Storing and Moving Plywood Alone
I remember a rainy Tuesday back in '84, standing in a cramped workshop with a stack of birch plywood leaning against a wall like a row of drunk soldiers. Every time I reached for a sheet, the whole pile would shudder and groan, threatening to come down on my head or, worse, snap a corner […]
Chipped Laminate and What Helps
Most people think that once a laminate surface has taken a hit, the only way forward is to replace the whole damn unit or slap on some cheap, plastic filler that looks like a scar. They see a jagged edge and think the job is finished, but that's just nonsense. I spent forty years on […]
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 […]
A Step Stool That Will Not Tip
Most folks think you need a workshop full of noisy, expensive power tools just to figure out how to build a step stool. They’ll point you toward a circular saw and a cordless drill, telling you it’s the only way to get the job done quickly. But I’ve spent forty years on site and ten […]
Sealing a Worktop Joint Against Water
I remember a lad in my college workshop years ago, staring at a gaping crack in an oak worktop like it was a death sentence. He was ready to rip the whole thing out and replace it with a new slab, convinced that once a joint fails, it’s game over. He’d even started looking up […]
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 […]
Judging a Finish by How It Repairs
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 way people treat wood finishes like they’re some kind of high-tech chemical miracle. You’ll see these glossy videos online where everything looks perfect under a studio light, but they never tell you how […]
A Toy Box With a Safe Lid
Most people think you need a workshop full of screaming, vibrating power tools and a mountain of expensive jigs just to figure out how to build a toy box. They see those glossy DIY magazines and think they need a circular saw and a cordless router to get the job done before the weekend is […]
A Workshop in Two Square Metres
I remember a job back in the late eighties, tucked into a tiny utility cupboard under a staircase in a terraced house in Leeds. I had a massive, heavy-duty circular saw and a dust extractor that looked like it belonged on a construction site, but there wasn't enough room to even swing my arm without […]
Kitchen Shelves That Wipe Clean
Most people think they need a workshop full of noisy, expensive machinery just to figure out how to build a kitchen shelf, but they’ve got it backwards. I’ve spent forty years on site and another ten in the classroom, and I’ve seen more blokes ruin a perfectly good piece of oak with a jittery circular […]