I always find it interesting talking to people about their woodwork and getting an understanding of what it means to them. There’s definitely a sense that woodworkers are an enthusiastic bunch that do it because they really do love it. I’ve also noted a recurring...
I recently wrote about the daunting world of buying hardwoods and in that post I made a point of focusing on what your requirements might be. Today I’d like to start on the subject of pricing and I’m going to keep it concise because there’s just one useful equation...
I often feel like I’m fighting the corner for Hand Tools and yet within my day to day work I have a number of machines that I have to rely upon. The machines are there because the work I do is big and the amount of timber I process is large - hand preparing every...
It’s often said that a woodworker can never have enough clamps but this isn’t something I‘ve really considered to be true (Unless you build workbenches for a living!) . When it comes to buying clamps I could think of a lot more exciting things to be spending my money...
There’s nothing like a charming character to warm up a long and dreary winter and fortunately we’ve had our Little John to help keep things moving for us this February. The first batch of our smallest workbench began as planned and it’s brought a whole different feel...
Everything we build is inspired to some extent by what we see, and generally this will be either from nature or from history. Recreating old furniture is common place and often we’ll only aim for a likeness to a particular style without being too concerned about...
After giving a few thoughts about my tool storage last week I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some of your own solutions. I’ve had some great ideas sent though already and if you have something that you feel is a bit different then please keep them...
Wooden Hand Planes Might Be Old Tech, But They're Not Outdated I think for many people wooden planes bring nostalgia and a nice sense of tradition but don’t necessarily seem relevant to use today. We get used to a very different tool with metal planes, especially with...
I received an email this morning asking if I feel it’s a good idea to use a toothing plane on a bench top. I was slightly unsure of the intent at first but soon realised that this was a question of roughing up your bench top to increase the friction. Yes absolutely, I...
The recent horsemeat scandal took the UK by surprise with consumers disgraced by the idea that their beef isn’t what it says it is. Red meat lovers around the country are sticking with chicken ‘just in case’. I find the idea of false labelling disgusting but I didn’t...
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Flattening Boards By Hand When prepping everything by hand, the start of a project can seem like a bit of a workout. I usually break up the task by planing up what I need as and when I need it, rather than all at once. The real key though is to make sure you're not...
This week we've finally come to the end of a back-log of work that I should never have taken on. Don’t worry, I'll have a jolly good moan about all that soon. Working on our barns is a bit like one of those games, where you have to slide a piece out of position, to...
When you set out to build a piece of furniture do you look to someone else's work for inspiration, or perhaps wait for a suitable plan to take your fancy? It can feel limiting when you have the motivation to crack on, but aren't sure what to build. Or you know what...