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Hello, Tyreman, joinery grade redwood is never going to be dry enough to make things like this from when first bought. You must prepare everything slightly oversize and over thickness, sticker everything in an indoor environment (not the shed!) and leave until there is no trace of movement. It...

Hello, Having owned 5001's Marples and Footprint, ( and an embarrassing number of other makes) I can say that the differences are subtle. I suppose the 5001's were a good quality at a relatively reasonable price, which Stanley never matched since, so make them legendary. They were nicely...

Hello, I'm puzzled about one thing, though. What has fashion got to do with making contemporary furniture out of mahogany? I can understand that Victorian mahogany furniture is no longer in vogue, but we don't have to reproduce antiques; we make something new. I see a lot of cutting edge...

Hello, Oh yes! In fact there is just as great difference between Cuban and Brazilian mahogany as there is between them and Sapele. Cuban is incomparable. Mike.

Hello, How much proud does it sit? Could the 'Bumcheek' moulding sort out the discrepancy​? Can't believe i just typed that! Custard is a fan of that particular technique, see his life edge desk project to details. Mike.

Hello, Yes, that is exactly it. On your job, you could use the router fence to control the depth of cut. You can use the bearing, as long as it doesn't mean you cut too deeply in one pass. If your laminations are thick, then use 2 or 3 sizes of bearing to make the cut in multiple passes. Or...

Hello, A slot cutter is in essence a tiny circular saw, but it cuts parallel to the router base. Use it to slice off a small amount of material, using the bottom of the form to ride the router base on. I'll try and do a drawing to clarify. The method is pretty widely used for that task. Robert...

Hello, I think you are right to trim them on the form, but a flush trim bit might not be best. I would use a slot cutter in the router, perhaps 1.5 mm kerf and cut it that way, referencing off the flat side of the form. Even if the diameter of the slot cutter is not big enough to cut all the...

Hello, Cobblers! I mean old style shoe cobblers used pincers an awful lot more than woodworkers, I would suggest, so might have had a large influence on their design. Could swaging be associated with leather work in shoes? Mike.

Hello, That is one problem the Startrite does not suffer. The old Axi I had which did have the fault was long since sold and i cannot remember enough detail about the mechanism to suggest anything. I only remember that I couldn't think of anything at the time, that i could do with basic...

Hello, OK, that seems clear, it just gets confusing when more modern pincers have plain ends an still get called tower pattern. The example in the lower picture has winged shoulders. The terminal is not a sharp cone nor is as fully round as the ball type. Which pattern would we say that is...

Hello, The photo of the mod on my machine. It is working well, the table is solid now, when I use the locking lever. This is only necessary on the final thicknessing pass, though it can be used as often as needed. I used an old engineers vee block as the thrust block. The column on the table...

Hello, here is a drawing, with a photo to follow, of a locking mechanism I made for the Startrite planer thicknesser. Some may remember a discussion of the quality of some trade rated PT's form China, having deign faults despite the price tags not being the bargain they were a few years ago. I...

Hello, Before anyone spends loads of cash on cast iron tops, consider this: my table, where the router base is fixed, is only 3 mm phenolic sheet and there is a big hole in it for inserts. My fence is a cast iron job from a small spindle moulder and the router is the 2000 watt Triton. In other...

Hello, Does anyone know the difference between Tower pattern and Lancashire pattern pincers? I assume the Thewliss ones you have would be Lancashire? I thought it was differences in Shoulder design but am just guessing. Any type seem to have the ball and claw or plain ends, so it is not that...

Hello, And a cleavage on the other. :shock: Mike.

Hello, Phenolic resin inserts are fine, actually. They are dimensionally very stable, flat and have good wear resistance. Better wear resistance than aluminium actually, unless it has been hard anodised. I would say the standard 3/8 thick phenolic is less flexible than 6 mm ally too. The trick...

Hello, You say you are prepared to pay the going rate for the work. I'm just wondering if what you consider crazy price tags, is the going rate and your perceptions of cost are a bit skewed? Low volume, high quality, hand made work is often seen as pitched at a crazy price by everyone except...

Hello, Not a bad kit for starting, but I would suggest a Japanese saw might be better left for when you've a lot more experience, they are rather specialist and easily ruined. A hard points tenon and handsaw would be a better start and indeed for continuing. Something like an Irwin 12 inch...

Hello, Having a family means that playing music in the workshop is often the only way I can hear me tunes. I have to have a regular injection of Prog! I 'waste' a good deal of space for vintage Hi Fi separates and floorstanding speakers though. I have to hear it properly! Mike.