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Clint Rose’s revived router plane, with newly turned handles

Welcome to our Autumn Special, which features a whole host of articles for you to learn from and enjoy. We’ve gone for something a bit fun on this month’s cover - Grace Silverwood’s rocking giraffe - so meet Gilly and learn how to make your very own version in the first of this two-part series. Other projects in store include Janice Anderssen’s cheese and wine bar, which is made using PAR pine and will allow you to show off your DIY skills; Colin Simpson turns a challenging flask in ash with contrasting plug and stopper; Clint Rose sets about restoring an old router plane as well as turning a custom set of handles to really make it ‘pop’; Phil Davy’s adjustable shelving is fitted to the uprights without screws; Les Thorne sets about turning a pedestal bowl in oak with added details, and last but not least, if you have lots of offcuts lying around and a few other staple supplies, try having a go at Rick Wheaton’s easy-to-make door stop.

Using a Wagner MMC220 pinless meter to check the moisture levels in a cricket-bat willow cleft

In our technical section, Dave Roberts returns with the next in his ‘Borderlands’ series, which sees some woodturning help leading him to two borderland clubs with a common purpose; Ron Smith learns more about the rigorous selection and stringent moisture control processes required to produce top English willow cricket bats; Edward Hopkins uses the Triton TRA001 router to organise society, and Peter Bishop tackles a hoary subject as he asks whether or not, as woodworkers, we favour powered tools and machines over more traditional hand methods.

Various Tudor wheelbarrows

Moving on to features, John Greeves talks to Greg Rowland about the building of a Tudor wheelbarrow; in ‘me & my workshop’ we find out how Graham Smith, Head Miller of Otterton Mill, Devon, works with age-old machinery that is still standing the test of time; in ‘Archive’, a ‘Novel Hexagonal Aviary’ from the April 1958 edition of The Woodworker puts Robin Gates in mind of a childhood teaching budgerigars to talk, and in ‘End-grain’, Edward Hopkins discusses the beauty of woodworking.

After gluing together three 30mm thick oak boards, Phil Davy was impressed the SuperJaws gripped this heavy timber securely

On the test bench this month, Phil Davy looks at a classic design from Triton Tools - the SJA100E SuperJaws Clamping System - which, although not new, is still worthy of a revisit. Boasting an impressive clamping force of 1,000kg, the extra-wide tripod base maximises stability for large workpieces and is ideal for gripping heavy items. He also looks at the Ryobi R18MT-0 18V cordless multi-tool, which features an articulated head and is capable of performing a variety of cutting and sanding tasks, before Ian Wilkie tries out the Pegas SCP-C100 scrollsaw blade clamp set. Perfect for the avid scrollsaw user, although pricey, this product is quality made and  benefits from top quality performance. Definitely worth a look.

Although we sadly don’t have a competition for you this month, there is still time to get your hands on a fantastic Veritas low-angle jack plane, worth over £250, by supplying your top workshop hints and tips - so don’t delay, email in today! As usual, we also have all your favourite pages, including news and courses, welcome, marketplace, next month and letters. All this and much more in the Autumn Special edition of The Woodworker incorporating Good Woodworking, which is now on sale!

Enjoy!
Tegan Foley, Editor

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