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Just one word of caution. You mention making tools out of old files. Unless you know a lot about heat treatment of steels, DON'T DO IT! Files are designed to be dead hard in order to cut, but that means they are brittle. Only needs an injudicious dig-in with one of those to produce serious...

On a more general note, I've found Rembrand in Inverurie to be reasonably good and helpful. They don't stock hardwood, but are prepared to get it up to special order from their Dundee base. Beyond that, of course, there is Dave Piercy out at Ythanwells.

Anyone up here in the wilds of the north east use Aberdeen Hardwoods, off St Machar Drive? I need a small quantity of dry, bland oak boards 20+mm thick by 170mm and as I'm taking SWMBO to the dentist in Old Aberdeen tomorrow, thought I'd try them. If they aren't recommended for any reason, will...

Haven't seen one in years, but the old Black and Decker (when they were based in Slough) Ripsnorter was that style, so they must have been imported at some stage. There was still a working wheelwright in the village near where I was born until the 1970s, and a Ripsnorter was the only power tool...

As another dinosaur, thanks for the idea about the wheels. Been trying to devise something to enable me to move the Ryoby(Record) router table around. It's got a cast iron top and weighs a heck of a lot. Had been sketching things much more complex than your version, unnecessarily so and they...

Agree with risk of breakage, though a well fitting former should help, but not much increase in work to make a couple of plugs to go in the end of a bit of ventilation tubing connected to a wallpaper steamer!

(Tried to reply to this last night, but we lost power while I was halfway through typing) That looks a pretty good match, Disinterior - thanks. Had checked Hafele and various others without success - the ones on offer all seemed to be either quite a bit wider or narrower, or if they were...

In the process of (slightly) udating our kitchen, using seconhand "Shaker style" doors off Gumtree. OK, I'm a cheapskate, but proud of it! Some of the doors came with quite pleasant brushed stainless effect handles. We could either go for an entirely new pattern, or try to match the ones there...

Depending what timber you are using, MIGHT be feasible to steam bend? Just done some 6mm thick edging for some shelves in beech and was pleasantly surprised how tight a curve was possible after about 20 minutes steaming.

Gave mine to son in law, as my muscle memory is so attuned to Western "cut on the push stroke" saws that I just couldn't use it.

BRILLIANT!!! I think you've just solved the problem of sideways play in the tailstock of my Mystro.

That thrust bearing is surprìsing. Suggests that after trying that arrangement, Startrite must have decided (unlike many makers) that putting a thrust sideways on a standard bearing was a da*n silly idea and went over to the stellite tipped rod used on most 352s

Great topic. Still regret not having my camera around when, sometime in the 1970s, the blacksmith/agricultural machinery guy and the retired village carpenter did what was probably the last iron tyring of a wheel in the village where my Mother lived.

Don't want to be a wet blanket, but if you want a chopping block to last, then you really need something with much wilder grain than that beast. Ideally elm, but even softwood trunks with lots of side branches (i.e., knots) will last a while. One overenthusiastic chop with a good axe and that...

Can't recall seeing anything like that from Startrite in the 1960s; my guess would be much older than that, probably early 50s.

No-one has mentioned the Nobex mitre saw or its imitators. I've got the "Professional" version, which cost me a princely £3 at a local car boot and it produces spot-on mitres. If you've got all the bits, which include an end stop, it potentially solves the matching lengths problem too. But a...

Out of interest, any idea what that little Villiers engine was originally used with? Have done up one or two bigger ones in the past, but that one is new to me.

Never used one of those or seen one in the flesh, BUT from the pictures I've seen, the motor is a pretty standard foot mounted job, which gives plenty of choice. Given the capacity of the machine, 750w would probably be the absolute lower limit, but still useable. The upper limit for reliable...

Er....... Commutator????? Don't think any Brook Crompton motors were brushed and almost 100% sure that Coronet/Record never fitted brushed motors to their lathes, even the most basic like the No 0. Dirty/sticking centrifugal switch sounds much more likely or, just maybe, a bad connection in...

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I've got no problems in principle with making the new floor, but wondered if there is a source of something suitable to tidy up/cover the edge round it? Will probably use only 6 or 8mm ply, as there is some support underneath, and will reuse the existing carpet...