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Personally I don't think you made the bottom rail too big. It's traditional in cabinetry and in picture framing for the bottom rail to be slightly thicker than the side and the top rails (which are normally all of the same cross section). A bit of extra weight at the bottom just looks right to...

Very nice work, stop chamfers just add so much visual interest to a piece.

Except it's not! Look at a piece of furniture that has both carved elements and casework elements. The casework is french polished, the carved work has the exact same shellac polish, but applied with a brush rather than a rubber. Both elements are coated in the same shellac...so do they have...

I don't doubt that it's a tricky joint. But to regard any joint as a litmus test of skill is to completely misunderstand the reality of cabinet making. A piece of furniture can contain scores of joints, and hundreds of individual processes. But the final piece will only be as good as the worst...

I'm guessing there are still plenty of people interested in woodworking, and plenty of people entering the hobby. For evidence I'd say look at the boom in upmarket hand tool manufacturers and niche hobbyist retailers. But the failure rate seems pretty drastic. For every hundred new hobbyist...

It's not really an ingredient as such that's responsible for the mirror surface (yes the actual surface is shellac, but lots of other materials are also capable of delivering a mirror surface). It's more the process of french polishing. This process can transform the shellac into an absolutely...

Seems a pretty daft comment to me Phil. Someone may well choose that finish for anything that's unlikely to be abraded! It's really not brain surgery. So, not great for floors, but I've seen all manner of projects, from jewellery boxes to occasional tables, that have looked stunning for many...

Not quite. You don't always need oil. The more experienced you are the less oil you tend to use. And the purpose of the oil is lubrication not gloss.

Personally the answer is no, I wouldn't. However, your question raises another interesting point. If I prepared two test pieces, one french polished and one finished with sanding sealer followed by a coat or two of hard wax, how many people could tell the difference? Not that many is the...

Maybe. But given the context of where it was found I'd guess it's a gouge for doing coped work. You know what a coping saw is and where it got it's name, https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wood ... in-coping/ Well a couple of gouges allowed a craftsmen to do an even tidier job on a coped joint.

Reading through this thread it's shocking how many of the early posters have dropped out. Sure, there are a few long time stalwarts, but it seems most people only stick with woodworking for a few years before dropping it in favour of a different hobby. On that basis the logical choice of planes...

The french polishing techniques you've seen demonstrated on YouTube are perfectly relevant for smaller items like guitars, I regularly french polish small items like jewellery boxes. A carved item can still have shellac brushed on. Would that still be called french polished? I tend to called...

David used to be a very regular contributor to the Felder Owners (or Users?) Forum, which was a Yahoo forum. You could join that to find out what's happened. As I said before, his book (actually it's more a photocopied document) is an extraordinarily useful resource and well worth chasing up...

Looks like a cracking bit of kit. Good to see an alternative to the Pro Edge, every manufacturer needs some competition to keep them honest!

Superb job Oscar, full credit to you! =D>

+1 You hear complaints about chisels all the time, I tend to disregard them because you can't really judge any chisel until after it's had several honings.

I can't help with your specific question, only to say keep persevering, I've got his book and it was invaluable in setting up and getting the best from my machine. If you're ever in the south Hampshire area you're welcome to pop by the workshop and read up on any particular topic.

West Epoxy offer a range of additives to do exactly this, it's common in boat building to want to build up a "fillet" of epoxy, sometimes this will even be overhead. Consequently West offer all the necessary plus comprehensive advice. If West prices come as a shock I'd still start with their...

This is such a great project, thanks for posting! It also looks like you've found a real sweet spot. Big enough to be genuinely useful, yet small enough to be manageable. =D>

I've got a strop made from "Horse Butt", which is super hard and thick and the traditional favourite, If you're sharpening a cut throat razor then maybe it's worthwhile tracking down some fancy leather. But for woodworking tools I honestly can't see any difference between this and the bit of...