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Shaping a blank by repeated hammering (rather than one gert big smelt) ensures the finsished object's steel has a very fine grain structure, which means the edge hold up better and doesn't so easily crumble. You don't get this effect with the more cost effective drop forging (just the one big...

Adrian, if you follow the links you will see (along with associated photographs) that the cap iron is set somewhat closer than 1/64", namely about 4 thou. I suspect this is actually smaller than the burr raised on many scrapers. Further, it appears from the reported research that a cap iron set...

faithful - Clip from the Oxford dictionary - 2 Loyal, constant, steadfast; true.... Of a promise etc.: containing a pledge of fidelity; binding. LME–E17.3 Thorough in performing one’s duty; conscientious. LME. Very nice for a chisel, but not for it's maker who doesn't seem to be able to spell...

When the compressor cuts out because the tank is up to pressure, you should hear a pretty lould "PSSSH". This is the unloader releasing te pressure in the pipework, so the motor does not have to restart against a 140psi load. The tank itself does not loose any air as the pump pressurises it...

In some ways car wax is good - it's very hard when set. However it may contain silicones which you definitely don't want anywhere near a finish. A tiny spec causes fish eyes or cratering pock marks in the finish. Ax sells carnuba flakes which is what makes car polish hard, so you can make your...

I believe that the DW625, Trend and CMT that look alike are all made in the same factory in Italy which secured the rights to the design at the time B&D transferred manufacture of the then ELU branded version there.

If the plane's sole is convave by 2 thou it can't cut a 2 thou shaving - the blade will miss the stuff. It will only cut at the beginning and end of the timber, making it, the wood, convex. I bought a Record no. 6 40+ yrs ago that turned out to be 25 thou concave. I didn't know about such things...

LV glass flat to 0.01"? must be a misprint surely? Would look like handblown! Plate glass is virtually optically flat (or it would distort like a lens) orders of magnitude flater than a plane. We used to bed plate glass onto blobs of car body filler to support* it, then we splashed out on a...

Old fashioned mothballs are a cheap and fairly effective VPI rust preventer, if you don't mind the characteristic smell: add to chest/drawers.

These bars of compound are wax based and you can grate them when SWMBO is not looking and dissolve in white spirit for easy application to leather or (say) maple or mdf. Tilgear sell several grades (but not the green chromium dioxide one) The substrate controls teh degree of edge dubbing you're...

GAS, beware, 1 gallon of lpg produces 5 gallons of water, so plenty of ventilation needed to let in some cold air.... I've a 3kW fan heater and some insulation (double garage) , can turn down to 1kW after about 30 mins. For occasional use a radiant heater is better, as warmth is instant...

For light hand work, 4 to 6" below elbow height is what the ergonomic people say. Lower the heavier the work. (Also used for bespoke kitchens (although hobs ideally can be lower so you can see in the pots)) For filing, top of vice at elbow height, so sets ht. of engineers bench. The plate of...

Agreed, and good luck, whereever it may be of best use to you! regards, Ivan

DW625 bought UK last yr is badged made in italy DW621 bought USA ~2002 badged made in UK (cost me 99 quid!) DW625 bought USA 2001 badged made in italy DW 10" RAS bought in mid 1970s made in italy, had DW belgium literature/g'tee, and a gaudy B&D selotape flash that looked like an afterthought...

A few posts ago Guyos asked about edging ply, and one reply said "mitres best, but can be tricky". I always find 4 side mitre edging tricky and therefore time consuming. What's the right way to cut trim and fix?

I got Very Excited when the first woodworking mag got a polythene cover but when I got it home I couldn't see what all the fuss was about....

PM sent. Works OK for me!

Some cheap double sided tape is paper based - quite sticky but thin and doesn't work well unless there's very good contact- also V difficult to get off. Best carpet tape has a fabric base, so is thicker and a bit gap filling, and often can be rolled off with the thumb without white spirits etc.

High humidity will gradually discharge the static and so gradually lower filtration efficiency - a bit of schoolday physics. I suspect hoods houldn't be left out in cold damp draughty workshops, but packed away rather like a mask with an organic vapour filter. The new sort is presumably better...

There is a useful info point in all this, as it's not at all unusual for complete extractors to be sold on the spec of the fan alone. At 750W the fan may well pull 1000m3/hr before the flow is chocked off by the dustbin cyclone and the rather small filter. Unless more info is given about the...