debor054

I'm changing...  Yesterday we took an old heavy solid front door that we have been 'saving' in our hallway around to my girlfriends mum's house. I removed the rotten remains of another old door from her alley way and using only  hand tools. Measured, marked and cut the 'new' door to accurately fit by hand using my panel saws. Adjusted the door frame door stops to allow the new thicker door to sit flush in the frame. Cut the frame to accept the hinges with chisels. Drilled all the pilot holes for the hinge screws and door knob with my gimlets. Finally trimmed the door edge and frame with a no#4 hand plane. Job done ... !!! Even though most people would view this as a 'simple job' ... A few months ago this would have been a 'Lets get a Carpenter in to do this properly' scenario.

Well after waiting for what seems like months, sending several emails regarding UK availability and keeping a close eye on the  Lost Art Press website & blog and finally monitoring stock levels of it on Axminster Tools , its finally mine - At Last!!! The Anarchist Toolchest by Chris Schwarz - The 'Modern Day Godfather' of hand tool woodworking. I cant wait to get stuck into this book and I will do my best NOT to review it, as it seems the whole woodworking world and his wife has already done so... So what else have I been spending money on ... Just a few 'stocking fillers' from Axminster Tools - not that I wear stockings... 2x Large Old fashioned Carpenters Hand Screws Veritas Card Scraper set of 4 Veritas Gimlet set of 7 Kirschen Burnisher to sharpen the Cabinet Scrapers Crown Adjustable Square 12"  Center Finding Rule I also purchased a set of 6" and 4" dividers on Ebay. These dividers have a more reliable screw adjustment. I was given my curr...

This posting was started on the 10th November and has been written as the project progressed... Instead of getting stuck into the project until  completion, I had a week where I was busy with other things. --- A few days ago I finally decided I need to pluck up some courage and have a go at Dovetails... I also need to make a tool chest at some point, therefore, the decision was made to build a smaller 'practise' chest first.  I had a few lengths of budget B-grade Pine 18mm thick and 144mm wide which is really knotty but will (hopefully) do the job. Being my first attempt at dovetails, there is a good chance I'm gonna screw up, so no point in wasting good wood - right? I also have the remains of what looks like a Mahogany desk top with which to make a lid - if I even get that far! First job was to roughly cut the pine boards to length and glue them together to make wider boards. After glueing I cut them to exact length and made sure they were all square with my shooting boar...

After much deliberation I have decided to dip my toe into purchasing (previously 'loved') hand tools on Ebay - with some initial success! For ages I have wanted (actually needed) a Plough plane. My initial thought was to splash out on a brand spanking new Veritas Plough Plane, knowing it would be good quality and work straight out of the box without having to fettle it or remove rust or regrind blades etc. But ...  at nearly £250 quid with a selection of 5 blades, it's EXPENSIVE!!! After some research online I found that the one of the most favoured Plough Planes are the old Record 043 & larger 044 models. The average Ebay price for the 044 in the UK seems to be around the £20-£30 mark.  With such a cheap solution to my problem ... I found this little beauty and chanced my hand... No rust anywhere to be seen. Complete with both long & short guide rods, the (often missing ) depth stop and a full complement of 8 (9/16" - 1/8") blades. The blades are in...

Another super quick & dirty project... A fast approaching birthday and the question of where to hang dog leads and keys in the pantry. Both problems solved ... A scrap of Pine, some dowel and some spare brass hooks I had kicking around.... I squared, chamfered edges and smoothed  with my No#4 Plane.Used a bradawl for the threaded brass hooks. Drilled the holes and glued in the dowel. A lick of boiled Linseed oil. Done! Its Rustic....

Literally the day after finishing my Saw Bench (almost a month ago), I found myself craving a 'quick woodworking fix'. My girlfriend had just left the house to tend her horses which gave me an excuse and a couple of hours to make her a quick surprise while she was gone.  A small offcut of Pine seemed to be shouting at me from the pile saying 'make me a box' ... So, with no box joints or anything complicated I simply cut and squared the Pine into a few pieces and made a 'quick & dirty' butt jointed box. After squaring the sides and waiting for the glue to dry I intended to make a really simple lid the next morning.  Unfortunately, a week away working on the boat and then being called off to France for family matters meant the box remained unfinished... Until now. Lunchtime today, I used a second small offcut of Pine, slightly thicker and cut and planed it to size to make a simple lid. The edges were chamfered by eye to make a wedge to fit snuggly into the bo...