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Went to the Celebration of Craftsmanship Exhibition yesterday. Some brilliant work there both from a design and an exection point of view. There were a few pieces which were not as impeccably made as I have come to expect but it is nice to see that some of them are fallible. One cabinet...

His chairs are wonderful, although his other work does not particularly appeal to me. Jim

Welcome to the forum, Den. I am sure you will get lots of conflicting advice, but here is mine. Hand v power tools is very much a matter of time and temperament which are very individual. Power tools are loud, dust generating and, for me, unpleasant but they do get you there quicker. Hand...

I am sure that if you could find a Corian fabricator near you and talk to the guys on the shop floor you could get an offcut for nothing. Jim

I have been tempted to buy one of the Chinese Axminster versions (which is what Marc has) but, if I were to stumble across a nice to Wadkin, the temptation might just be irresistible. Jim

I think I would leave it showing its history. Jim

Not me, but MarcFish has one and rates it. It is the one from Axminster although he has tarted his up somewhat. Jim

Talking to a guy today about his Viceroy grinder. He also paid £60 for honing oil which is £10 more than he paid for the machine but he is happy. They really are great machines, I would rather have one than a Tormek. Jim

For some unaccountable reason, I am happy for my wife to assist me with gluing up. We fight over all sorts of things but not this, possibly because she thinks I know what I am doing! Mind you, we do have a dry trial run first so that we both know pretty much what we are doing. The other...

I would go with the maple - pale, hard, heavy and pretty stable. Well worth the money - make it as thick as you can afford and handle. Jim

Sounds like a good plan. I can thoroughlt recommend the Japanese blades, but I wouldn't buy on ebay. Much better to go to a secondhand tool shop and pick over what they have in stock.. That way you can find obvious problems like cracked castings and misaligned blade beds. I also strongly...

I have only two and never use either of them. I do however have two cutting guages which I use all the time; I infinitely prefer a knife line with the bevel on the waste side. Jim PS nice work, all the same Pete, must look out that Hawthorn from the Garden that has been lurking in the...

Dead right, Rob. I was taught by a very fine and thoughtful professional cabinet maker of 30 odd years who has never used a camber and certainly doesn't spend time getting rid of tramlines. But, in the end, it is what works for you. Jim

Yes, I can second Rob's comments. I just remove any slight tracks with a cab scraper. Being pedantis (a fault I must admit to) I would ask how you can get a surface flat with a cambered blade. It must surely result in a surface with, an albeit small, wave form. Jim

Give the guys at G and M Tools a ring - they have sold loads of Viceroys secondhand when they have been removed from schools and machine shops. Jim

The Eclipse is a great little honing guide but it only works with parallel sided chisels and plane blades. Clamp the blade between the jaws with the bevel facing towards the wheel. Chisels go beteen the the lower jaws and plane blades between the upper. To achieve the angle at which you wish...

I think Mike is right. They look like Supertap washers to me - no loger available - these taps worked very well and you could change the washer without turning the water off. Jim

Looks like a nice idea, Jacob, provided of course you want a camber on all your blades. Wouldn't work for me given that I don't want a camber on any of them. As for contamination of the wheels, can't you just run it under the tap? Mind you, I am lucky enough to have a sink in the workshop...

+1 It really is that simple, unless it is me that is simple. Jim

Yes, but it does have a nice ambience and on the rare occasions I am in Salisbury it is easy and enjoyable just to drop in there and I always seemed to manage to park in the car park opposite the Alzheimer's Society (thank god I can still remember that). If it's on an industrial estate near...