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Skills Lost Regaining Future

Skills Lost Regaining Future

Before you read this in its entirety, if indeed you do, let me preface it by saying I am not saying there is no skill in anyone. Of course there is and there are skilled workers in many fields everywhere. But my adventures in woodworking have shown that hand skills

Beyond Closed Doors—Oxford

Beyond Closed Doors—Oxford

Doors of Oxford I spent three days ferreting the streets of Oxford over the holidays. Stayed in a nice hotel so I could walk into the City and see it emptied of students and cars, a million bikes with cyclists on and such. I've never seen the streets

I Bought A Different Gauge

I Bought A Different Gauge

It cost £12 with free shipping and the design intrigued me. It comes from an era when manufacturers wanted different because different was patentable and patentable meant protection and protection might well lead to profit if the design was liked. Even without cleaning and oil it works well enough despite

Devloping My Mortise Alignment Jig

Devloping My Mortise Alignment Jig

Back in the dim and distant past I found myself struggling with an issue. I'd learned to chop mortise holes parallel to the outer face by rote repetition. With non-through mortises this can be difficult to get perfection in. In my teens I pretty much mastered the technique

I've Learned to Learn, Always!

I've Learned to Learn, Always!

Perhaps it's more about learning how to learn I've taken many pieces apart, you know, undone them, unpackaged them and spent time dislodging parts by breaking glue lines, dissolving paints and varnishes, band-sawing open joints through and through and my investigations helped me to grow and

What's 'Knifewall'?

What's 'Knifewall'?

It's just a more active word when the two come together—less passive without a hyphenation. I like knifewall because it's more punchy, but really I like it more because it so describes what I want people to see. It's 20 or so years

A New Design I Made

A New Design I Made

I've always liked leanable shelves, especially because when the design is right they just seem rest happily in place and thereby work so well with no more ado. That said, I wanted my own design, one to stand rock solid with no semblance of throwaway disposables and without