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I have bamboo flooring which is pre-finished with a satin lacquer, in our new kitchen. This is great except that the builder and plumber managed to drag the new cooker across it without first ensuring that the rollers were properly down. The result is qute a deep scratch about 18 inches...

Mark, I agree with those who speak in favour of weight and solidity. These are extremely valuable characteristics in a bench, especially when any heavy work is being tackled. One of the easisest ways to get this is to use a solid fire door. These are heavy, solid and extremely stable...

Birch ply is a very nice material in its own right if it is good quality, so why try to make it look like something else. I would just give it 3 coats of blonde shellac and allow it to speak for itself. Jim

It's a scalpel for me. The blades are easily sharpened on a water stone or cheaply replaced when they break. After my trusty Swann Morton, both my Blue Spruce abd the Japanese knife like the one Derek suggests seem clumsy to me, so I don't use either of them. Jim

Yes, lots of lovely cast iron - none of this namby pamby pressed steel. Jim.

I have the smallround Microclene and I can confirm it is prettynoisy. Very effective but I don't use it much because of the noise. Jim

Another very simple and sensitive way to measure acclimatisation is simply to weigh the wood very week. When the weight stabilises you will know that the wood has acclimatised to its environment. I suspect that weghing will be a more sensitive method than using a digi caliper, but if you do...

I have tried a few blades of various types of exotic PM and yes, their wear properties are exceptional, but in my experience, the edge is inferior to the best Japanese laminated blades and this is even mor important to me they greatly extended resistance. Have you also managed to crack this...

I haven't got any pics but have done some shelves recently so I will take one and post later. People seem to generally reckon that shellac will last about a year once it is made up. The drying time tends to gradually extend as the liquid shellac ages. I find the quantity I make up is always...

Exactly. Jim

I would go with Graham's suggestion and definitely avoid epoxy of any sort. Some years ago I needed to veneer ss with maple for a structural component. Even after sand etching and degreasing epoxy would not form a strong bond. I did eventually find a two part adhesive whcih was highly...

I have yet to meet someone new to woodworking (and I have met many) who thought that expensive tools would magically turn them into skilled crafts people. but I have seen people put off by rubbish tools - not least myself in my younger years when presented with a brand new Stanley No 4 which...

Is that really in your domestic oven, Jim. Don't thinK I could get away with that. Nice lived in workshop; don't you just hate all those yank showpieces the size of a car showroom and just as clean. Jim

+1 for Addis, Jim. I've got a stack of them bought over a few years. Don't use them much but when I do need them they are ace. Jim

Dead right BB. Jim

Put in a biscuit and use Cascamite would be my choice. But, whatever you use, the mitres MUST be perfect if you don't want them to open up over time. Jim

Now, now. do I detect a hint of plane snobbery running through this thread? Seriously though, it is all good fun but surely the real question is, how is the quality and how well does it work? I am sure there must have been some good stuff made inf the old eastern bloc but what we need to know...

Even more charm than a Trabant or, as I believe it is affectionately known, a Trabby. I am green with envy. Jim

That seems to cinfirm the problem doesn't it. In that case, I think I would definitely go for filling the grain with additional coats of shellac. I have done this with quilted mahogany achieving an excellent satin finish with no visible open grain. it took time but was worth it. Jim

Tricky one, Ian. Cutting back with some steel wool to a matt finish would tell you if it is reflection. Given that sycamore is so fine grained, I think I would be inclined to add more coats of shellac and keep cutting back until the grain is filled. Jim