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Simple Straight Edges

Simple Straight Edges

Many of you have pointed out my shoddy array of straight-ish, straight edges. I'm often asked if there's a reason why I favour these home made things over something more posh. This is one of those questions where I really wish I had a good answer. I don’t, but I'll...

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The Perfect Hand Tool Workshop

The Perfect Hand Tool Workshop

Sadly I ain't one of those that can say he’s been in a generations old workshop all of his working life. There aren't tools still hung on the wall that my grandad put up, or boxes full of secrets who's keys were lost lifetimes ago. Instead I seem to move workshop like...

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The Novelty Of Hand Cranked Grinders

The Novelty Of Hand Cranked Grinders

  Are hand cranked grinders the toy that we all want to work? Now honestly, I've never had any success with them. I can't make much sense of them as a sharpening tool at all, so perhaps I've never given them a fair trial. I avoid grinders altogether until it...

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What Makes You Tick?

What Makes You Tick?

Wood has always been in my life. My old man did it for a living. I always remember the sawdust in his pockets, and even when he got home, the forgotten pencil lodged behind his ear. He also had a massive moustache. It feels very strange when I stop to think. Apart...

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Simple Work Holding For Ploughing Grooves [Without a Tail Vice]

Sometimes the biggest challenge of a project can just be getting the wood to stay put while we try to work on it. I suppose it's why it's so easy for us to get lost in the hunt for a perfect workbench design. And drawn in towards all kinds of vice bling and fancy work...

Prototyping – Part 1 Now Live!

https://youtu.be/U2wiudDPSig 'The Nest of Tables' series is now complete!Find full details & watch the intro HERE. This nest of tables is based on a design where they'll each come together with a lovely sliding fit, so it was certainly the kind of build that benefited...

The Nest of Tables – New Series!

https://youtu.be/_A5hjwKqBp4 This Build is an Exercise in Precision! [A total of over 8 hours of video broken into 11 chapters, which take you step-by-step through the build, including how to build the 'hand plane thicknesser' jig. ]Watch the intro above. The series...