Most people who like to make things be it furniture, tools, cake or whatever, are far more interested and therefore far better at the making part than the selling. Richard and I fall in to this category and given the opportunity Richard will try telling customers that they don't need his … [Read more...]
Designing Furniture With Umph
I'm designing a chest at the moment and thinking about all of the usual pointers to guide me; scale, proportion etc, along with considering it's educational purpose (a new one for me). I thought I'd share with you an extra design dimension that I have within my palette which I've learnt from working … [Read more...]
See You There?
After a year off the European Woodworking Show returns to the beautiful Cressing Temple Barns on the 12th & 13th of next month. We're not showing this time round but will be going there on the Saturday to see things from the other side; for us this will be a day out as part of a long awaited … [Read more...]
Learning To Set Wooden Planes
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 not intuitive. Not for me and not for … [Read more...]
Dead Old Inspiration
If I were taught about fire breathing dragons in science at school then they'd be as real to me as dinosaurs. They told me Pluto was a planet and I wasn't going to question it. Our young minds can accept facts printed in a text book, but I realise how little of things we can really … [Read more...]
Why You Need A Spoon Rack
Choosing a project for a video build is a tough decision. Picking the first project is even tougher. We didn't want it to be too complex or too simple and we wanted to ensure there was a lot that could be learnt. We had all of this in mind when we opted to build the spoon rack, but we know you're … [Read more...]
Hand Cut Dovetails – Beginner’s Joints
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 things.Luckily for me, … [Read more...]
Hand Tools For Beginners
Spider-Man Senses Learning to woodwork with hand tools brings you a whole new awareness of your own senses.I feel like I'm a fairly co-ordinated person, used to doing tasks which require good control over your hands. But whenever I learn something new in woodworking I feel more like Mr … [Read more...]
The Right Plane For The Job
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 rather than much else, but with a … [Read more...]
Premium Hand Tool Videos
You've likely noticed the links to a Premium section of our website. This is now well on the way to being launched and so it's probably about time that we bring you a bit more info. Note: Our first series is now live. You can find full details including a video trailer, notes on what you'll learn, … [Read more...]