You’ll find that the cost of your sharpening stones scales with the cost of your tools. More expensive isn’t going to mean better if your stones aren’t compatible with the type of steel you use. If you’re using the types of tools that I recommend, things like the older Stanley’s and low cost … [Read more...]
Ever Considered A Hollow Chisel Morticer?
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 beautiful reflective glass … [Read more...]
Iron Cambers – Optimising Your Hand Planes
To become efficient in anything I find it's much better to specialise rather than use one size fits all. So how can a minimal hand tool kit become anything other than a set up for getting you started? The answer is in understanding your cutting edge. We can use various cutting angles and … [Read more...]
Saw Horses – Do You Need A Set?
Saw horses are a clat to get out and I'll only use them if I have to (perhaps I'm lazy). But of course they are extremely useful, and it’s nice to know there’s a couple stashed away ready to grab if needed. Whether you need something cheap and nasty, or a sturdy work of art will depend on how … [Read more...]
Removing Twist, Or Creating It?
Teaching and woodworking are two very separate skills. That's something I realised when we started making our videos. The big difference is, you can't work on auto pilot while you demonstrate. Everything has to be deliberate, almost exaggerated so it can be replicated by those … [Read more...]
Glue Ups & Grain Direction
Gluing up can be a frantic time. And if you're like me, it'll be messy too. But how much should we be planning ahead, before we get it all stuck together? When we glued up the top for our Hall Table build, we received a few questions on this topic. They were good queries, pondering over … [Read more...]
Drill Bits For Hand Drills
I'm always whinging about something. So the thing this blog is good for is that someone always has an answer. And it shuts me straight up. When I was moaning about drill bits in the marking knife post, we got plenty of suggestions for bits that you find overcome my problem. You weren't … [Read more...]
Gappy Joints, For Speed & Strength
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 tight. A good … [Read more...]
Efficiency In Marking
I've said it many times (though I'm sure I'm on the wrong page). I believe that hand tools are the most efficient set up for the individual maker. And not just the hobbiest. If you're building one-off pieces for clients then hand tools are still where it's at. Most that would disagree lack … [Read more...]
Scruffy Dovetails – Richard Rants (Video)
Looking To Cut Fine Dovetails? Choose the best dovetail saw, (with the right TPI, length & quality) Learn what makes a good chisel for dovetailing The above video is a short extract from our Hall Table Build. For the context - read below. I was in the process of … [Read more...]
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