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Looks very tidy. 👏

PAR is unlikely to be accurately enough machined for that. Actually it's not just about absolute accuracy, even good yards often run their planer knives way, way longer than they should, plus they take massively deep cuts at the highest possible feed speed. Bottom line is the finish quality it's...

What are you planning on making?

Fair enough Richard, my last experience with F&B was a few years ago so maybe they've raised their game.

These are joinery projects, I wrongly assumed you were talking about cabinet making projects. I'm reasonably knowledgeable on furniture making, but pretty inexperienced on joinery...so you should cheerfully disregard whatever I say!

As a general rule a good quality track saw and/or MFT system will deliver better accuracy than a cheap or even middle priced table saw. If you’re mainly working sheet goods there’s no contest IMO, you have to spend tens of thousands on a top end panel saw before you even equal track saw accuracy...

I think the root of the problem is F&B's virtually non existent technical support. It's not just advice on HVLP spraying that's lacking, after all you could argue that isn't likely to be a typical domestic application. But even really basic stuff, like what knotting they recommend, just gets a...

The workshop where I trained as a cabinet maker insisted that everyone learn some basic letter carving, their rationale was that letter carving was one of the few ways a craftsman could separate his or her work from high street alternatives and justify a price premium. I wasn't looking forward...

I sprayed the kitchen and some bookshelves that I built for my house, I use F&B paints in a Fuji system I borrowed from a mate. It was all fairly straightforward, although I got zero useful help from F&B's customer service department (unless they manufacture an item F&B won't even...

Lucky me! A beautifully re-handled Howarth chisel (not only properly sharpened but superbly flattened, you'll be seeing this put to good use in forthcoming WIPs), a really useful set of gauge blocks (no more fiddling around with drill bits to set router plunge depths), and an amazingly turned...

There's an important lesson in your experience. Here comes another one of those endless woodworking sayings... "Always leave the wood as long as possible for as long as possible." It's easy to glue a bit back onto the side the make a component wider, it's virtually impossible to glue a bit on...

It's an interesting question. Personally I'd argue that routers and better abrasives have revolutionised post war woodworking. But I certainly see how track saws and better adhesives could also make a claim. i used to do quite a lot off work in the US and came across a type of hobbyist...

If the box just sits there looking pretty then it'll be okay. But if the box gets used, ie the lid is repeatedly opened and closed, then the screws will probably pull out. Hinge screws are subject to quite a lot of force, if the hinge is rebated a whisker too deep the screws can be tugged out...

Here's how I remember the correct feed direction for a router. 1. Make a "thumbs up/thumbs down" gesture with your right hand. 2. Imagine the thumb is the router bit. So pointing up is the router in a router table. Pointing down is the router hand held. 3. Then the direction that your...

You're a Christmas hero! Absolutely no rush as this job can easily wait until January. About 200mm long, no thread. PM with address sent. Huge thanks!

I make most of my veneer punches from steel conduit. I've just split my most used punch, but I'll have to buy a 3m length of conduit to replace it. Has anyone got a 150-250mm off-cut of a 20-30mm diameter galvanised steel or stainless steel conduit? I'll of course pay postage, or I'll swap you...

I'm looking for one of the smaller Ulmia veneer punches, say a number 2,3 or 4. Something with a maximum diameter of between 20 and 30mm. If you've got something rattling around your workshop, unused and unloved, then please let me know!

Anyone who perseveres to the end of a difficult project like that should feel very proud of themselves. 👏

I'm pretty sure all of those irons are the older, laminated steel ones that Record and Stanley in Britain used in the immediate pre and post war periods. Irons with very angular corners, ie with absolutely zero rounding of the corners, are the laminated ones. There was quite a long thread on it...

In the 50's and 60's a block plane was often the only plane that the home handyman would own. There was a race to the bottom as manufacturers vied with each other to offer the cheapest possible block plane. Consequently, some of the worst hand tools I've ever encountered are these entry level...