This Week

I am building both the prototype and the first edition bedside nightstand for our next new masterclasses project. This one follows the stepladders and the fly swatter. It's been a busy enough week with developing the idea and then the construction of both the prototype and building the piece for filming.

Hannah went with me to the timber company because we both needed to choose and pick up wood, I for the cabinet and Hannah for a tool chest she's building soon.

We split to pick out wood and then spent some time looking over what Hannah needed together. Beyond that the fascinating range of wood, which I have always loved doing but this was a first timer for Hannah. Talk about kids in a candy store. Every student should spend at least half a day in a half decent timber yard.

Hannah has been restoring her Woden bench vise and I was glad I had it rolling around. She stripped it down and derusted and degreased all the parts. We didn't altogether know that the vise worked as it was to fused together but when it was done it slipped in and out with the QR perfectly.

Sanding down the surfaces after hand planing was simply a question of loading the sander with 250 grit and buzzing away. It really is one of the finest benches I have seen any student make and of course she loves it and soon will be taking it home for home working on.

I must say here that the standard of her workmanship excels and am so glad I was the one to work with her because she is yet another one of those scarce treasures I am rarely privileged to work with. Those of you who have followed me through the years with my apprentices and internees will remember John and then Sam and of course Phil who is still with us.

I did have a wonderfully hard week in the workshop and studio pulling together my project; drawings, prototyping and then the filming of it is always challenging and yet totally inspirational. Working with rippled sycamore, curly maple and then quarter sawn sycamore introduces a complexity of issues on its own. Thinking through these issues for instructional films escalates the complexities all the more, but I am guessing you will sense my excitement.

But it wasn't just the project. We are introducing my system of mortise and tenon making for the first time throughout this project, so with the decorative wood, the hardness of it, the awkwardness of grain and then creating beauty from the whole is just grand.

Those of you with woodworkingmasterclasses are in for a real treat in watching the series we are making.