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Power is all important with these but you don't want a heavy saw either. I have the Makita with the twin 18v batteries and it hits the right balance. You get about 30 minutes out of a full charge so it's worth investing in a spare set of batteries.

The Chestnut range of acrylic sprays are excellent for projects like this.Avoid solvent based finishes at all cost or you will get a honey coloured finish.

The black lacquer sticks available from Liberon are very good at running into small cracks and virtually invisible. If you check out 'Manor Wood' on the Tube he uses black hot melt glue but I haven't any experience of it.

There is only one school of cabinetmaking in the ROI and it is based in Letterfrack Co Galway. It's well set up and training is to a high standard. Making a living in bespoke furniture would I imagine be difficult but the internet is your friend. A maker in Co Cork, Joseph Walsh has conquered...

Hole saws demand a lot of power and MDF is a beggar for clogging up the teeth. I would make a template with a 35 mm hole and use a router to make the holes. I actually burnt out a Ryobi motor in a pillar drill by drilling about 20 x35 mm holes in ply. An expensive lesson learnt.

Burr oak or walnut ? Your first live edge project ! ?

Yes it can. Keep the radius small - something like 1.5 mm otherwise the ply layers are exposed.

In general most clamps are too heavy for cabinet work and you can end up with a lot of expensive wall hangers gathering dust. Firstly the Dakota range has been long abandoned due to poor performance. I have some and never use them - the bar keeps sliding and they refuse to lock down. The Bessey...

Use Addresspal. You will probably get away with no custom duties.

How good do you want the finished edges. ? Surely it's better to make a template out of 6 mm mdf and finish with a top bearing router bit. I would think any jigsaw will struggle to maintain accuracy in 18 mm ply ?

If it's just a utilitarian unit consider pocket hole screws. Yes, you will have to buy a jig but they work a treat if you don't mind having to hide the holes with a plastic cap. Not for a piece of fine furniture alas. The shelves are fixed but in practice most people don't move shelves once...

Get your shelf pins first before doing any drilling. These rely on a tight fit to work and some have a metal sleeve to go in the hole. You need to allow a fraction extra for a snug fit so a 4 mm pin will need a 4.3 mm hole etc. Some have ' flats ' to take the shelf but they can still move a...

Carpet tape is incredibly sticky and will hold work even on the lathe. Unfortunately it is a beggar to separate the pieces. I would second the suggestion of using brown paper and a hot melt glue gun.

Veritas make a conical drill bit which matches the angles of a pencil sharpener. You pick the closest match possible and make the conical dowel in the sharpener. I found it works but it is a bit of a faff. Its probably easier to buy a headless nail pinner which barely leave an indent.

I made a few maps of the UK and Ireland once after seeing a chap do at a show. I was using 18 mm maple and soon found it hard going ! The trick is to photocopy your subject and stick it to the substrate. Spiral blades are little use - they tended to 'round over ' the edges so you learn to...

Just make sure the saw has a trunnion with belt drive and not a direct drive from the motor shaft. There are loads of variables in table saws and one feature I really like is a double T slot on each side of the blade which will let you make zero clearance cross cut sleds for accurate cutting of...

The 260 refers to the width of the bed in mms. Its the most common size as softwood is rarely sold wider than 10" or 250 mm. Regardless of make make sure it has metal gears driving the thicknesser - some are plastic believe it or not. The distance between the rollers will determine the length...

Its Norway Spruce so not good for open fires as they spark a lot. Fine for woodburning stoves though as long as you let them dry out. I think it's time to hire the biggest industrial sprlitter you can find and then a shredder. Not a job for Sunday morning if you have neighbours. :D

There are no nerves in the outer layer of the skin ( the epidermis ) so it is painless to open the puncture a little. Nothing beats a hypodermic needle combined with massaging the sprinter out.

I have the Axminster velcro disc sander which must be 20 years old. I certainly appreciate the velcro when it comes to changing the discs. Are they even available anymore ? Being right handed, I also prefer the clockwise rotation - who decided that anitclockwise with the quadrant guard was the...