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Doesn't make a lot of difference Mike though I can see what you're saying and a square dead square chisel is obviously much more desirable, but at the end of the jour if you take control (where have we heard that before :D ) of the chisel by sighting it correctly and then giving it an almighty...

Agreed, Jacob; nice to see we're singing from the same hymn sheet :D (except I'd cramp the job down) - Rob

Although the front looks good, it will have acquired a surface patina and some grime over the years which needs to be gently removed before applying the Danish Oil. This Liberon stuff is pretty good but there will be other products that do a similar job. Always try it out on a hidden test piece...

Chopping the mortice square has nowt (or very little) to do with the chisel but where you stand. The job should be cramped to the bench top (never held in a vice) over the strongest part of the bench which is always directly over a leg. Then stand at the end of the bench so that the job is now...

I'll second that one from Chas. Never, ever use a blower to clean down the 'shop and these days I rarely, if ever use a broom on the floor; instead a floor 'gulper' is used that's connected to the dx system - Rob

Thanks Glynne...all the ruff stuff was done with the five tooth tct cutter from Ax in an angle grinder, thereafter with gouges, spokeshaves and a coarse rasp. This is the pine prototype and I 'only' have another three proper ones to make from ash; at the rate of current progress, they should be...

The current project is a bar stool based on Oscar Pipson's 'Elka' design. The prototype has gone from this confection of pine blocks... ...which looks like something Picasso knocked up in his T break. After much grinding, gouging, spokeshaving and rasp work the final form is beginning to...

I'd agree, but it might not be. This is the problem with trying to identify this type of wood as there are literally dozens, possibly hundreds that look very similar. It appears to be a brown, mahoganyish sort of wood so it could be Utile, or Sapele, or African Mahogany, or Honduras Mahogany or...

This is the original Axminster Rider prototype No.4 from which all the current range of 'Rider' bench planes are derived. It was made as a 'one off' with the body and frog being cast in brass: The plane has never been used 'in anger', though I have flattened the sole and fitted a...

Can't remember the last time I drove in London (well over twenty years ago) and there's only limited parking anyway at the venue according to the info on the website. The recommended route is via the DLR from Canning Town, jumping off at Cyprus. My train tickets from Salisbury were only a few...

Nice work, burr oak is stunning material. I bought a completely green, thick (50mm) slab of the stuff last year (about 2mx400mm) and it was so heavy it was as much as I could do to lift it. It's currently air drying at the bottom of the garden under a big tarp but I have a mind to do one of...

You might need to take out a second mortgage though :D :D - Rob

Not too shabby, but some years ago I ordered something from Japan and it was on my doormat within 48hrs - Rob

A 'heads up' for anyone interested. Derek Jones, erstwhile editor of F&C has a new woodworking festival organised for the 26-27 Oct. Looks to be a good line up of workshops, demonstrators and the obligatory bazar with all (or most) of the usual suspects - Rob

The best place I've found for this sort of stuff is HE Savill - Rob

In the Schwarz's book on 'Campaign Furniture' that I've just leafed through, he mentions on page 26 that tops and bottoms can sometimes (?) be 'found floating in a groove' and they can be reinforced with a centre muntin. However, if you don't want to do it that way, the safest option is thick...

If you really want to know about wood, read Richard Jone's 'Cut & Dried'. I'm around half way through now and what Richard doesn't know about timber could be writ on the back of a small postage stamp. Highly recommended - Rob

I re-finished my wine tables with severial brushed on coats of thinned down (30% with white spirit) Satin Osmo and then cut back with 0000g wire wool 'twixt each coat, finally burnishing the top surface with some super fine stuff from WH. Interestingly, before I started, the original Polyvine...

If possible (and it's not always) veneer both sides at the same time. Veneering just one side will introduce a lot of moisture from the glue (unless a resin glue of some sort is used) and will almost certainly cause the job to bow when it comes out of the press. If you're lucky, veneering the...

There were 'issues' in the accuracy of drilling the CNC 3mm holes in the Parf Sticks which were corrected but it appears they may be still there. I bought a kit which currently has a sale pending (from somewhere else) and it was perfect to construct my Parf top - Rob