Author: Doozer

  • French Polishing – Notes from a Short Course

    I recently went on a French polishing course and I took a few notes while I was there. What follows below are the notes I took typed up neatly so that I don’t forget everything. Some of it might be a bit disjointed but there are some gems in there and it’s in roughly the…

  • Quick and Simple Picture Mounting

    Quick and Simple Picture Mounting

    A few months ago my parents bought a children’s map of the world for my daughter. They had the map laminated which is great as it means it won’t succumb to sticky fingers. Unfortunately though it means it’s developed quite a spring while it’s been rolled up in the tube. In order to hang this map…

  • Resources – Tools, Materials and Equipment

    Resources – Tools, Materials and Equipment

    I always shop around to get the best deal for the materials and tools that I buy and I though it might be handy to record where I’m buying things from (because I always forget and end up having to do the research all over again). I won’t cover obvious things like screws (which you…

  • Converting a Quick Release Vice into a Regular Vice

    Converting a Quick Release Vice into a Regular Vice

    A few years ago someone gave me this woodworking vice as a present. At the time I had no bench to attach it to so it sat in it’s box. When I did finally get a bench and install the vice I discovered that it had a problem with the quick release mechanism. When the…

  • Woodturning Journal January 2007

    Woodturning Journal January 2007

    January was a busy month in the workshop. I did more turning than I have done in a long time and, for the first time, I really enjoyed it because I knew what I was doing. There is fun to be had learning to do something new but I believe more fun is had honing…

  • Woodturning Journal July 2006

    Woodturning Journal July 2006

    Since I now had a chuck and therefore access to the end of the wood I wanted to create a hollow form. I looked at the piece of wood I had mounted in the chuck and felt that perhaps it was a little long (25cm) considering my lack of experience and skill. I thought it…

  • Woodturning Journal June 2006

    Woodturning Journal June 2006

    I didn’t get much turning done in June for one reason or another. At the start of the month I thought the tools were getting a little dull. After turning a spindle I decided that there was no point in continuing without first sharpening the tools. My skill level seemed to be going backwards despite…

  • Woodturning Journal May 2006

    Woodturning Journal May 2006

    May saw the turning of yet more spindles of varying quality. I think that with hindsight the tools were starting to become fairly blunt which was slowing down my progress. the first piece I produced was more beads. I was starting to become pretty fed up with turning beads by the end of this piece…

  • Woodturning Journal April 2006

    Woodturning Journal April 2006

    April was the first full month where I could turn and therefore it saw me do a great deal more turning than I managed in March. I started the month with the intention of leaning to produce a good bead and I think I got close to being able to do that. The first piece…

  • Woodturning Journal March 2006

    Woodturning Journal March 2006

    March 2006 marks the start of my woodturning hobby – a hobby that I think will stand the test of time. Before getting to the actual turning I should recount what happened at the start of the month since the turning only occupies the last few days. Some aspects of this entry actually occurred before…

  • Getting into Woodturning

    Getting into Woodturning

    I wrote this article in early 2006 when I first started woodturning. For about a year I was completely focused on turning and I thought nothing could drag me away from it. I had visions of becoming a turner full time. Sadly life got in the way, we had to move house and the lathe…

  • Router Table Coping Sled

    Router Table Coping Sled

    To my mind one of the most useful jigs you can build for your router table is a coping sled. With a coping sled and a matched pair of cutters you can quickly and easily make elegant joints that would otherwise be very labour intensive. 

  • Festool Domino Sighting Adjustment

    Festool Domino Sighting Adjustment

    The Festool Domino is probably the best tool I own. It’s insanely expensive but when you’ve got to join to pieces of wood together with a good looking strong joint there’s few better ways. In this article I correct an issue I’ve been having by performing a Domino sighting adjustment.

  • Almost Free Router Table

    Almost Free Router Table

    About two years ago I found myself in need of a router table but without the inclination to buy one of the commercially made variety. I set myself the task of trying to make an almost free router table from the items I had lying around the house. This article shows the end result of…

  • Pfeil Tools and the Sheffield List

    Pfeil Tools and the Sheffield List

    Pfeil tools are very popular amongst woodcarvers but their numbering system differs from the widely used Sheffield List. The first few chisels are numbered in a similar way to the Sheffield List but after that it starts to deviate more substantially. In this article I attempt to match up the Pfeil numbering system with the…