Once I saw the size of the bottle and read the instructions I couldn't help thinking that this new organic rust remover wouldn't be successful from the 250ml of Restore mixed with 4.75lts of water ..yes, that's right, water, a 19 to 1 ratio would remove all of the rust from my 30 year old tools.
Well, here's how it went. Firstly the safety gear. Rubber gloves face shield/goggles and all the windows open for ventilation just…
I first became aware of pocket-hole techniques after watching Norm Abram use a very expensive system to cut them. Norm’s system was clearly way out of my league, a huge piece of standing machinery with integrated router, drill and clamp, it was way more suited to a production environment than my humble shed but the technique looked very simple.
Ah, Sheffield. Built on seven hills she may be, but she’s not a beauty like Rome. The “ugliest town in the Old World”, George Orwell famously called her. “And the stench!” he went on. “If at rare moments you stop smelling sulphur it is because you have begun smelling gas.” Surrounded by sources of coal and iron, and powered in the pre-steam age by the water of five rivers, Sheffield grew up with dirt…
“Another speculative piece, I made this in American walnut and English ash after being inspired by seeing the remains of earthquake damage in the Ionian Islands. The top is ‘rent asunder’ to provide a display space, in this case filled with spent urchin shells – from the very seas that surround the islands. The glass that covers the display space is set at the same height as the peaks of the rippled…
Squeezing past the carcases of half finished furniture, and threading between the makers who’re wielding hand tools, working at a huge tablesaw and around a state-of-the-art vacuum press, we finally reach the narrow design office that is the nucleus of Matthew Burt’s industrious workshop. He lifts his eyes briefly from his drawing board and shakes hands: “Hang on a minute. I just have to finish this layout; I’ve got a…
The internet is a wonderful place – all of life is there if you look hard enough. In the Eighties I used it for keeping in touch with the local chapter of the motorcycle club to which I belonged. These days, as a responsible grown-up (though the wife might argue that point), I use it for research, for keeping in contact with like-minded people (there are a few, honest!) and for finding inspiration: a wealth of ideas and information is…
It’s a bit obvious, but the fi rst thing a woodturner needs is a lathe. It’s actually the world’s oldest ‘power tool’ – see the panel (left) for a bit of history. As you begin to investigate what’s available, you’ll soon discover that there’s a bewildering choice of models, with very different specifi cations and prices, and it’s very easy to become confused about exactly what…
If you’re a confused newcomer to woodturning, the sheer variety and cost of the necessary tools may all seem a little off-putting, particularly if you’ve shelled out most of your budget on the lathe itself. However, don’t let this dishearten you. As with a lot of hobbies, woodturning can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it, and you can actually turn quite advanced work with no more than a basic toolkit
Five or…
In its simplest form, woodworking involves taking a large piece of wood, cutting and shaping it into smaller pieces and reassembling them in a different order to make something useful or decorative. The cutting and shaping is relatively straightforward bit. It’s when you come to join all the pieces back together again that the fun begins
The Joint Genie System is the one I've used here
Joining options
Making a beautifully…
