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Hi Pabs, I have never had a problem with sharpening using Japanese water stones; most of the area you are abrading is the soft steel to which the hard cutting steel is laminated. I can't recall ever having had a chip out of the edge. Of course, the edge will chip if you hit a nail, but to...

I hate them. The result always seems to be an unsightly misalignment as a result of seasonal movement. I much prefer honest, nicely finished end grain, but if they float your boat I'm sure you will get some good advice here. Jim

Coming along nicely. I inherited only two tools from my father - a Parkinsons metal working vice and his pre-war Record No 5. Despite having some expensive tools the Record is still one of my favourite tools. I have fettled but not "restored" it but what has made it really sing is one of...

Off the point altogether but if you want a tote that is really comfortable then make it elliptical in section rather than two flat faces connected by semi-circles. More work but so much more comfortable. Jim

You are in noble company; the late great cabinetmaker, Alan Peters, reckoned to use only a No7 and a block plane. Jim

It doesn't foam if it is under pressure, so the only foam is where there is squeeze out or a void hence what some see as its gap filling advantages, although why anyone would think that filling gaps with a load of bubbles is an advantage is a mystery to me. Jim.

Interesting discussion, but I would take a different route altogether and use a plyurethane glue. I believe this is widely used in glue lam applications and it is both waterproof, strong and very flexible - a film of it will very easily wrap around a pencil. I have used it myself for steam...

If you are time rich old Stanley or Record are certainly the way to go, but avoid anything made in the 60s or 70s when they chased the DIY market and quality went through the floor. You can help your chances of minimising refurb/quality correction time by looking for pre-war examples. If you...

I have used standard TB and TB3 in the past and found it OK, but frankly I think it's over-priced. There are loads of perfectly good PVA glues out there at a much lower price which will perform equally well. If I want a really long open-time I will use TB Liquid Hide Glue which I have found to...

As supplied, the burry maple veneers (top) were anything but benign, looking like relief maps of the South Downs. The elm (above) wasn’t much better with many more, but smaller lumps and bumps than is evident from the photo. Even worse, the maple in particular was rather brittle, so cutting it...

Tjhanks Kev. I have seen a few of them but probably not. I'll see if I can find them. Jim

Thought In had posted this a week or more ago, but evidently not so belatedly, here is the next instalment. For long term stability it is normally important that a veneered surface is balanced by corresponding veneers on the underside. This is not an iron rule because a rigid cabinet can be...

It's all academic to me but I have greatly enjoyed this thread and the obvious thoroughness and engineering expertise that has gone into theis rebuild. Thanks to you both and I hope you will do more of this sort of stuff for us all to admire and enjoy. Jim

Having long ago, before I knew better, re-veneered a pair of teak finished B&W speakers in ash glued on with Evostik, I can confirm that it will not. adhesive has now dried and the ash veneer is lifting everywhere. Currently mulling what to do with them. Jim

Oh dear. Does it really matter? Now, if it was about broccoli, 90% of what is sold in supermarkets as such is not broccoli at all, but tasteless calabrese, I could understand it! Jim

How many of us really care? Certainly not me, it is just a convenient term understood by woodworkers and in no way devalued by that fact. Jim

Thank you, a good point, it was a few yeaars ago but I'm laser veneer cutting was available then. It never occurred to me and while the basic design was done in CAD which would have worked well for laser cutting, the original design lacked the glass panel and and the modifications to...

The starting point for the table-top was a five-sided core of 19mm birch ply. To this were glued and biscuited mitred sections of 21mm sycamore, mounted centrally onto the ply edges to create a 1mm recess on either side to accommodate the veneers. If I were doing this now, I would use Domino...

Exactly, and unlike where Sjoberg benches are made. Jim

In the '60s I lived in Surrey and clearly remember a Vulcan flying low, presumably on its way to or from BAC Weybridge. Never heard anything so deafening before or since! Lovely model, by the way. Jim