The techniques I use to make woodworking by hand efficient and fun.
...why can't you make thick irons laminated? Why is it that my Grandad doesn't grind. My Dad doesn't have a grinder. And up until me buying swanky tools, I never had to grind? Hard steels and thick irons. It's a combination which wasn't found in my Grandad's workshop....
https://youtu.be/OSEOrttE2Ac Our latest video series is all about sharpening edge tools. But it's not just about getting sharp. It's a detailed yet entertaining look at the perfect edge, right from the very concept of sharpening, through to optimising precisely...
I've been standing on top of my workbench again. Strangely I'm up there quite a lot. Sometimes I just lay on there... and think. I've been a long time obsessive of Japanese woodworking. I find it truly fascinating and have promised myself if I make it to retirement,...
How confident do you feel trusting glue for edge joints? In traditional woodworking most of the glue bonds we do will have some mechanical strength, and a well cut joint will hold together without any glue at all - it's just there as a bonus. But when we're edge...
A good peg, is a lot more than a roughly ragged out bit of round wood. When you're draw-boring, or just reinforcing a joint, you need a peg that's strong. A good wooden peg should be straight grained, slightly tapered and preferably made up of a series of flats. In...
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...
I don’t normally regrind. It's something I've always reserved for when setting up old tools or re-setting knackered edges. But since moving to water stones for my sharpening (I'm still on with that water stone experiment), my usual methods have somewhat let me down. I...
Despite writing my sensual spiel about the whys of the bandsaw, I haven't actually used it since closing the workbench business. That's because I discovered the frame saw (that thing that the savages use). Prior to four months ago, the most experience I had with one...
I've wittered quite a bit before about about my troubles with goblin hands and small knobs. In particular, plane handles. Normally anything that trys to be a handle makes a rubbish handle, and as a rule the most un-restrictive handles make for the best. A wooden...
Hand planing wood by hand requires us to choose a technique that's suitable for the specific job at hand, and doing this requires us to understand the wood, the tools and the project in question. New To Hand Planing? Learn About The Different Types Of Hand Planes...
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https://youtu.be/8F3WqXVmSIk [Video Post] The router plane is one of those rare tools that seems to always be in my hand despite not really being an essential in my minimal tool kit.In doesn't quite have the versatility of a chisel which can pretty much come in for...
Morticing has never been my favourite job. Depending on the size of joint I have various techniques that I use, and for hefty mortices like in our French workbench build, I prefer to drill out the waste rather than go at the whole thing with a chisel. But then I hate...
Getting a nice looking pegged joint is all about compression. You basically want the peg to be a bit too tight for the hole so it cleans up without any gaps. But, that's not to say you can just whack a fat bit of dowel through a hole that's too small and expect...
