There's rarely anything fun about a woodworking injury, and yet when I make videos about using hand tools I don't feel the need to put up a big disclaimer about keeping safe. I don't feel irresponsible for a lack of this but it is certainly a subject worth writing...
As woodworkers I'm sure that we all see furniture purchasing in a different light to most. There's nothing that makes sense less than knowing that people are happy to spend on a rickety flat pack which won't last two minutes, but can't justify spending for a solid,...
Thicknessing with hand planes might seem like a slog. It's certainly physical work, and if there's a lot of boards to thickness, then it could soon become a workout. But with the right technique, planing wood by hand should feel more like a nice brisk walk, than an...
I'm not one to talk about safety often because I don't like to come across as patronising. I noticed recently though just how many cheaply made machines have become available for 'DIY' and I thought I'd have a moan - I will try to keep this short and sweet! I'd seen...
If I was ever able to take a woodworking course I'd have to do it with David Charlesworth. That may seem like a bit of a shock given my rather simple and fast paced approach seen in my videos but the truth is I'm a perfectionist at heart. After my apprenticeship the...
After establishing that I don't hate power tools I wanted to give an extra bit of praise to the one tool I feel I really wouldn't want to be without; the cordless drill. I still love my bit and brace and appreciate the control and feedback that it can give me, which I...
Despite being a die hard hand tool user there's nothing that irritates me more than hearing people try to class hand tool use as being superior. The reason I bring this up is because whilst taking a jimmy riddle at a recent show I heard "You're the chap who hates...
When I was younger I did a stint working on new builds, doing truss roofs with my old man. I learnt a lot through the process; things about wood, things about building, and more than I could hope to know about my Dad. Another thing which I learnt could only be...
"It's not bodge... it's character!" - an old geriatric work mate used to say to me. And I felt this come to mind as I built my tool chest last weekend. I knew it would be nothing fancy since it was pretty much built as the hand tool equivalent of banging some boards...
It seems to be normal practice to sit a workbench against a wall and this is something I've often done myself. But having worked in many different layouts I now tend to favour bringing the workbench right out away from the wall instead. In a small workshop this can...
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As noises go, there's nothing much worse than banging. About the only thing that's completed in my life at the moment is my workshop door. I spent far too much money to get it right. We focused on the acoustics to keep out the noisy world when filming, and put in some...
For most of you time is not money when it comes to your workshop. But I will always stand by my belief that it could be. Small scale furniture making can be a profitable business, and as crazy as it sounds hand tools are the key. Single maker, small workshop, minimal...
Good chairs stay together forever if the chair maker understands what wood does. They know it will move, and use this to their advantage. Bone dry legs going into a slightly wetter seat. The seat drys over time, the legs take on a tad of moisture and everything stays...
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