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The Fisch bits were the ones I was thinking of when I said somebody started making them after Clico folded - just couldn't think of the name! I suspect they may have been made at the behest of Joel Moskovic from Tools for Working Wood in the USA - he seems to have instigated a few new versions...

Part of the problem is availability of bits. There are plenty of second hand ones of all types, but putting together a useful range of sizes (note - not a "set") can involve buying several job lots and editing out the duplicates and scrappers (and what do you do with those?). I think someone...

Oh boy, is that a broad question! Taking in-print and second-hand books into consideration, the choice must run to thousands, covering just about any aspect of wood, woodworking and wooden products you could think of, and quite a lot you couldn't! Andy's right - some indication of interests...

One thing many people have some problems with is the squareness (or lack thereof) of their try squares. Tiny errors can cause no end of problems with projects. Thus, it may be a good investment to have at least one engineer's square by a reputable maker - Mitutoyo, Moore and Wright, that sort of...

"The Conversion and Seasoning of Wood" by William H. Brown, pub. Stobart and Son, London, 1988. May be out of print, but no doubt an internet search will find a second hand copy. It's fairly technical and written from a timber trade standpoint, but lots of useful stuff nonetheless. For...

.... and if ever tha does owt for nowt, allus do it fer thissen.

Me too! I'll be OK as long as I can stop birds nesting in it. Barber will earn his tip when normal service is resumed, though ...

Well, I didn't read anything snarky or malicious into that, for what it's worth. I just saw it as a straightforward statement of fact. Know what you mean, too. I'm sure the damn things breed when your back's turned. It doesn't help that once word gets out that you're a bit of a woodie, things...

Anyone make scissors with 6' handles? Tape the clippers, razor and comb to broomsticks. Job's a good 'un.

There's only so much dosh to go round the public services. Good cases can be made for more funding for education, environment (flood defences?), defence, welfare, Home Office (more Police on the beat?) an =d pretty well everything else. As is always the case. Raise taxes too high, the economy...

From my experiences with cast iron it rusts ferociously at the slightest excuse, you'll have to slather it in paint, oil or grease to stop it. None of those entirely compatible with kitchen life! Chefs do season cast iron pots and pans with (effectively) burnt-on vegetable oil. Might be worth a...

I can't speak for others, but I most emphatically don't subscribe to the idea "manufacturing good, services bad". I'd rather see a balance of the two. It isn't always clear-cut what's a service and what's manufacturing. For example, the economists class engineering consultancy as a service, but...

Interestingly, there is some evidence that's happening already. The UK foundry industry stared to see an upturn in demand two or three years ago (reported in Professional Engineering, the monthly mag. of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers). Reasons given were the increased productivity of...

Please bear in mind that there's a world of difference between a hand-cranked grinder and a powered grinder, even a slow speed one. If something goes wrong on a hand-crank, the instinct is to stop instantly (usually as well as lifting the tool out of cut quickly). Powered grinders don't stop...

Just to add a bit to Andy's excellent answer above, you're quite right about the Sheffield grinders having a short life, but in the 19th century. The wheels they used were originally natural stone - the millstone grit of the Peak District - but the dust these produced in grinding caused...

Ah - that makes a bit more sense. A bit more, mind, not a lot more. Is anybody bored enough to work out how much coarse emery cloth you could buy for the price of one of those things? I would, but I've got some drying paint I've got to watch ...

When I first saw the image of said Nanohone, I assumed it was intended for some engineering honing purpose - finishing hardened gauges or precision parts, something like that. Having googled, it seems not. These things apparently are intended as woodworker's sharpening stones. I'm not really...

A couple of tips that might help a bit with sawing technique. First - when starting the cut, don't drop the teeth onto the wood and then push (or pull). Instead, glide the tips of the teeth into the wood by starting the cut a tiny fraction above the wood, then lowering the saw as it moves fore...

* Sucks teeth, raises eyes, and shakes head slowly* ( :lol: )

Did my weekly supermarket shop this morning. The queue looked horrendous, but moved quickly. Must have been about 50 to 75 people - snaking across the store front and along the back of the carpark, past the recycling skips and (after I joined it) into the petrol station. It only took about 15...