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If only a few are needed, taking some time to make a simple jig to hold the dowel and a guide bush for the appropriate drill in alignment would do the job. It need not be anything fancy, and the drill could well be driven by hand or by battery drill. Even something as simple as two pieces with...

I agree - that looks a well-made and capable tool in the Sheffield tradition, though the handle is not one of the more usual Sheffield patterns. That may not be too significant; many carvers preferred their kit to have a variety of different handles, making it easier to identify the tool needed...

I have no idea whether or not this is significant; it's just an observation. Those stamp marks are unusually clear and distinct for mid-19th century Sheffield marks, most of which tend to be incised a bit deeper at one end than the other, possibly because they were applied by the smith holding...

That's wise. The pragmatic woodworker's test of whether a plane is flat enough is to plane some wood longer than the plane sole. If the plane can be adjusted to give gossamer-thin shavings all along the board, it'll be flat enough for any practical woodworking purpose. Make sure the work is...

Oh, I dunno. After all, his lad was a chippie .....

Agreed, but only for grade PMV5644AXYZ steel quenched in dragon's blood, honed on a Washita stoned mined in 1892, and stropped on the inner thighs of a Cuban virgin. :)

I'm glad I wrote, "...pretty well every woodworking edge tool" now! Is a scraper plane strictly an edge tool, though?

Performance sounds good, but that's for a smallish bit in softwood. I'd imagine the same bit in hardwood, or a larger bit in almost anything, may be a problem, the force required being enough to worry the operator about damage to workpiece, bit, brace, operator's anatomy, or some combination of...

Just as a sort of 'clarifier', the time-honoured advice is to grind at 25 degrees, and hone at 30. All sorts of people have tried all sorts of different approaches, some of which work for them (and if they do, then great - carry on), and some of which work in some sets of conditions but not...

Looking at the photo of the worm (nose, thread, whatever) posted above, it's a very aggressive pitch. I can imagine one of two outcomes in use; either the auger will be very fast-feeding, or it will chew the part the worm is supposed to be cutting into a pulp and not be self-feeding at all. Fast...

Just because we live north of Birmingham doesn't mean we're living in the Dark Ages, you know. There's even a rumour we'll be getting piped water next year.

Collect together a few old spoons and ladles of various sizes for transferring paint and varnish from tins. It's a lot slower than pouring, and there are some drips to wipe up, but far less mess than the aftermath of a pouring operation. Brush the bulk off the spoon after pouring, and wipe clean...

Is this any help? https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/warding-1265-vallorbe-swiss-special-thickness (Cousins are suppliers to the clock and watch trades, so have all sorts of specialist files and tools in stock.)

Wait 'till you have to cross-cut a piece of 50 x 25 mm softwood with a 12tpi saw!

Well, I'd take issue with "extensively" - somebody might have used them for something, but the 19th century was built (literally) in inches, feet, yards, chains, furlongs and miles. It still was far into the 20th century - the plant I worked on as a young engineer had bits dating back to the...

Ah - well - not strictly true, old chap. The inch was defined as being 25.4mm in 1930, not in Victoria's time. Also, the inch goes back way longer than millimetres, first appearing in an English document in the 7th century. It was derived from the Roman 1/12th of a foot, and in the 11th century...

Anybody still use cubits or ells? (And how many of you Metric enthusiasts go to the pub for a 600ml or two?)

'The Technique of Furniture Making' by Ernest Joyce covers wardrobes. There's only about a page and a half, but there's much useful detail in those pages. The book is well worth having for anyone considering making almost any type or style of furniture. It's been around for decades, so finding a...

I note that Mr Percy suggests not finishing just with wax. He's right! Years ago, I finished my oak dining table just with wax, and it didn't take long to deteriorate quie markedly. My solution was to plane and sand off the finish back to bare wood, then to apply by brush three coats of yacht...

I'm not sure about the bar with the holes in, but the aluminium casting in the middle of the picture is part of a point rodding support. It's broken - should have feet at the bottom to attach it to a block set in the ground. You can just about make them out supporting the rodding to the right of...