UPDATE: The Mark Baker Woodturner of the Year Competition, public vote now open HERE!
This Christmas, gift craftsmanship and creativity with a carefully chosen woodworking book With the festive…
Louise Biggs shows us how she made a fancy fire surround when there is no…
Nic Westermann demystifies sharpening carving knives and chisels A few years back the (now ex)…
In woodworking, quality screwdrivers are crucial for driving screws cleanly, securely, and precisely without damaging…
Although woodturning lathes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, the basic requirements of the lathe dictate…
ANTHONY BAILEY AND MICHAEL HUNTLEY J OIN FORCES TO DESIGN AND BUILD THE ONLY WORKBENCH…
A revolutionary advancement The Gothic style started around 1150 in France with the cathedral of Saint-Denis in Paris. It spread quickly outwards across the realms of France, England and beyond. As well as having a distinct decorative style, it was a technological revolution in stonemasonry. Displacing the thick walls, stout columns and round arches of the old Romanesque style, the Gothic church had slim clusters of columns which soared skywards, branching out into slender stone ribs which met in the middle of the roof in high, pointed arches. The slim columns were braced by ‘flying buttresses’ on the outside to prevent the roof vault collapsing outwards. With this structural stone framework, the walls could be pierced with large windows and delicate tracery, flooding light into the interior. During Gothic’s 400 years of domination, there were inevitable changes in fashion – mainly in the tracery and vault ribs. In the Early
Alan Holtham creates an elegant project that will make life easier for parents It is some years since I had anything to do with changing nappies, but at the time I did serve an intense apprenticeship spread over three children and the procedure is forever embedded in my mind. In fact I got so good I could do it with my eyes shut, which was often the best way really! As with woodworking where you cannot beat a decent workbench to get the best results, so a changing station with the baby contained at the right height and with all the paraphernalia immediately to hand makes the job so much easier. I also wanted refinements like ‘touch to open’ doors that you could open with your knee to get the forgotten wipes, without having to let go of the squirming infant. This one was designed to match in with a
Steve Bisco is inspired by a medieval dragon in Christchurch Priory. Christchurch Priory in Dorset, is a cathedral in all but name. It’s one of the largest churches in Britain, reflecting the historical status of Christchurch as an important medieval port on the south coast of England. The Norman core of the building, started in 1094 and finished around 1150, was built in the Romanesque style, with the round arches and heavy columns that preceded the later and lighter Gothic style. It is well worth visiting for its carved stonework and woodcarving. While on such a visit I was stopped short by a small dragon nestling at the foot of one of the columns in the nave, apparently asleep but with its mouth partly open as if ready to strike if disturbed. It was carved in medium relief on the upper surface of one of the limestone blocks at the
Carving scrolls into furniture is a technique that has been around for many centuries – its simplistic beauty and accurate clean lines blending together several different radiuses. Scrolls can be incorporated into any style of furniture from a complicated baroque chair to a simple, modern-style table. When designing this end table, I wanted the upper section of the legs to resemble a griffin, a mythical creature which is part lion and part eagle. On the lower section of the leg, I wanted a simple form to complement and balance the entire leg. Things you will need Tools Wood Genuine mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) Starting the process Marking the details Carving the curl Carving the leg Finishing off Further reading
Now you should be ready to finish of your sphere. However, a sphere is only created in the details of the finish. Any inconsistencies in the curvature of the item, and it is strictly speaking, not a sphere. So at this point you may think you are on the home straight – alas, there are still many process between your carefully crafted ball and the perfect sphere! Wooden mounting cups To achieve this secondary holding method, we need to turn some wooden cups to hold the sphere securely without marking it. I chose two pieces of tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera), a relatively soft hardwood of around the same density as the redwood I used for the balls. One is simply held in the chuck and turned to a cup shape, the other needs to fit onto your live centre. I am fortunate that I own a Oneway live centre which features a threaded
Alan Wasserman looks at using imperfect wood, starting with the implications and things to consider when using soft ‘punky’ wood. Why write an article on using imperfect wood for your woodturning project? Imperfections in wood can include rot, spalting, discolouration, bark inclusions, worm holes, voids, cracks, fissures, etc. Each has implications when they are present in the wood. Some might say that if the wood has imperfections it should be thrown on the fire pile – after all, wood grows on trees! Timber Quality wood can be located and bought from many sources. Perfect timber costs money – depending on the species and figuring, a lot of money – but it can be what is required. What about wood that isn’t quite perfect – like getting our hands on a piece of driftwood or being offered or coming across a felled tree or sections from a tree surgeon? What about
Continuing on from 10 Tips for Drilling Better Holes, Part One, Kurtz Hertzog shares his time tested methods to guarantee accuracy and quality when drilling holes. Keep things cool Smoke is never a good thing when drilling wood. You can drill quickly and efficiently without creating a lot of smoke. On occasion, you may get some, particularly from those species that like to burn such as cherry (Prunus spp.), but it should be rarely and only a little bit. If you’ve got smoke erupting from your drilling, regardless of your drilling method you’ve got other problems. Chances are it is one or more of these: when a drill is dull, rather than sharpen it we often just push harder and speed up the rpm. Smoke can often be caused by far too aggressive speeds and feeds. Slow things down and let the tool do the work. Plugged flutes will also
Paul Purnell makes coasters using pen blanks. Large end-grain projects are reasonably straightforward if you possess a planer/thicknesser and a huge industrial drum sander, but not everyone does (including me). These coasters are an introduction to working with end-grain without access to this equipment. Once you are able to manage these, an end-grain chopping board is feasible. It is crucial that edges are flat and at 90° to each other. Without this, there will inevitably be gaps in the finished piece. This project is a challenge, but a worthwhile one. Anyway, a few gaps will show the coasters were handmade. If you have an accurate bandsaw or tablesaw, you could cut the blanks from your own wood stock. However, this will limit you to the types of wood you have. I experimented by ordering 30 pen blanks via the internet. Their size and 90° accuracy varied, and strangely the more
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.
