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Well I am not sure if I agree with the people who claim only the dark heartwood is worth keeping. Check out the cupboard a friend of mine has made using the full width of a walnut log. It really is magic. http://www.atelier4d.nl/collectie_notenkast.html Brilliant topic. Tree blows over ...

Before you cut, how long have you had this ebony and where has it been stored. In other words is it equally dry inside and out? Then you need to check out the end grain before you decide which way to cut it. Why all the fuss. Well because it is getting very hard to get and you don't want to cut...

Hi Marcus and Custard, Thank you both very much for your suggestions. It really makes me wonder where all the cabinet makers sell their wares. The celebration of craftmanship was the one I was looking for. I must be missing something about tortured wood. #-o The madelondon looks interesting...

Just finished 9 days at the Dutch Design Week ( I know that sounds like a long week to me too) Around 6000 visitors at our location. Loads of really good feedback and one person who came to tell they hated my work. Obviously I need to take down the sign saying 'please tell if you hate my work...

Hi Mark, I wasted way too much cash trying cheaper solutions. The velcro system is definitively the way to go. The abrasives sold by the guy on ebay who sells all this stuff are the best I have ever used. They just go on for ever. If you are sloppy about feeding the timber through the sander...

Just fixed a set of these clamps that have been driving me mad everytime I start gluing up and realise they just can't maintian the pressure. I roughened up the backs as you describe and they are steady as a rock now. It is as though the factory did not know what they were making. I will be...

My drum sander is slow. I does the job very nicely on wide boards but if you have half a dozen that need sanding on both sides it can take a while to do them. For incidental panels this is not such a problem. In a joiners shop where time is money I think you will find that a wide belt sander...

I got a small piece from Timberline but it is big enough to cut 50 guides. Was a couple of quid if I remember correctly. They are in Tonbridge I am sure you are order by post if you are not nearby. Smells fantastic too. Gerard

Hi Douglas, Very nice box. I picked up some lacewood from the same supplier last May and it looks totally different to yours. I have just used some of it in combinaton with steamed and unsteamed pear for drawer fronts on a small unit. I was under the impression that the lacewood had come from...

Although I am a bandsaw fan I would say, from experience, that a table saw was far better for cutting the lid off a box. You can adjust your saw depth to cut just shy of the thickness of the box wall and then cut through the last veneer thickness with a craft knife. This makes cutting off the...

I have had the Paul Sellers book since Christmas. It is really excellent. I have been putting the finishing touches to a work bench built according to his plans today, just the vice left to instal. The fact that he has also filmed the building of the bench and put it up on you-tube makes it even...

If you could find a broken antique made of ebony you could recycle it. However I know that a stained (black) holly is a popular alternative these days. Why can't ebony be grown sustainably, they do it with other woods?

It is claimed that you accept everything that existed before you were born as fact and everything that comes along afterwards you question. Having said that with the right system it can be fun for a special effect in some feature films but it does require you to sit up and watch the whole time...

Apart from being another inspiring WIP I liked the coments about the eventual colour the timber will end up. I have been caught out a number of times by timber changing colour after I have made a piece. I never expected american poplar (tulip) to end up darker than teak in a piece I made but it...

Thank you for your answers

Can anyone advise me on the best product for caring for Wenge veneered loudspeakers? The wood finish is showing white surface specks as though it is drying out. Of course it is important that any nourishment for the veneer does not penetrate too deep as to alter the sound of the speaker...

Can't you find someone local who uses a bandsaw regularly to come and have a look? I am afraid that the same or worse could happen with a new bandsaw too! I feel like you have paid 90 percentage of the college fees and are about to throw the towel in. A bad blade will not help matters. Buying a...

Really great WIP. Glad to see for the time being you have stepped away from blood stain as a finish. It is at times like this that I wonder if we need an extra forum topic 'Home First Aid and A&E' or something. Avoiding injury is of course priority No1 but little accidents are usually lurking...

I recently bought the stanley 80 (horror a new one ) and it works like a dream. I spent a little while flatening the sole of the scraper (not sure how necessary that was) and softening the edges. I followed the instructions for sharpening it from the Paul Sellers book and I find it easiser to...

The Paul Sellers book is really excellent. He has made a lot of you tube instructional films and if you sign up to his blog you get loads of useful information too. He won't waste your money on tools you do not need. He has practical approaches that are fast and safe. Get a few Narex chisels, a...