Making Shavings With ‘Little John’

by | Oct 25, 2012 | 15 comments

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSlIDYR4xWE]

 

Here’s some footage that I took a few weeks ago when we first received our video camera and it makes a nice demonstration of our new ‘Little John’ workbench. We had an hour to spare and though Richard was in a rather grumpy mood (see if you can tell!) he decided to knock up a simple box so I could play about with the camera. You’ll see just how solid the workbench is and hopefully enjoy watching all those shavings being made.

 

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About Helen Fisher

About Helen Fisher

Helen seeks to explore ways to live with greater joy & sustainability for both ourselves & the planet. Concepts which have led to the launch of her second business We Are Carbon. As the producer of our videos, Helen brings a unique perspective & injects life to our education ensuring it is both a pleasure to watch & easy to follow & learn from. Learn More About Helen & The English Woodworker.

15 Comments

  1. Andy

    That’s a rather good demonstration of how to do proper hand woodworking – efficient, quiet and enjoyable!

    Reply
    • Richard

      Thanks Andy, and without needing any machines or power tools everyones workshop’s big enough!

      Reply
  2. patrick anderson

    Great to watch you at work, you should make more videos! The bench looked more than up to the task as well.

    Reply
    • Richard

      ‘make more videos’…. well there’s certainly a few plans in the pipeline, thanks for the encouragement.

      Reply
  3. Paul Chapman

    Excellent. Hand tools rule, OK 😉

    Reply
    • Richard

      Yeah, hand tools do rule! (except for when cutting 12″ x 6″ reclaimed oak beams… then my chain saw rules 😉 )

      Reply
  4. Jeff

    A very nice video and a very functional little workbench. It just shows that one does not need to build a 500 lb timber frame barn scaled structure for cabinetmaking. It also well illustrates the great value of a tailvise, something that has gone out of fashion within one vocal hand tool subculture.

    Reply
    • Richard

      Hi Jeff, thanks for your comment. I’ve really been amazed at how much I’ve enjoyed working at this little bench. A lot of the time it’s a misconception that if you just build the heaviest bench possible it won’t move or rack. I think its more important to design it right and build it well. You can certainly work without a tail vice, I did this for many years and still have a bench without one although if you can have one they’re incredibly useful!

      Reply
  5. James

    I love the fixings you used, can you tell us where they are available from?

    Reply
    • Richard

      Hi James, if you bang ‘hand forged nail’ in to Ebay (of all places) you should come up with something similar. Alternatively most blacksmiths will be happy to make you some but they generally sell them by the pound or kilogram so it can get expensive if you only need a small quanitity and a variety of sizes.
      Many thanks.

      Reply
      • James

        Thanks Richard, very helpful. You have inspired me to try and produce a box or two.

        Reply
        • Richard

          James, that’s jolly good to hear. Good luck with your boxes and if you take any pics we’d love to see them.

          Reply
  6. Ken

    Richard, so nice to see these small projects being made with hand tools, I really enjoy the hole proses.
    I’m not a power tool knocker, they do have there place in todays workshop, but hand skills should never be lost.

    I love the workbench, I work from home and it looks just right for the projects I make. You have me saving my pennies now buddy, nice job.

    Very Best
    Ken

    Reply
    • Richard

      Thanks Ken, I’d certainly never knock power tools either and everything works in the right balance. As far as the enjoyment goes though it has to be hand tools for me and there’s really no reason they can’t be just as productive.

      Reply
  7. Brian Johnston

    As my workshop (aka garage) is all packed up and filled with stuff awaiting a move to a new home, coincidentally in Lincolnshire, I’ve been doing a fair bit of blogging on assorted woodworking channels and found yours a couple of days ago. Every spare moment has been spent on it since. I love some of the techniques you use (e.g. Bevelling the edges of a board to your gauge lines for thicknessing or using the corner of a chisel as a marking knife),simple things I was never taught at school fifty years ago! Of course, for most of my life the internet did not exist and I have always depended on either things I knew or else from books and magazines, so to suddenly find this huge trove of information is quite mind-blowing. Keep the videos coming and I’ll certainly be subscribing to your premium videos when they become available.

    Incidentally, who provides the music?

    Reply

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