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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.