This spring I made a nice wall shelf in merbau. My sister in law liked it a lot, so I thought – why not gift one to her and her family for Christmas? It also gave me an opportunity to do some serial production. Low scale, mind you…
A plain and smooth piece of wood can be both beautiful and really boring. Stanley made a metal scratch stock, and Lie-Nielsen copied it. Let’s review the L and the N version!
Holding your work steady is crucial when you work. You need the best work holding you can get, and a metal woodworking vise is a great option. Lets’s review one.
Sometimes you come across a new-to-you technique and suddenly the floor is soaking wet – an eureka! moment worthy of Arkimedes just happened. Are you sick and tired of tearout? Come here, my friend…
While my hand plane gently weeps… Well, perhaps not. But music in the shop is a good thing, though the phone battery drains and needs charging.
Wood moves, and you can’t do much to prevent it. Try, and thou shalt fail! but if you account for it, you will avoid issues. Try orienting things to the south! It seems easier, according to our friendly Ent.
Calipers seems to be simple enough, but it might be more to them than one would think. I’ve gotten a few eureka moments over the years, so let’s look into a few that measured very small.
Old tools looks so much more elaborate than today’s utilitarian looks. Is there a reason to the madness, or were the craftsmen of old just vain?
Put the plane down on its side, or you’ll risk damaging the edge! Or so it is often taught. Don’t you dare to question ye olde wisdom!
Also, dust collector systems can blow up. Apparently.
It’s mythbusting time!
Unless one want to embrace the inner yoga instructor, the garden bench needs legs. Time to rummage in the wood pile!
Faster! More efficient! Git’r done so you can relax! Efficiency in our hobby activities could be a bit of a paradox – make the things you like to do go faster so you can get bored again?
Transformation from shelves to drawers. Another step towards my goal: a table that holds bits and pieces during a project, tools and supplies in drawers – and a place where my sharpening equipment stands at the ready at all times.