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People smuggling? Or perhaps a reliable service London to Brighton ( they are accustomed to standing all the way)

English ash is highly rated for the framing but as suggested Keruing is often used for framing and flooring with cheaper lighter weight timbers for side boarding. The flooring seems to me to be the most important part if you are transporting horses.

For efficient operation you need a vent in the shed to allow air to escape, and a vent to allow air to enter the workshop. In winter the extractor will draw the warm air out of the workspace very swiftly but that's preferable to inhaling the fine dust that gets through the bag. Mike.

This is much less sophisticated but has worked for years. The extractor has had the NVR switch wired out to make the motor run when the power is switched on by the ceiling switch, these are normally used to turn on bathroom heaters and immersion heaters. The cord is extended through vine eyes...

Hi John I think that we must agree to disagree about the jig but certainly not about the process of constantly learning about woodworking. As mentioned I would encourage anyone just starting out to invest in a power router rather than a gadget that guides you to drilling a hole. As shown above...

I suggest a 6 or 9 litre AFFF extinguisher. If you buy a stored pressure type you can test and recharge it yourself using a compressor or foot pump. Site it by the way out. Fires involving electrical equipment are dealt with by switching off the power at the affected machine,or the workshop...

The power router must be the most important advance for the small joinery business since I started as an apprentice. The first one I got to use was a one horsepower machine from a company called Centec. The boss of the firm payed £100 for it. Joiners were payed £12.10 a week then so eight weeks...

Hi AES The router grooves are of equal depth throughout and were made using the normal router fence. The hand made pockets are not normally filled in any way and don't need to look pretty since these were always considered to be out of sight fixings. The use of special screws and special plugs...

If you go back a couple of posts there is a photo showing the method, it beats £85 for a jig. Mike.

You could speak to a cutter grinder with a view to him altering a standard router cutter to give the stepped shape required with one cutter. Alternatively you can solve the problem of locating the different sizes of jig by having an outer template which can be clamped to the workpiece and a...

Ive managed to remove some text from the last post. The top shot is just to prove that I do make use of jigs and templates ( that's only about a third of them) Most are labelled with the cutter size and guide bush details to avoid having to work it out each time. The bottom shot has the standard...

As promised these are photos of alternative methods of pocket screwing, I've made no secret of the fact that I regard these as second rate fixing methods whether made by jig or by hand, but they are useful on rare occasions.

Hi Walt My apologies for failing to welcome you before holding forth on my prejudice against the pocket hole jig, also for not at least suggesting an alternative method. The cost of the jig takes you quite a way towards the cost of a power router which can make pocket holes in a much better...

Hi There is no controversy in the minds of competent woodworkers regarding the use of pocket hole jigs of any brand. They are largely useless, just a catch penny aimed at the wallets of the inexperienced. They try to make it look as if quality joints can be made with no skill of any kind...

We are all contributing to pollution in various ways, it seems futile to pillory one tool supplier for stating an obvious truth. Do you run a vehicle or holliday in other lands using air travel? If you haven't experienced the smogs of the 50s and 60s when just about every home burnt coal, then...

Many of the brushes I use are years old and are carefully cleaned after use, but if you add the time taken and solvents used its near impossible to justify the financial cost against the cost of a cheap throw away item. If you are running a commercial operation I estimate that it costs about £5...

You might look at the idea of a scumbled finish, sometimes referred to as stained and grained. That would give the advantage of the obscuring affect of painting while having a look of wood grain. Mike.

In the case of vee belts the number on the belt is the outside length of the belt measured in millimetres. I'm not sure about poly bee belts but I'm confident that the engineering suppliers will soon advise you. Mike.

They are normally available from local engineering suppliers or motor factors, if you quote the number from your existing belt it can be ordered if it's not a popular size.

Some people are very allergic to it, please go carefully. Mike.