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Use rapeseed oil from Tesco; fraction of the price and post free. Also very good on bandsaw blades. Rapeseed oil is used industrially as lubricant. Its also non staining. Commercial camelia oil usually contails a proportion of mineral (ie unscented baby) oil.

Just spotted this when googling for Footprint: don't know if they manage to sell eventually - any idea? "Footprint Tools enters voluntary liquidation. (edit - dated May 2009) The credit crunch and subsequent recession have forced Footprint Tools into making a "dignified exit" from the market...

Some months ago, one of the big firms was advertising "NEW washable use again" tack cloths in the US Fine Woodwkg. magazine, with "microfibers". A raid of the kitchen sink cupboard secured a microfibre cleaning cloth (probably from Tesco) and amazingly, it seems to work without being tacked by...

It's somtimes easy to miss a point in a post; I have got this right - you are getting a screeching noise with the all the blade guides/thrust bearings withdrawn - ie. not touching the blade? And, (I apologise for asking) you are withdrawing all guides/thrust bearings so they don't touch the...

Another vote for mothballs.

What about vinyl (0.2mm @ £2/sqM) from Allplas.co.uk? For connectors use screw-together tarpaulin eyelets which can be tapped to 1/4" BSP (Scritt's idea)and vinyl cement. You could get a LOT of vinyl for the money!

Some years ago someone sent in a tip to Fine WW magazine, suggesting you grind a very shallow single bevel (~20 deg) on the plain end of a thin (say 2mm) HSS drill, which you then fit into one of those clutch style propelling pencils, to use as a marking "knife". Well, I use a solid carbide 2mm...

Whilst browsing ebay for vac pump, i got the impression that diaphragm pumps are likely to have low Cu ft/minute draw; ie they take too long to evacuate the bag unless it is very small, and the item being glued flat. If you want to laminate over a form (which may be hollow and thus contain air)...

One might be forgiven for wondering if David C's No.5 1/2 is just a trifle hollow? What does your engineering st. edge say, DC? Published photographs have shown DC flattening planes on plate glass, silicone sealed to timber? Possible plate glass edge distortion under grinding pressure? For what...

Lamello biscuits are a "nominal" 4mm to fit an accurate 4mm slot cut by a 100x4x22mm blade. A 3,5mm biscuit jointer is not fit for purpose unless sold as part of a special Wickes 3,5mm biscuit system. Apart from special mini biscuits, I've never seen any biscuits that were not supposed to be to...

I got myself (for ocasional use) one from Westfalia mail order for a tenner. A pin style machine, it's a bit delicate, and made for general purposes, but gives you the idea with sensible readings from timber stacked outdoors in Devon (general RH 75%) and indoors in dehumidified workshop (55-60%RH).

I have seen an "interpad" for abranet; does anyone know if this is to protect the normal RAS hook pad from damage, or to add flexibility for contour sanding - no interpad to examine, and the stockist did not know!

No doubt wet stones are messy; probably kept the Japanese craftsman working on site, outdoors for centuries; (and don't you think you're coming in here with those messy things...)Same too for wetstone grinders, best suited to sink area. And why don't those stone pond arrangements with 3 stones...

I have had an Ebac in the 2 car atached garage for over 10 years, no problems. It was actually branded Wickes, and was the Ebac base model from their earlier range. In humid weather (a lot of it in Devon) it fills up a gallon container in about 2 days, and keeps the unheated garage at around...

Quick follow up for David C, now grandchildren away home: With newly sharpened blade in no.6, planed the ~600mm softwood as hollow as possible (no more cut) with stop shavings, leaving unplaned ends ~10mm each. S'wood tested on surface plate between 10 and 12 thou* hollow. 8th full length...

I have the 5300 variant, which is very similar. To improve dust collection I clip a ~3" length of 2x4" rectangular kitchen extractor duct over the lower guide & blade (outside the case). The ducting is split and trimmed at the rear to clear the rear guide, and allow table to tilt. There is...

For me hand honing only gave a decent result every time if I had a hollow grind on a very thick ~3/16" blade. Lee Valley's jig as supplied probably holds a larger variety of blades referenced from the correct surface, than any other, but it's not perfect. It might be if it gripped the sides of...

I would have thought the Cox's 2 books on electric motors (eng workshop books series) would have said everything, but apparenttly not for very old drills! A good place to start, though, and saves you an awful lot of typing.

Don't forget the Mafell saw. Every bit as good as the Festool, and the latest version seems to have a few extra tricks of its own, including a very nifty scoring device, and visible stop/start points etc. Fits both Mafell and Festool tracks.

I thought of doing the same until I found out that every time you move the tool rest you need to re true the grinding wheel (you just can't get rest back parallel to wheel surface if you move it). It's much better to set the rest (say) 9mm clear of the wheel with a slip of mdf as a spacer, and...