Workshop

In buying a new drill bit, to his surprise, Peter Scaife found that sometimes there’s no tool like an old tool

Some 20 years ago, when I first became seriously interested in woodworking, I began by making furniture for the house. Money was tight, so I used melamine-covered chipboard held together with dowels and screws, and worked on a cheap copy of the famous Black & Decker workmate in a cold, damp single garage at the end of the garden. My early skills, on the other hand, came from my father, who was a cabinetmaker and later a carpenter too, so my…

Paolo Pisani takes a look at this wonderful natural wood surface property, which involves a shift in colour depending on lighting or observation direction

Combining various projects in one and requiring the use of multiple turning techniques, Philip Bradley shares the design for his unique dip pen wand

Windsor chairmaker James Mursell explains why the spokeshave is his favourite workshop tool

When it came to sourcing timber for a new project, rather than paying a visit to his local timber merchant, Gareth Jones turned to the offcuts pile, using various bits to make a range of tool racks

Peter Vivian finally gets around to a weekend project that’s been on his to-do list for 12 years – making a new Mission-style case for an Amberley clock, which features a lovely eight-day Smiths Westminster chime movement