We bring you the best of woodworking -
Projects, techniques, tools, videos, magazines and more...

Wooden automaton figure using a lathe.
Colwin Way takes the mechanism made by Richard Findley and adds his woodturner automaton...
13
Feb
Elegant wooden chair with carved details.
Colwin Way Turns a Traditional Chair from Ash As a professional woodturner, I find...
12
Feb
Man working vintage log splitting machine outdoors.
Wood, a material from trees, grown by the energy of the sun, is the beginning of...
11
Feb
Illustration of a traditional yurt with trees.
For centuries, the yurt has been the portable home of choice throughout central Asia....
10
Feb
Wooden bird sculpture flying elegantly
Peter Benson carves a large sea bird on the wing The wandering albatross and other...
10
Feb

Furniture & Cabinetmaking

Measuring antique wooden furniture restoration project.

Wall Clock Restoration

Louise Biggs fixes and restores a wall clock case. I was originally called in to assess and repair a broken door from a clock case. Upon seeing the clock I found that several other repairs were needed to the case, with the clients requesting a solution to the wobbly pediment. From a distance it looked to be a resplendent little clock just the right size for their hall, and having carefully transported it to my workshop I took a closer look. Not quite what it seemed Alarm bells started to ring initially with the fixing of the pediment, which had a narrow peg and a rather large slot. The other major concern was the mix of timbers on show with pine (Pinus sylvestris), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) forming the case. Although beech and pine are used within furniture, etc. it is not typical for them to be polished

Read More
Chiseling a dovetail joint in progress.

10 Tips for Chisel Work

If you need to make joints or trim components to fit or chop away defective wood, good sharp chisels are what you need… we show how to use them properly. Once you’ve sawn your wood and planed it, the next stage is cutting joints and trimming components to fit. The perfect tool for this is a finely honed chisel so here is some useful advice for getting the best from your wood chisels.  1. Be sure to buy good quality branded chisels and look after them. Avoid accidental contact with nails and screws and they are definitely not for opening paint tin lids! 2. Learn how to sharpen correctly, preferably using a diamond plate, lapping fluid and importantly, a honing guide as it guarantees the correct angle and thus a sharp edge. 3. Pick a ‘short set’ of five or six chisels that will do most tasks from chopping mortises

Read More

Woodcarving

Wood carving of bird with 'Yule' text.

Carved Christmas Cards

Duane Cartwright explains how to carve these festive cards, which make great handmade gifts As the festive season is here, I thought I would share my idea for carved Christmas cards. These cards make a unique and personal gift – perfect for the person who has everything! The good thing about carving these cards is you can practise different styles and techniques of carving and lettering, they are also reasonably quick projects, which is perfect if time is limited, plus the cost of the wood is minimal. In theory the cards could be any size but to keep costs and time down, I made my cards about 150mm high x 90mm wide x 5mm thick. The thickness is something to keep aware of as, if they’re too thin, there is very little wood to carve and overall strength can become a problem. However, if they’re too thick the cards will

Read More
Assorted wooden step stools and table.

Water-Based Finishes

Are the new generation of water-based lacquers really a match for old school finishes? If you think the list of accessible finishing products is long, then maybe consider the number of possible outcome when you mix and match the techniques for applying them. My daughter’s maths homework this week was on the subject of probabilities. She’s learned that the chances of getting a Royal Flush in poker are about 2.5 million to 1. Fortunately, the chances of achieving a perfect finish are more in your favour. It’s with this in mind that I’ve decided to shorten the odds even more by looking at water-based finishes, and whether there is a place in the cabinet for a selection of reliable alternatives to solvent-based products.  First observations In preparing this article, almost everyone I spoke to about water-based finishes had had a bad experience using them, or were just irrationally averse to

Read More

Woodturning

Woodturning with chisel on spinning lathe.

Chuckless Turning. Part 2

In the previous article we looked at how to fix a bowl to a lathe with a block of wood. Although this method eliminates the need for a chuck, it doesn’t present with its own drawbacks. As such, it may be worth considering the jam chuck bowl method as a quicker way to get your bowl attached to the lathe. In the second part of this two part series I am going to take a look at how you can fix your item without the need of a chuck or glue. Jam chuck bowl method The initial stages of the jam chuck bowl are the same as the glue block bowl. The one exception is that once I am ready to turn the underside, I need to cut a spigot to create the hold. Having never done this before, I’m not entirely sure of the best size to cut the

Read More
Wooden spindle and tools on a lathe.

Squared Winged Red Gum Box

Andrew Potocnik reveals the negatives and positives of two processes of creating winged forms This project is an example of how to turn square or ‘winged’ forms with a slight variation, showing you how to turn them safely with sacrificial timber added to the outer edges, while turning a second form without the benefit of sacrificial material. My reason for going through this process is to highlight the positives and negatives of both processes. Of course, the smaller you work, the less risk there is in not adding sacrificial material, but as the scale increases, so does the danger. Safety is paramount in any form of woodworking, especially in turning, where we are dealing with pieces of wood spinning at high speed, hence it is best to not have sharp edges of wood spinning where we can only see a ‘ghost’ of the edge at the best of times. Not

Read More

Woodworking Crafts

Wooden bench with lower shelf

How to Make a Bench

In this extract from Pocket Hole Joinery, Mark Edmundson makes a blanket bench with a handy shelf. The tops of benches always seem to accumulate stuff, so adding a shelf below this blanket bench should help to alleviate that problem. Adding the shelf also hides some pocket holes, so it’s a win-win as far as furniture details go. The benchtop planks are the biggest pieces required at 53⁄4in wide and 38in long, but the rest of the pieces are either narrow or short. The machining is basic, and it’s possible to build this bench with just a tablesaw, jigsaw, and pocket screw jig. A chopsaw or sliding crosscut sled to cut multiple parts to the same length would be helpful to ensure tight joints but is not essential. Overall, this is a very simple project for the beginning woodworker that illustrates how versatile pocket hole joinery can be. Stock preparation

Read More
White bookshelf filled with various books

Beautiful Painted Bookcase

Louise Biggs continues her series by building a decorative and intricate bookcase Having completed the oak (Quercus robur) screen (issue 17) and several antique restoration projects, two of my special customers returned with their next project. With their two- storey porch extension completed on their cottage, a seating area was formed giving beautiful views over their extensive garden and a narrow return in the wall structure with oak beam structures above. With an extensive collection of books they had designed a narrow bookcase, which would make use of the area. As with the oak screen, the carved details echo historical architectural features with the apotropaic marks – daisy wheels, arcading and circle decoration lifted from a guilloche decoration. The bookcase was to be made using blockboard, plywood for the carcase and American tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera) for the timber frame and mouldings, all of which give a good base for hand

Read More

Videos