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Michael T Collins makes an easily adjustable lectern. Dale Carnegie once said ‘there are always…
In honour of our much missed and respected former Editor Mark Baker, we have launched…
Dave Western creates from scrapwood a killer whale that is based heavily on a dramatic form…
Ian Woodford shares some ideas for designing and making a nutcracker. Since the early days,…
John Lloyd looks at a 15th-century technique that revolutionised furniture making. No, this has nothing…
Michael T Collins makes a beautiful rustic-looking coffee table. I have long been a proponent of…
Paul Purnell makes a lye-shaped thumbstick. Following on from last month’s article on joining a…
In the 1970s, I attended what was then called a building school, and learned all the finer points of woodworking and hand tool usage. To this day, the most useful and most used tool in my toolbox isn’t what you might expect. In fact, it’s more of an accessory than a tool: the bench hook. It’s an implement that has remained unchanged in its design for hundreds of years. No workbench would be complete without at least one bench hook, which is essentially a stop that is held perpendicular to the bench’s length. The purpose of a bench hook is to provide a surface against which a work piece can be held firmly without the need of a vice or other mechanical means. The simple three-piece construction helps guide the saw, keeping the cuts straight and true. Many of my projects have small parts and trying to cut these on
Over the course of his career, Hampshire-based has moved from machine making to more of a studio approach and a focus on making chairs Tell us about your background and training. My father was an artist, illustrator and teacher. He gave my sister and me space in his studio when we were young children. This act of enlightened generosity on his part meant that I grew up in a professional creative atmosphere surrounded by lithographic plates and the smell of ink. He would take us with him to studios, printers and agents. My favourite space was my bench, a cooling coffee at hand and silence or quiet classical music in the background. Not much has changed since I was eight! How did you first get interested in furniture making? As a child I was a prolific model boat maker. By my teenage years I was also experimenting with musical instruments
Colwin Way makes three fun projects, accompanied by his son. For most of us woodturning is an escape from the day job, a time to relax and unwind and unleash those creative juices. I’m one of the lucky few who can also call my hobby a career. I love turning so much that I carry on when I get home, either making for shop orders, commissions or indeed for articles such as this one. This does mean that sometimes I’m guilty of getting the balance wrong and neglecting those important to me! However, again I’m very lucky I have a very supportive wife behind the camera and that both my sons share a creative interest and started turning at the early age of six. As this article is all about turning wooden toys I thought it might be wise to bring in one of them, a true professional in the
Duane Cartwright carves a fun cherry greenman The greenman as a carving subject is more popular now than ever, and in his many guises, it’s easy to see why. The greenman also has different meanings to different people and cultures around the world, but for me it’s how we put a face to nature; the fusion of man and nature. How we hold nature and its future in our hands, but also how we are entwined with it. For us woodcarvers, we are even more entwined as our chosen medium is wood/timber, and in carving a greenman we’re returning life to the wood. The other good thing about carving a greenman is it’s great practice for carving facial features, like the eyes and mouth, which can be challenging and take practice – even poorly carved facial features can sometimes work, and even add character to the greenman carving. For this
Rick Rich shares his ‘after dinner’ turning project to make a garden dibber. I know some pretty serious gardeners; my wife is one. After dinner while I am in the shop turning, she will frequently be in the garden planting and watering. This garden dibber can be made from firewood within an hour or so, making it a fun evening project and a nice gift for that pretty and serious gardener. To some extent, any kind of wood could be used for these things. I suppose one could even use an old piece of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Softer framing timber probably won’t hold up so well as hardwood, but it would work for a while. My experience in similar items has shown that straight-grained hardwoods, such as oak (Quercus spp.), maple (Acer saccharum), cherry (Prunus spp.) or the like is just what the doctor ordered. If the wood is too pretty though,
Philip Greenwood talks about how to sand work to a fine finish. For such a simple sounding part of the turning process, there is a lot to know about sanding the finished piece. I have seen some well turned pieces which have been let down by bad sanding. Knowing the correct method to sand, and also how to sand correctly can improve the finish. Incorrect methods can be dangerous when sanding natural edge work and the inside of vases. One of the main problems I come across is people rushing the process and missing grades out. Sanding need not be a long process if done correctly, and will show that the process has been carried out correctly on your finished piece. Remember when you apply the finish it will show every scratch mark on your item. This article is about the methods I use every day in my workshop. Dust
Mike Wood provides a guide for carving a trio of Wilson’s birds of paradise. Wilson’s bird of paradise (Cicinnurus respublica synonym Diphyllodes respublica) lives in Indonesia and sadly is on the IUCN Red List as near threatened and the population is decreasing. Both male and female grow to a size of between 140mm and 160mm and the male is heavier than the female by a few grams or so. Interestingly, the blue crown area on the top of the head of these birds is not feathered – it is skin. The mature male of the species is the most highly coloured, exhibiting a vast array of hues depending on how viewed in the light. It is worth doing your research to truly get a better insight into their beauty and learn a bit more about them before trying to make them, but do use the patterns and images supplied here to give
Hone your marking and measuring skills with Ian Parker’s box project. There can be no better test of a maker’s skill than the construction of one component to perfectly contain another. The highly desirable piston fit drawer is quite rightly revered among makers and an unmistakable sign of quality to the uninitiated or potential customer. Illusive they may be but unattainable they most certainly are not as Ian Parker demonstrates in one of his set piece projects to construct a box to house a perfectly fitting drawer. From the outside this small box appears to be a relatively straightforward exercise in very simple jointing. On the inside, however, there is a container that is made to tolerances designed to highlight any issues a student may be having with stock preparation. The box can be made over three days and is a great project for beginners looking to establish a level of
Getting optimal performance and clean, straight cuts from your bandsaw boils down to how the blade guides are adjusted relative to the blade. Randy Maxey steps you through the process of properly adjusting the blade guides whenever you change the blade.
Please ensure you comply with all safety regulations for the use of woodworking equipment in your country.
Continuing our project of inspecting and cleaning a recently acquired, used DeWalt 735 benchtop planer, Randy Maxey shows how he cleans the knives and cutterhead in preparation for reinstalling the knives.
A simple shooting board is an accessory for a hand plane used for squaring the ends of workpieces accurately and with glass-smooth results. Randy Maxey built this shooting board “on the fly,” designing it as he was building it. He ended up with a great shooting board that will last for years. In this video, Randy talks about the highlights of the main parts of the shooting board and how they are installed.
The shooting board was modeled in SketchUp by Randy Maxey. Here is an animation of the various parts showing how it was assembled.
We don’t give modern wood glues enough credit. They are stronger than you might think. In this video, Randy Maxey shows you how to glue a miter joint without clamps. The secret is a technique woodworkers have used for ages. It’s called a rub joint. By applying glue to each surface and rubbing them together, you create a vacuum that helps hold the joint together until the glue dries. It’s a quick way to assemble smaller joints without the need for clamps.
In the woodworking shop, taking the time to make a pattern to create identical parts is worth the effort. In this video, Randy Maxey uses Baltic birch plywood to form a pattern to use when cutting and shaping the scales for a knife handle. Fine-tuning the shape and fit of the pattern pays off when it comes time to shaping the wood parts of the knife handle.
Accurately transferring the location of a hole from one workpiece to another can be a challenge. Randy Maxey shows you how he locates holes on a pattern using center-locating punches. These punches are available in sets containing a range of diamete
