A Side Table as a First Project
Most people think you need a workshop full of screaming, vibrating power tools to figure out how to build a side table, but they’re usually just masking poor joinery with a thick coat of veneer. I remember a student of mine back at the college who spent three days fighting a router to get a […]
Making a Shed Usable in January
Most people think that learning how to set up a workshop in a shed means rushing out to buy every shiny, cordless gadget the local hardware shop can throw at them. They see a catalog of vibrating, plastic-cased junk and think that’s the secret to productivity. I spent forty years on-site and another ten in […]
Closing a Split Without Making It Worse
Most people think that once a piece of timber splits, it’s nothing more than expensive firewood or a reason to head to the local timber yard for a replacement. They see a crack running through a tabletop or a door frame and assume the damage is permanent. I spent forty years on-site seeing lads try […]
Testing a Drill on Real Holes
I spent thirty years on-site and another ten in a classroom, and if there’s one thing that gets my goat, it’s the glossy, over-polished nonsense you see in tool catalogues. You’ll see some lad on a video, grinning from ear to ear, claiming a drill is "revolutionary" just because it has a fancy LED light […]
What to Look for in a Hand Saw
I remember standing in a tool showroom back in the eighties, watching a young lad try to explain to an old timer that a saw was better because it had a "high-tech" coating and a fancy ergonomic handle. It was nonsense. You can wrap a blade in all the gold leaf you like, but if […]
A Workshop in a Single Garage
Most people think that figuring out how to set up a workshop in a garage requires a massive bank loan and a floor-to-ceiling rack of shiny, cordless power tools that will be obsolete in five years. They spend more time browsing catalogues than actually working. I spent forty years on site and ten years in […]
Why the Repair Failed the First Time
I spent three hours yesterday watching a young lad at the college try to sand his way through a stubborn patch of dried PVA, thinking if he just used a higher grit, he’d get it. He was making a mess of the timber, wasting good wood, and frankly, wasting his time. Most people think you […]
Regluing Properly Instead of Twice
Most people think that if a chair leg starts wobbling, you just squeeze some fresh PVA into the gap and clamp it tight. That’s a recipe for a joint that’ll fail again before the glue even fully cures. I spent years watching apprentices try to "fix" things by layering new glue over old, dried-out mess, […]
A Bookcase Whose Shelves Do Not Sag
Most people think that building a bookcase requires a workshop full of screaming power saws and expensive, vibrating machinery just to get a clean edge. They spend more time fighting the dust and the noise than they do actually working the timber. But if you ask me, that’s the wrong way to approach how to […]
Steel Types and What They Trade Off
I remember sitting in a college workshop back in the nineties, watching a lad struggle with a cheap set of chisels that wouldn't hold an edge for more than ten minutes of actual work. He was staring at a glossy catalogue, trying to make sense of all those fancy chemical symbols and marketing jargon, looking […]