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You make some interesting points. It's a bit of a digression but I work a lot with veneered panels and even though I do have a scoring blade, for the very finest work I don't use it. I used to always use a scoring blade for veneered work, but then I spent a couple of years at The Edward...

I use a Felder saw with a sliding table, but actually these same general principles apply to all sliding tables. If you're chiefly using the sliding table to cut sheet goods, then you're best off with the sliding table slightly higher than the main table. Felder/Hammer recognise this and...

I want to put up some shelves inside a window "bay" in my workshop. I plan on fastening a wooden cleat to the wall with two 5mm x 50mm screws, using 8mm rawlplugs drilled to a depth of 50mm. The shelf will simply sit on top of the cleat. Nothing fancy, after all it is a workshop. This photo...

This is genuinely good work, and for someone just starting out it's particularly impressive. 👏 There's a fine line to be walked here. On the one hand furniture making will always punish the impatient worker. The dice are massively loaded in favour of the tortoise and against the hare! So it's...

Amazing chairs! I didn't appreciate that they were quite so magnificent. There's no question but you have to try and remake those in the original timbers. Substituting a close visual match is all well and good, but for a genuine "legacy project" like this you need the real deal. Unfortunately...

Adrian, the web site I mentioned is WoodLots on the WoodNet site, anyone can post a "timber wanted" request, http://www.woodnet.org.uk/woodlots/round-timber-wanted I had a think about what timber might be a possible substitute, reading from left to right this is flat sawn Laburnum, quarter...

Hello Adrian. Laburnum isn't a commercial timber, in other words it's not listed by the big wholesalers and importers, so the only sources tend to be small, traditional timber yards that source wood from local tree surgeons, and who may have removed an ornamental Laburnum. I was about to direct...

I've played around with a possible Guild Mark submission that's based around a cabinet with an austere and plain exterior, but a dazzlingly sumptuous interior. So I taught myself gilding as that would be part of the interior decoration. I was lucky to have some time with professional gilders...

For a man with a bad back you're setting a blistering pace! 👏 A little anecdote. When I listen to professional cabinet makers talking about other professional cabinet makers, the highest praise is generally reserved for two characteristics. One is the ingenuity of their jigs, the second is how...

I've had the N4400 for about seven or eight years now. It's used pretty much every day as I'm a full time furniture maker, and it's never missed a beat. Furthermore, because I cut my own veneers, it's frequently used at the very limit of its capacity on super-hard hardwoods like Rosewood, Wenge...

Nice job Woodman, I'm sure your daughter will treasure that for many years to come. 👏 Bookstands are an excellent, but underrated, project. You can make them as simple...or as complicated...as you like. It's all on a comfortably small scale, requiring only a modest amount of expensive...

Full credit to you Jeremy for seeking out some training. The router must be the most versatile power tool in the workshop, and with the right jigs and right tooling is capable of the most astonishing range of woodworking tasks to a very high level of accuracy. A couple of days in the company of...

I guess most of the timber machining is done now, but if you do need a bandsaw (or a drum sander for that matter) I'm at the western end of the Solent, so pretty close to you. Shout if you need any help. Incidentally, I'll echo your comments about Totton Timber, certainly for softwoods they're...

Like MikeG said, do the job right and breadboard ends are 100% reliable. I've lost count of the number of tables I've made with breadboard ends. From small ones up to absolute whoppers, and in more timbers than you can shake a stick at. Never had a single problem and I don't expect I ever will...

This question, or something like it, crops up every few months. You'll get loads of replies, most of it fairly general advice about running a small business. It's all well intentioned, and some of it might even be true. But none of it really takes you any further forward. I'm a full time maker...

Hello Andy, the total height is 27", which includes a 1/2" thick top. This is exactly the same as the original. It's a little low for a work table, but you can just get your knees under it as long as your chair isn't too tall. I'd be concerned about making it taller as then the racking forces...

That's a very impressive job you've done there Steve. But I think the leprachaun chappie doing a Riverdance jig lets the image down a bit. I'd shoo him away if I were you.

I don't know where in the South West you are, but I'm based at the western end of the Solent, between Bournemouth and Southampton. If that's convenient to you then I'm a full time furniture maker with a fully equipped workshop, I'd be happy to help you out with this project by machining your cut...

It had me worried too, in fact I always joke to clients that this piece is unsuited to households with small boys or large dogs! However, there are plenty of Shaker originals that have survived now for well over a century. I also take comfort from the handle on my wooden jack plane, I use...

Each leg is comprised of two sections. First is the foot "stirrup" piece, where the grain either runs horizontal or, better still, you search for a curved grain board to minimise short grain. Next is the upright, where the grain runs vertically. The two pieces are morticed and tenoned together...