Flattening a Dished Waterstone
I remember sitting in the college workshop back in the nineties, watching a young apprentice spend three hours trying to get a chisel keen, only to end up with a bevel that looked like a mountain range. He was cursing the steel, blaming the quality of the tool, but the truth was much simpler: his […]
Three Stones and Nothing Else
I spent thirty years on site watching young lads buy these fancy, multi-stage diamond systems that cost more than a decent cordless drill, only to end up with an edge that still tears through timber like a blunt spoon. They think a high price tag solves everything, but they're just being sold a bit of […]
Sharpening a Marking Knife
I spent thirty years on-site watching young lads reach for a power saw the moment a task felt heavy, thinking they were saving time. They weren't; they were just fighting the material. I remember one particular afternoon at the college, watching a student struggle with a dull utility blade, hacking away at a piece of […]
A Honing Guide Until Your Hands Learn
I spent thirty years on site watching young lads struggle with a dull chisel, trying to force it through a piece of seasoned oak like they were fighting a losing battle. They’d swear the steel was rubbish or that they needed a fancy electric grinder to get the job done, but they were wrong. The […]
Grinding Without Burning the Steel
I remember sitting in my workshop back in '84, staring at a Stanley chisel that had been so badly nicked by a dropped hammer it looked more like a piece of scrap iron than a tool. The young lad I was apprenticing told me to just toss it in the bin and buy a new […]
Making a Moulding With a Scratch Stock
I remember standing in a drafty hallway back in '84, staring at a piece of wonky, hand-moulded skirting that no modern router could ever hope to replicate. The site foreman was breathing down my neck, shouting about getting a power planer in there to "fix it quick," but I knew better. You can't force a […]
Transferring an Angle Accurately
I remember standing in a workshop back in the late eighties, watching a young apprentice try to layout a series of mitres using a cheap, plastic-bodied gauge he’d picked up for a few quid. Every time he tightened the wing nut, the scale shifted just enough to ruin the joint. He was sweating, frustrated, and […]
Setting Nails Below the Surface
I remember a lad on my site back in the nineties, a bright enough boy but far too reliant on his cordless impact driver for everything. He was trying to finish a skirting board, and every time he drove a nail, he’d leave a bruised, ugly crater in the timber that he’d spend half an […]
Hammer Weight for the Work You Do
I spent thirty years on site watching lads walk into a hardware store and spend forty minutes reading the back of a box, trying to figure out the "optimal striking weight" for a job that just needs a bit of common sense. They think they need some high-tech, vibration-dampening, aerospace-grade gadget to get a nail […]
Rehandling a Hammer Properly
I was halfway through a mortise joint on a piece of seasoned oak when the handle of my favourite mallet finally gave up the ghost, splintering right under my palm. Most lads would have cursed the tool, tossed it in the scrap bin, and gone running for a plastic replacement from the local hardware shop. […]