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Or try decking oil. I’ve used it with success on an allotment gate that still looks like new after 2 years. It’s only thin stuff, like candle wax dissolved in petrol, you slap it on, it’s absorbed, then the petrol evaporates leaving the wax embedded in the wood.

A true story: Several years ago, not long after Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (‘Cally Thistle’) were promoted to the 4th tier of Scottish Football League, they were drawn against Celtic in the cup. Celtic were by far the best team in Scotland at the time. Incredibly they pulled off one of the...

Helium is too light to stay in the atmosphere. It floats off into space. As a very stable element it doesn’t change into anything else. Fun fact: helium is mined. It is a byproduct of radioactive decay and is found in some natural gas fields in rocks where uranium is relatively abundant. Since...

Looking back at previous geological epochs does indeed show periods of incredibly vigorous life with CO2 (and O2) levels much higher than now. Of course the species alive now are not evolved or adapted to those conditions. But there’s also periods where life was rather more precarious; in the...

I have an old tin of Osmo that states it is safe for children's toys - and I just checked the product information for Osmo PolyX and it states "When dry, finish is safe for humans, animals and plants and is suitable for children‘s toys as per EN 71.3 (European norm) and is saliva-resistant and...

Fabulous model Kittyhawk. I am in awe. When I was a teenager in Harrogate in the ‘70s we used to have a Vulcan fly over our house most afternoons at about 4:30 - it was apparently on their patrol route covering Menwith Hill. Occasionally when the Vulcans were on exercises we would have a B52...

Just picked this up from Am Prime for the princely sum of £3.75. It appears genuine Starrett, albeit made in China, and is absolutely square - I just marked round a 3x2 baton with a marking knife and met exactly. Seems a crazy price.

I just replaced a garden gate that had reached the end of its natural life. 19mm softwood screwed from the back. When I pulled it apart, about 60% of the screws had snapped due to the movement of the wood.

This thread has taken me right back to my childhood in the 1960s. My grandad was a school caretaker in Scarborough and took a similar pride in the hall floor. As I write this I can smell the newly polished wooden floor.

I was very impressed with this beast at Hallsgrimmkirkja in Reykjavik. Unfortunately I missed a recital by one day.

The zoom grip on an old Sigma camera lens went the same way; discovered when I got it out to put it in P/X against a new camera. I tried all sorts, though not the abrasive ones obviously. Nothing worked, lens had zero value.

1. Dreaming of being an astronaut, but couldn't breath because the helmet was filling up with scones. 2. Dreaming I was on a houseboat, but the deck was made of moorhens (a small water bird) with their wings stitched together. All their heads turned together to face me as I threw corn for them...

I’ve limited experience here, but recently used and liked a circular gauge on a course. My pin style one is old and stiff, and difficult to adjust precisely. The one I ordered (not a Veritas!) has this interesting description: Newkiton Wheel Marking Gauge Pro with Micro Adjust Function, 1...

My grandfather was an East Riding farm worker, and he had a good store of odd sayings: On something Mrs Thatcher said: "Nivver in' history of crow sh*te". If we were being a bit dumb: "Th'art a gre-at clart 'ee-ad" (mud for brains). And he spoke a bit of dialect: "Bobbin up an' down like a...

Suboptimal.

Many thanks again for your advice on repairing this cheese board. I have finally got round to doing it. In fact when I had cleaned off the old glue I found that the ends were very rounded and blunt, with hardly any interlocking fibres. I suppose it wasn’t surprising having been broken and glued...

That’s the version we played, but where I grew up in the East Riding of Yorkshire we called it ‘knackerstretch’!

Mallet from offcuts of cherry and oak plus some cocobola and a handle of an unknown hardwood from my late father’s turning stash.

I bought a Shokunin from Axminster and was impressed. It cuts quickly through hardwood. It’s double edged for rip and cross cut, and yes it makes a difference, and has a narrow kerf. They have gone up quite a bit in the last year, but they’re still not that expensive. I will buy another blade...

Yes, it’s Chris Tribe’s place; the courses are now led by Nick Thompson.