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@Cabinetman that's my other worry! If I make someone a drawer and the bottom falls out of it the worst thing is their undies end up on the floor! I'd never live it down if that cake stand falls apart with the cake on!

Thanks. I might well do that for the base if I can't get hold of a big enough log slice. I think she was after the tiers to have bark or at least look naturally worn wood.

About 2 years ago I somehow agreed to (got roped into) make a cake stand for the other half's sister's wedding. At the time it sounded simple enough, she wanted 4 tiers on branches of part of a cut-down tree. Now I have just over a year to go and panic has set in! The main difficulty is...

Thanks, Peter. I don't suppose it comes with a guarantee that all dovetails created with it will be perfect? I'll order that now, cheers.

I read The Anarchist's Toolchest recently and would also recommend. The only problem is that it triggers that part of the human brain to want to collect things - like panini stickers I suppose. I've had to fight the urge to tick off the tool list in that book. The other thing is it leads you...

Thanks. I didn't think of trying them directly. It says most saws are made to order so there might be a short delay. I'll contact them and see what that delay actually is.

I've been looking for a dovetail saw recently but I've struggled to find anywhere that has a stock of Pax 1776 or the Lie-Nielson dovetail saws.

I just used the redwood pine in the end. I didn't really consider ply because one of the aims of building the bench was to practice hand tool use and although flattening the top was a pain in the backside, it gave me a chance to have a go.

@Benchwayze that's a good idea. A small box is an ideal starting point. I think I'll make one that holds the various sharpening bits and bobs. Cheers.

Thanks for that. I've just had a skip through it on YouTube. The finished result looks very similar as well. I'm going to have a practice go at the dovetails before I buy materials. If it goes belly up and I don't improve I'll keep that version in mind.

Cheers. John. True! I'm just reading the build stage of his tool chest book and had a cold shiver when he mentioned his tool chest has 100 dovetails in! I don't even have a dovetail saw.... yet (that's a cold shiver just gone down the missus' spine'!)

Thanks, @Cabinetman. I've just looked back at the first post and this bench has taken me almost 4 1/2 months. I'd estimate that I worked on it 15 out of those 19 weekends, some days it might have just been a Sunday, so let's say 25 days of work... well over 200 hours has gone into it. It's...

Thanks, @Jameshow - if you do, post it on here and make it a beauty!

Thanks, @clogs as @acxlll said, it's so you can see them and not get surprised by a nail from beneath. I was just following a video series without deviation and nails were part of it. I was going to use dowel but being a beginner I thought I best stick to the plan. I did end up liking the...

Thanks, @AndyT, @thetyreman, @Orraloon, @billw and @NickM @billw - Thanks very much for the recommendation - that has just been ordered!

Well, the bench is finally finished now. Like a blank canvas waiting for me to fill full of hammer blows and saw marks! I only had a few things to finish off... 1) Drawbore the vice runner tenon. I used a pre-made rod for that. The only issue I had was finding an auger bit the right size...

Thanks for that, D_W. I have been thinking of adding a finer stone (or 2). I only go up to 1000 grit (I think - whatever the fine Norton oil stone is!) at the moment before stropping. I am trying to keep it simple while I'm getting used to sharpening, though. I'm avoiding any fancy steels as...

After reading this thread I thought I'd give my plane an upgrade with a replacement Hock iron and chip breaker. I was quite happy with the originals but I thought it was worth an experiment! When they arrived I was a bit disappointed that the edge on the iron had a tiny chip and the edge on...

I know, I can't help there. I think the grade I got was called 5th -- whatever that means! It seems "unsorted" is the best (I think).

Do you not have a local timber yard near you? Before I started my bench build I had a go at some of the joints using leftover timber from B & Q and it would fall to bits if I put a tool near it. I thought that was just my ineptitude but I think that was only 90% of the problem. I ordered...