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DIY - A point of view

I think that it's remarkable listening to the radio recently when they talked extensively about alternative ways of learning and gaining a recognised higher education degree that's internationally accepted. They are saying that alternative ways of gaining higher education will continue in years to come and

My day in the workshop

My day in the workshop

This is Joe. I forgot to ask him if he ever used a bench plane, but I know he didn’t use one well tuned and set up like ours. It was graceful watching him this morning as he skirted the perimeter of his new box. Bevel up or bevel

Changing colour and texture

Changing colour and texture

Today is Sunday. It has been a lovely day all round. I met with friends in the morning and then milled more oak in the afternoon ready for Tuesday. The coffee tables are coming along well and by Tuesday evening we should have the end frames made and much of

Recutting saw teeth - An at-the-bench-method that works

Recutting saw teeth - An at-the-bench-method that works

A scary process for most people and often with disappointing results. People don’t always realize that it can often be easier to file off all of the teeth and recut than to try a reshape to each of the teeth. Here is a method that works well for me

Intenseness and relaxed self control

Intenseness and relaxed self control

I love the charge of intenseness in the workshop. I've experienced it in so many ways and hundreds upon hundreds of times. One year we worked through many nights to complete two designs for the White House that I had done. It was intense for weeks. Another time

Veritas Jacks joint box lids to perfection

Veritas Jacks joint box lids to perfection

Veritas Low-angle, bevel-up jack plane a great hit! Sometimes I wonder about newer planes. After all, how many planes do we really need? This project relied heavily on straightness, twistlessnes, alignness and the organic stuff only possible with hand work and hand tools and people working opposite one another, beside

Becoming - the new-genre artisan

Becoming - the new-genre artisan

My day twists and turns according to many questions. Wood splits, and grain rises against us in short, quick distortion contorting willfully to destroy the pristine glassy surface we hope results from beneath the plane’s sole. We counter with a shift and the surface fibres pull like string and