life, I feel I am left with one thing I am certain of and it’s this, I know woodworking at confidence levels. I don’t know it through the reading about it, I know through the doing of it every single day in some measure…

Two half-lap dovetails combined with two housing dadoes, all in oak, together with running the 1/4″ grooves to the sides and front and fitting the plywood bottom, how long to do? Now we are talking from milled stock not rough-sawn but then all hand work from that point on. Tongue in cheek, I’m asking the…

…wood is wood. I know for many, cost of wood is always an issue and whereas people do often romanticise the using of pallet wood, at the end of the day it’s just a useful alternative as well as good not to be wasteful. Whether it is truly a free resource is questionable because wherever…

Is pallet wood any good? Of course it is. Or at least it can be. Equally it can be bad too, of course it can, but for anyone who just needs to practice, or needs a low cost alternative to gain experience, pallets can be a good resource. Typically pallets are always softwoods. I have…

…But it’s better than a bad year or worse still a bad decade. Last week I invaded my wood storage. That’s wood I’ve gathered at different points in pockets of madness and good deals or good choices. Most of it I have had around for a decade or more and less but I lose track…

I sometimes wonder of we don’t prevent ourselves from developing a skill by our fear of failing. I would say 80% of my students through the years have overstressed about sharpening, to the point that in just seconds it becomes more a white-knuckle experience rather than a flexible interaction that moves in and out of…

When I sharpen a plane I have a standard I work to. It’s almost always surgical sharpness. Why? I’m not always sure. But I’m sure that most of us ultimately end up with a system and an order to sharpening. Ultimately we should all steer away from abrasive papers and silly names like the scary…