Post a photo of the last thing you made

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yes I like the subtle lines on that. How is the top held down just in its middle like that please?
Originally I planned on using a domino in the middle of the stretchers however with the offset I struggled to line it up. So instead I used glue and a single screw in the middle, not ideal but we’ll see how it holds up over time.
 
Hi Benton,

Yes, I'm familiar with the unicorn theory and practice and have, in fact, tried it on all me blades that are straight edged. I can't tell if it makes the edges more resilient (its main purpose) 'cos as a hobbyist with 23 other hobbies I don't use the tools enough. But it certainly doesn't reduce their sharpness.

As I understand it, the "dubbing" from the unicorn momentary buffing wheel application is meant only to put a genuinely microscopic round on the edge, getting rid of the really teeny jags normally left there by even the very small grit sharpening - a process about increased resilience of the edge rather than making it any sharper. The dubbing one hears of from honing with leather strops seems to be something different - a greater degree of rounding that accumulates over several honings because of that squish in the substrate (such as leather) which effectively increases the angle at which the honing is happening. Hard substrates means less squish so less of a tendency to increase the actual angle at which the honing is applied, says the theory.

I've been doing a lot of knife honing whilst pursuing my now 14 month obsession with making spoons, bowls and the like, using strops covered in thin leather mostly. There seems no dubbing that can be detected in the form of a gradually less sharp knife ..... but maybe the leather being very thin is part of the reason for the lack of dub accumulation ...... ?

Anyroadup, I'd like to see and try your own honing stuff and method as part of a general exploration aimed at making the best hones I can for the carving tools. It does make a significant difference to how they cut if they're kept very sharp and at a low-angle bevel. I'm hoping this will speed up my cack-handed acquisition of the carving skills, see. :)
Benton, you Sir are a true Craftsman. My hats off to you, respect!

Thank you for the detailed instruction, I have been making bowls with the lathe but now I have more uses for it making handles! I have never heard of the term strobbing before so you have taught me a lot today. Do you use any type of leather, or does it need to be a specific type? (I don't know anything about leather)
Gentlemen,
I will be starting a new post on Strops & Stropping, and include the images of going directly from a 1,000 grit diamond stone to the strop. I think that might be better than "hijacking" (as I have heard it described) this post on "last thing MADE"... :)

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/hand-tools.11/
 
Box number twelve with variation on lid design number four, still going with island maple.

Box no 12.JPG


Box no 12 lid no 4 var.JPG


The lid idea was okay but the execution was poor. The pieces all fit together but when reassembled with glue gaps appeared. I do not know why but I think I am going to reattempt the same.

The maple boards are small (600 length) and so I thought it was a good idea to practice to plane by hand (after a run through the thicknesser to get the rough edge) so I have entire length usable with no snipe.

I struggled to do the box finish with the plane and used the sander.

I also found a post by @Jacob some years earlier advising not to bother with using coping saw to remove waste but just chop down to the line with the dovetail saw as was a traditional method. I found this much easier (I was not using a coping saw but just using the chisel to chop out most waste and then a fine final cut) and also box number twelve was the first with no chisel tear out at all. So Hallelujah and cheers Jacob!
 
The 50 year job ! First commissioned by the boss to keep kiddies finger out of electrics ! just finished last year as I began an octogenarian !
First attempt at panel doors, sorry pics are not in the order I wanted !!! but did a test run on strap timber then after drawing a plan :::: -----

Side view
tempImageqD62xg.jpg

Just the handles to fit !
View attachment tempImageEoRtfc.jpg
First off
View attachment tempImagewOBxbO.jpg
Test run
9A3572A5-E1BE-4204-94DB-3EFFE95DB222.jpeg
 
Finally got around to finishing this piece. The pieces have been sat in the garage for over a year so there was a slight bit of warping and not all the joints closed perfectly :rolleyes: The glue up was definitely a two man job and still took nearly 2 hours. Seventy two (yes, 72) mortice and tenon joints... whoever thought that would be a good idea? (Er, that would be me!). Still, it was good practice doing M&T joints! The frame is red grandis, the cross bars are, from top to bottom, beech, cherry, utile, wenge, utile, cherry and beech. The base board is beech ply. Sanded to 500 grit and finished with danish oil. I'm using it as a washing basket, lol! Well, it was mostly odds and ends.
Now... on to making some treasure boxes for the great nieces and nephews!
W_basket1.jpg

W_basket2.jpg



W_basket3.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi Paul, I too was looking for a smaller van my previous 2 had both been Transporters but I don’t think they have the reliability they used to plus the prices are astronomical.
I initially went looking for a Dispatch, Scudo or whichever other brands makes the same van, as I looked round I saw a Maxus edeliver 3.
I certainly wasn’t looking for an ev but after a fair bit of thought that’s what I’ve gone for helped in no small part that it was 9k cheaper than a Scudo & judging by my transporters fuel economy a huge saving in fuel.
It’s tight but corner to corner I can get an 8x4 sheet in it which is what I had to do with the transporter though I’d be only get a couple in this van, that said any more than a couple & I’d be getting them delivered so not a deal breaker.
My work is all fairly local & I only do 6-7k miles a year so I think this is going to work out well, plus on a frosty morning it’s a bit of a novelty having a van that’s de-iced, warm & ready to drive in 2 minutes 🙂
Looks to get good reviews. Good real world range? What's it like on the motorway?
 
Looks to get good reviews. Good real world range? What's it like on the motorway?
Its range isn’t big by any stretch of the imagination , they claim around 150 miles for a full charge, I drove 54 miles to a mate’s workshop last weekend & it used 35% so their claims look pretty accurate.
As for motorway driving it’s a very rare occurrence for me these days I probably only went on motorways a couple of times last year & haven’t had reason to go on one yet in this new van.
 
Amongst other things I’ve been building a shed for a neighbour recently, he took down a hot tub room to make way for an extension to his house & asked if I could utilise the materials from the hot tube room to build him a shed.
First of I laid a fibre reinforced slab.
20250207_084036.jpeg


Blocks were laid round the perimeter & stud work built off these
20250213_101202.jpeg


The walls were then covered in house wrap held in place with staples & battens that the cladding will go on.

20250218_082924.jpeg


After putting the roof on the areas between the timbers were insulated & taped.

20250218_082859.jpeg



OSB was then fixed over the ceiling & walls


20250218_101012.jpeg


The concrete was insulated & a floating MR chipboard floor laid

20250225_171421.jpeg


The soil stack was boxed in & a hatch made for access to the manhole.

20250225_171236.jpeg


Then the door fitted & cladding attached.

20250311_163007.jpeg


20250311_162953.jpeg


The roof is going to be covered in rubber, hopefully I’ll get that done next week along with facia & guttering
 

Latest posts

Back
Top