I’ve looked at a couple of variations of the Moxon vice in the last couple of years and in that time I’ve built a fair few of my own; some quick and easy from offcuts and redundant hardware and others more swanky and convoluted. Each one has helped with the development of the next in the time-honoured tradition of a maker of things. Fundamentally the design has remained the same – a portable, wide twin screw vice set in front of a small integrated worktop with dog holes. The original self-imposed brief was to deal with what seemed to me to be a missed opportunity with the majority of traditional Moxon style vices which are a simple two jaw affair; a front and a back that elevates your sawing position to one more suited to accurate work. There’s nothing wrong with that if all you want to do is hold
Derek Jones meets Jim Broughton from Alexander George Antiques to see how the Golden Age of Furniture is being remembered. Once upon a time the workshops of Great Britain were staffed exclusively by individuals working their way up the employment ladder to become time-served craftsmen and highly respected members of the community. Though self-regulating and often under the watchful eye of a strict master, apprentices learned their trade over a period of years in a tradition that is now more or less resigned to history. It was a system that created as many problems as it solved, but Jim Broughton considers himself lucky to have been one of the last to learn his trade the hard way. Leaving school at age 16, Jim Broughton was following in the footsteps of his father when he applied for a job in an old family firm of cabinetmakers (Plumb Contracts) in his home
Steve Bisco carves a Norman Romanesque corbel with an 11th-century figure When William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 he set out to impose his Norman rule by building great stone castles and cathedrals that would leave the Saxons in no doubt as to who was in charge now. The Normans built in the Romanesque style, which featured solid, round columns and semi-circular arches decorated with chevrons and other angular features that were less subtle than the more naturalistic Gothic forms of the next century. One such building was Lincoln Cathedral, consecrated in 1092. Much of it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1185 and rebuilt in the Gothic style, but the Romanesque west front survived. The mouldings around the west doors give us some magnificent examples of Norman Romanesque stone carving, and it is a creature called a ‘beakhead’ from one of these mouldings that gives
Mark Gough carves an Egyptian style relief of the god ‘Thoth’ in spalted sycamore The idea for this article came from a book purchased many years ago titled Relief Woodcarving & Lettering by Ian Norbury, specifically from the chapter Egyptian Relief. The author explains the technique and supplies images to show examples, one of which is a relief carving of Osiris and Tutankhamun. The selected image for this carving is an adaptation of the god Thoth from a stone carving in Luxor. The basic technique for sunken or Egyptian relief requires the outline to be cut in with a V-tool and the inside edges rounded over and shaped to obtain the illusion of depth with the use of shadow. To obtain a deeper shadow effect here around the edge straight stop cuts are cut in with a knife. The smooth, sanded finish I have gone for avoids the reflection from
John Swinkels and Bernie Leadbeatter make wooden train whistles on a lathe. Bernie brought some wooden train whistles to the club – Woodturners of the Hunter – and was happy to share with us how to make them. The whistles have four holes, and Bernie designed and built a jig that made drilling those holes in a blank an easy procedure. We made a few from radiata pine (Pinus radiata), but found the sound seemed to be richer if they were made from hardwood. So we made four whistles from local hardwood. We made the whistles using jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata), merbau (Swintonia floribunda), coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalem) and macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia). Things you will need Materials Bernie’s jig 1. There is an unseen piece of wood that just fits between the lathe ways.2. Under that is another smaller piece that can turn and lock the jig in place.3. The visible lowest piece is fastened
There are many ways to create hollow woodturnings, ranging from the very traditional gouges to some of the more modern implementations of carbide cutters. With that said, what tools are used is dictated mostly by the types and depths of hollowing being done. A bowl is a hollow turning as much as a lidded box – it has a different aspect ratio, but it is certainly a hollowing. For the most part, hollowing of those types of items is pretty straightforward and is accomplished using the standard woodturning tools. What about far deeper hollowed forms such as vases, urns and the like? In this two-part series on hollowing, I will take a detailed look into some of the techniques and tools available for clear out cavities for a woodturning project. For those who already own a hollowing system, you might pick up a few tips on setup, but we’ll mainly
In an extract from his new book Whittling Walking Sticks, Peter Benson carves a topper in the shape of a mallard duck’s head This is an edited extract from Whittling Walking Sticks by Peter Benson, published by GMC Publications, RRP £14.99 You can buy Whittling Walking Sticks from Gifts to Me for only £12 (+P&P)! Usual RRP £14.99 Visit giftstome.co.uk and use the offer code R5714 Offer ends 27th December 2024 This is a very good subject to try early on in your whittling journey as it doesn’t contain too much fine detail yet gives you the scope to be as technical (or not) as you wish. It is also a good project for learning the necessary research skills as a wide variety of ducks can be found at local parks or duck ponds so you can take your own reference photos, as well as searching online and in books. I have
Brian Kawal introduces a decorative technique that can really make your work standout At its very core, the idea of stippling is simply to create a series of decorative dots. In our medium of wood this could be either an applied technique, such as using ink or paint on the wood’s surface, or in the case of the specific technique I’ve worked on developing, poking holes into the wood itself. Stippling of differing varieties has long been used in furniture making as a textural element (see my article in F&C 294 on antique chair reproduction where I use the same tools and technique for a traditional carving detail). Expounding on this idea though, you can use this technique for creating unique patterns and pictures on your work. Whether a standalone wall piece or a panel in a chair back, stippling can make your work really stand out. In this article
Bridle joints are common in frame construction because of their strength. The wide mortise and tenon provide plenty of glue surface for a rock-solid joint. Randy Maxey shows how you can make a bridle joint with a band saw and table saw.
To buy Randy’s book: “Wood Joints by Machine & by Hand”
Randy Maxey shares a project design he used to teach woodworking to local residents in El Salvador through the non-profit organization “Tools for Opportunity” @toolsforopportunity7242 The simple design allowed the woodworkers to become familiar with power tools and woodworking design principles. It is a popular design that will not only look good in your home, but it serves an important function in keeping your outdoor gear handy and organised.
Every once in a while, someone comes up with a radical new method or tool that knocks tradition for a loop. Tooley Park scribes are a new take on a centuries-old method of scribing a workpiece. For example, fitting a cabinet filler strip against a wall that’s less than plumb and even. Or scribing an inset door to fit the cabinet opening precisely. Or scribing the bottom of a chair leg for cutting it to eliminate wobble. Many craftsmen and carpenters would use a compass or a crude shop-made tool to do the job. Tooley Park offers another option for scribing that is worth a look.
Stanley Bedrock planes were first introduced in the late 1800s. Their design is a little different, some say better, than conventional bench planes of the era. Randy Maxey disassembles the Bedrock plane to clean all the components before reassembly.
Learn more about Stanley Bedrock Hand Planes:
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan15.htm
https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/blog/1314
Stanley Bedrock hand planes were designed and manufactured to be different than conventional Bailey-style hand planes. But were Bedrock planes better than the common bench plane? Randy Maxey compares the two styles of hand planes and points out the differences between them.
These planes were first introduced in the late 1800s. Their design is a little different, some say better, than conventional bench planes of the era. Randy Maxey was fortunate enough to get his hands on a couple of Bedrock 605 bench planes when a technical school decided to get rid of them. After a few years in storage, he pulls one off the shelf to learn more about Bedrock planes and bring this old hand plane back to life in the workshop.
