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I use to make a lot of outdoor seating. Forget oils, they soon wash off. After loads of tests the best thing was a water based Rustins outdoor stain, which is more like a varnish, made for doors and windows. Dries within the hour, and easy to redo when it gets damaged, wash brushes in water...

I am in Buckfastliegh and can easily bandsaw and thickness

I am too lazy to saw slots for wedges these days and just use a chisel to start a split and as soon as the chisel is pulled from the slot the wedge goes in. I do ream out the hole giving room for the tenon to expand into. I use thin wedges for obvious reasons and they can break. The most common...

One that I use all the time, I find that the chosen angle is easy to keep this way. Also elbows tight into the body and move from the hips and legs. The upper body is fixed in place just like a jig.

This is one reason that I use recycled pallet wood, if it is suitable for the task in hand. Fan bird made from a single piece of wood, spruce I think in this case Making stuff from pallets does not mean it is a substandard piece of work. I have come across pallets of the most amazing tropical...

Thank you Secret Santa, what a surprise. Even more so that it turned up hours before Christmas day, I had given up all hope that my SS would send me anything. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would get such a lovely tool, a PAX 1776 20tpi ripsaw. Now this is one heavy beast with a...

As Andy RV said O1 is your best bet. There are loads of other steels out there but a lot of them are more difficult or are more critical to heat treat. O1 is easily bought in almost any size you want to reduce wastage. I use it all the time and a lot of tool maker use it.

Thats, easy I turn the stone upside down supporting the stone with my hand and tap the end of the wooden box against a hard surface. 99% of the time they pop out. All Charnley stones I have come across have a smooth face on one side only. They where hewn out of larger pieces apparently using...

Not a problem, unless parts of the wood are too soft. I have been making bowls for years on the pole lathe from spalted beech and have had some spalted plates for over 7 years which are used daily. I see no problem with chopping boards unless too spalted. Most houses are very dry and very warm...

The only way of telling which grits are which is by using them. Get a loupe so you can see the scratch marks created by the stones. Coarse stones leave a matt finish whilst finer ones give a more polished finish. All you need are coarse fine and polishing, which you have. Don't worry about grit...

Wait until you get sticky bits on the stone such as bits of resin or other stuff that gets onto the chisels. This stuff does effect performance and a cream kitchen cleaner and plastic scourer works a treat. Works for me.

Buying cheap and crap just encourages more companies to make on a price rather than something that works. I really do not like sending stuff to landfill just after I bought it. I think that every company or anyone who makes anything must be responsible for their products end of life, that they...

Ceramic steels are not really suitable with this type of carving knife, or any steel. The 106 has a flat ground bevel of under 20 degrees. 10 degrees each bevel. The knife needs sharpening on flat stones or self adhesive abrasive papers/films. The whole bevel is abraded, which can make the...

Lovely wood to carve green, as has been said it does get a wee bit harder when dry, but so does maple, beech, box etc. If you do sand it go through the grits, wet and resand, it comes up with the perfect smooth surface, almost slips out of the hands smooth.

I have a Mafell for dowels, had it for years. Just that bit more versatile than a biscuit jointer. Can a biscuit jointer join a 1inch end grain square rail to a 1 inch post? My Mafell can. As far as I am concerned dowels and biscuits are to locate the wood not necessarily to provide more...

I use willow mainly for spoons and other small work. Works a treat with a knife even when seasoned. I once got a 2 foot diameter of highly figured willow. I had to split it into quarters to remove it from site and i am still sawing thin planks off it on the bandsaw. Makes lovely lids for boxes...

I go with Pete, I got a kit from James, the small one. Love it. I also use a veritas long handled one, expensive but great to use. I really do not get on with the 151/152

Thanks for that deema, but that is not the same joint, it shares some similarities. The joint in the video is 90 degrees. The joint I make has a compound angle made into the dovetail so the leg is sloping 20 degrees out from the side and has a back skew angle of 10 degrees.

I make dovetail legs joints. I know this joint has been used in Eastern Europe for making a trestles for rip sawing trees on. I am not sure what to call it and have not turned up any reference about this type of joint. Here is a picture of one. Can anyone shed any light on this type of joint for...

That top horn looks like it is at the wrong angle and will dig into the top of the hand, I wonder just how comfortable it is to use.