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A Day’s Working Unfolded Into a Day Full of Happiness

A Day’s Working Unfolded Into a Day Full of Happiness

I opened the workshop door and watched as morning light spread from one bench to another and then another. I’ve seen this most of my work life now, 50 years of early morning entries I suppose. I often stop as soon as I step inside and as I did

Wooden Planes and All Metal Ones - What's the Difference Anyway?

Wooden Planes and All Metal Ones - What's the Difference Anyway?

...Well let's talk about the differences in real woodworking. We began making tables last night. Our classes are very fully and very different in that we operate machine-free for all the nine days of the course. That means planing and sawing surfaces and making joinery so everyone develops

Woodworking Brings Change Brings Life

Woodworking Brings Change Brings Life

This is the first nine-day foundational of the year and I wonder of it’s a sign of change as I look at the demographics. It’s rare but this class is all male and the average age has dropped from the mid early 50’s to around the mid

The Demands of Thick Irons

The Demands of Thick Irons

As bit of a follow up to last night’s blog post I thought I should add some thoughts. There is a general assumption by many that the whole world has access to what some countries have available to them. For instance today I could most like buy 50 #4

Thick Irons - Beware the Unequal Yoke!

Thick Irons - Beware the Unequal Yoke!

Thicker Irons May Not Always Be Actually Fit For Purpose Florian from Vienna is in the Nine-day Foundational Woodworking Class this week here at Penrhyn Castle. He was struggling with his personal plane and asked me to look at it. It was a Stanley #4 plane he had decided to

Making Your Own Mallet

Making a Woodworking Mallet by Hand Part 3 is on YouTube so I hope that you enjoy the work we did to bring this series about. It's training we've taken from the free subscription section of our woodworkingmasterclasses.com series and it's training woodworkers

Scraper Burnishers That Work

Scraper Burnishers That Work

People often ask me to recommend a burnisher they can buy for forming the turned edge to a scraper. When I suggest just using the back of a chisel or a nail set they seem either unbelieving on the one hand or disappointed on the other. Most often they want