The techniques I use to make woodworking by hand efficient and fun.
Since ranting about using the cap iron for dealing with tear out, the question 'why do you only use it when smoothing?' comes up a lot. This question is best answered by me asking you to go and do something. Go and set your hand plane up to take a shaving with the cap...
I'd seen a picture of this plane a while back and I was looking forward to seeing if she'd be taken along to the European Woodworking Show last weekend - I was in luck! The old and unassuming little plane has been named Rosie (there's a story behind that) and it's one...
Anyone used to using machines or power tools can be surprised at just how quickly a joint can be banged out by hand. There might not be any motors, but there are many tasks which can be completed well before you would have had time to find the bits and set up a...
When I decided to start woodworking I chose do it with wooden planes. Perhaps this was heavily influenced by what Richard felt would be a good route to take, but also because I've always felt a great attraction towards them. Setting up a wooden hand plane is...
For someone who hand planes everything when building furniture, I find that I traverse (or plane across the grain) very little. I avoid it deliberately as I find the action suits neither our workbenches nor our bodies particularly well. The reason that I thickness by...
Marking tools are rarely given all that much attention, and they're clearly not as exciting as the tools that get to see all of the action. But they are vital to our work and being able to use them quickly and accurately still requires good technique. When...
I don't use screws often in furniture making but when I started building lots of benches I found myself in need of a good cordless drill for all of the vice fitting and particularly around the tool wells of the Little John's. I also needed something with plenty of...
Yesterday I made my first hand cut dovetails. I've watched Richard cut dovetail joints over and over, and I've practiced cutting to my saw lines over even more. But I knew if I was left on my own, with just a few pointers, then I would still be about to make a mess of...
We all need sharp tools. Sharpening is an odd subject because if you can't do it, it seems mysterious. And if you can do it, some become so loyal to their method that they would fight to the death to defend it. Often trying no other method As you may know I have my...
My favourite plane until now has been a very cute and tiny wooden smoother. It was small enough for me to manage the restoration, nice in the hand and just sweet. Time seems to get the better of me so I'm still very much at that stage of enjoying making shavings...
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You can sharpen owt on the humble old oil stone, but that doesn't mean that you’d want to. In our sharpening trilogy, I go on quite a bit about how your choice of tool will tell you what kind of sharpening method and set up you'll need. I’m very firm on how...
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...
Today we've made a start on our Coffee Table build - if you've joined us already then you can Login Here to watch Chapter One. Or find more details HERE I set about this build without a clear direction on what the table would become. I’d had this rough old...
