The mitre is one of woodworking's simplest joints. Being perfectly symmetrical it looks easy to produce, but it’s a joint that is hard to get right and make strong without using unsightly nails or brackets as reinforcement. There are many treatments that can be applied to the humble mitre to increase its strength but not many come close to the elegance of using veneer keys.
Mitre trimming jig
Click here for Part 1 – Making and using a mitre keying jig
Click here to watch a video of the mitre key jig in action
Here is another jig design which is useful for cleaning up the face sides of mitre joints. Again the emphasis is on reducing excess strain while working on the joint. As before this jig design can be scaled up or down according to your needs.
Tyrrels Wood, near Pulham Market in south Norfolk has a secretive new inhabitant this winter. A traditional, woven ‘Green Woman’ sculpture has been hidden in the depths of the wood and is just waiting to be found.
Sculptures, carvings and representations of a ‘Green Man’ – or woman – have been around since pre-Christian days; a face or figure emerging from foliage that represents the natural cycle…
Veritas DX60 Block Plane
This block plane is one of the finest planes we have ever made. It is made to exacting standards and features newly refined stainless steel hardware.
The knobs and wheel have elegant elliptical knurled edges for a firm grip. The lever cap has been extensively redesigned to integrate cleanly with the plane body and provide an almost continuous hand contact surface, with tactile cues for…
The most important part of any project is probably the initial stock preparation: without proper preparation no other part of the project can happen, it’s as simple as that. When it comes to preparation you have three options: buy PAR timber, which is relatively expensive; buy rough sawn timber and process it using machines; or break out the hand planes and do it yourself. My preference is for the latter because it’s cheaper, safer…
Nowadays we take drawers very much for granted. They appear everywhere in the house – in the kitchen, the bedroom, the study and the workshop. They come in different sizes and designs. Some have mechanical slides and others run on wooden supports (called runners). But they all have one common feature: they are basically open-topped boxes that can be accessed separately and conveniently.
Drawers in history
It wasn’t always this…
Phil Edwards has put together this short video to demonstrate how to adjust and fine tune blades in hand made planes. This is the first in a series of video's from Phil, so watch this space for the next installment.
Young Ron Fox is the November issue’s cover boy. Ron’s guided his router basics series onto the matter of making circle-cutting jigs. Sure there are plenty of jigs you can buy, and it makes best sense to, but there are some simple home-made options that are well worth making as well.
Video is something you'll be seeing a lot more of on GW over the coming months. I'm pleased to say the GW forum is already video friendly. Any GW member can embed video into their forum posts from either YouTube or Google Video.
I've written a quick tutorial below on how to get started. But before proceeding, please read the following guidelines on what sort of video content should and should not be posted.
