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, I'll treat myself to a nice … [Read more...]
To Trust Or Reinforce?
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 jointing long boards, such as … [Read more...]
How To Make Wooden Pegs
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.I'm going to show you the … [Read more...]
Starting With The Timber Prep
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 taking any more shavings … [Read more...]
How Often Do You Regrind?
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 will talk about them soon, … [Read more...]
Bandsaw Alternative
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 of these savage implements … [Read more...]
Dictates. And I Like it.
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 smoother for example doesn't even … [Read more...]
Not Rough… Essential (With Video)
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 Despite the daunting amount of … [Read more...]
Cap Iron Fatigue
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 iron nice and close to … [Read more...]
Meeting Rosie
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 of the latest wooden planes … [Read more...]