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At Philly's And a good time was had by all. Lots of photos were taken and I am sure some rather fine ones will appear soon!

Just a big thanks to Philly and his family for hosting the "big bash". The generous provision of T-shirts, food and drink was excellent. The free 'rummage through Philly's drawers' was an eye popping experience. It was a very pleasant time putting faces to names and the demos were good too. I...

Johnboy, Yes, I agree 100%. I did give the description some thought but wanted to cover 'Murrican', British and common parlance in one hit hoping that I may have satisfied all!! Oh well, I believe everyone knows what I am describing! :D By the way, have you now finally finished your 'Rat...

I am actually meeting Lewis this morning as he has travelled all the way to Plymouth and so I will be able to provide more information soon. aldel

Hi folks, I have just done a mini review of a 4 inch vernier from the craftsman gallery which is rather unusual. This vernier (caliper to our American friends) displays in millimetres, decimal inches and in FRACTIONAL inches! I find this very useful indeed. Rather than go over the same ground...

I find that old planer blades make superb knives for marking out dovetails. Just grind to your prefered angle. They take a very keen edge too. Bevel edged chisels are good as you hold the chisel back vertically against the tail and work on either side.

Matt, Excellent choice. In my experience, its one of the finest woods of all to work with. Regards Aldel

Chris, Yes I really should qualify that -- "some WoodRat jigs" I should have said. sorry!! The box, mitrebox and table are not now needed. Well this one does keep the work close in to the face and I have not noticed any 'sag' problems when using it so far. The MDF runners on the carriage...

I have finally finished a design for a new workholder originally to hold small pieces but it has proven to be much more versatile than first thought. Simple to make and it will replace other 'Rat jigs. All the details can be found here http://www.aldel.co.uk/WorkHolding5.htm aldel

Here are some more links for bandsaw blade folding: http://www.woodzone.com/tips/bandsaw.htm http://www.houseoftools.com/product.htm?pid=198653&catid=9551 I much prefer the foot on the blade method as it gives more control. Its not the folding that is a problem but rather the "wrestling a...

Yes Mike, For through dovetails then tails first but not for hidden or half-blind as used in drawer construction!

Tony, As was pointed out on the WoodRat forum by Chris W, shouldn't the drawer front start and end with a pin rather than part of a tail? I was so interested by your method that I missed that! Aldel

Hi Johnboy, Impressive stuff. I was a little confused by your technical drawings but the photos now make it so much clearer. I am wondering about the available depth of cut as you have three layers to pass through before reaching the work. I guess an alloy plate will improve things there...

I recently visited the workshop of Beau Dobson Fine Furniture. A real craftsman who was a David Savage student has owned a 'Rat for a number of years and has developed some interesting mods and a very innovative tenon jig for the 'Rat which is operated by a lever. His jig is so unusual that I...

Hi Adam, Would builders roofing ply be a better choice than chipboard for the sides? Likely to be not much more expensive and stronger. What about shiplap instead of nasty feather board? :D aldel

The English language is a complex composition of Scandinavian/Latin/German/Dutch/French and Celtic decent and is generally understood by all English speaking countries. 'American', however has become very devolved and causes the most confusion to other English speakers. It is often said that...

Yaron Naor from Israel has sent me an email asking for any info on guitar making. He is interested in anything; books, video, hints, tips or training courses which could be anywhere in Europe. I assume that is for acoustic guitar so can anyone help? Many thanks, Aldel

Many thanks for all your suggestions. I am aware of tufnol and its uses/ varieties etc. and I do have a part sheet that I am gradually using up but it is only 1/4 inch thick. I 'look after' a number of signwriters PCs and CNC machines but they are unable to source what I am after. Although...

Has anyone stumbled across a supplier of 8mm glass filled phenolic sheet material as used on the WoodRat? I have searched the web but cannot find a UK supplier. I know that it is used in Europe as a building material and of course its cheap in the USA. I have found a source of bar and strip here...

I spent a very pleasant day out at Martin Godfrey's open day at Lower Godney on friday. Martin was demonstrating his new template systems for the 'Rat. These are still in development but but have reached a usable stage. I had permission to take some photos and I have posted them here...