Magazines

As Robin Gates says, “one overlooked screw can ruin a good saw”

Well, if you’re thinking that something seems different, then it is! After many, many years, we have finally decided to give this great magazine a bit of an overhaul design-wise. We’ve tried to make the magazine easier to read, with a cleaner, more contemporary design, and larger photos, which we hope will enrich the articles. We’ve got a great front cover star as well - Tom Wilson’s fantastic gorilla, which is fully posable and a real treat to look at. In terms of how the magazine is laid out, not much has changed, so we hope you like what we’ve done and continue to enjoy the magazine!
We have a varied selection of articles for you, including one from Robin Gates, who snaps up discarded furniture on its way to the tip and discovers a wealth of hardwoods ripe for restocking his timber racks. Phil Davy also shows you how to build a functional kitchen wall cabinet from scratch, and after being commissioned by a friend, Peter Bishop gets rustic with the design of a simple ‘ladder’ style bookcase/shelving unit.
In terms of turning, we have a brand-new author on board - the infamous Andrew Hall, or ‘the Hat Man’ as he is otherwise known. He shows how to turn a small Corinthian helmet, using techniques he’s mastered over the years. Colin Simpson also has another technical article for us, which this month sees him looking at sanding techniques and how to get the best possible finish on your work.

The Final Five at Felder UK HQ

G&S Specialist Timber’s Stenner 60 bandmill has a 229mm x 10m blade. When in use the blade has 10 tons of tension - an impressive machine!

The Olympias trireme setting sail

We also bring you an exclusive feature giving details of the Final Five who were selected from all those who entered the Felder 60th anniversary competition, which has been running in the magazine since the middle of last year. As Tegan Foley shows, the level of skill on show was extraordinary and it was very difficult to choose who would be awarded first, second and third place. The overall winner was Nathan Millar, with his walnut cabinet on stand, who was the lucky recipient of the A3-26 planer/thickesser with Silent-Power cutter block. Congratulations! We also find out more about the history of G&S Specialist Timber and learn how a love of woodworking is behind everything they do, before John Greeves tells us more about the ancient trireme - specifically Olympias - a replica brought to life by the Trireme Trust.

Andy King found cutting melamine-coated boards using the Bosch GKS 18V-57G Professional circular saw was quick and easy

In terms of kit tested on the bench we kick off with the the Bosch GKS 18V-57G Professional circular saw, which Andy King recommends as it is also capable of doing the basics of a plunge saw. Phil Davy takes a look at another Ryobi piece of kit - this time the Ryobi R18PS-0 18V palm sander, which represents good value for money and is ideal for outdoor sanding tasks. The Editor tries out IRWIN’s new range of QUICK-GRIP One-Handed Bar Clamps and accessories and found them to be strong in use and dependable, and we also put the Axminster trade series AT129PT planer/thicknesser through its paces: the new kid on the block that delivers impressive results.

We also have a special competition running in this issue, which gives you the opportunity to win 1 of 8 IRWIN 300mm Medium-Duty One-Handed Bar Clamps & Corner Clamp accessories. The Editor gives them the thumbs up, so see inside for details of how you can enter. Despite a redesign, all your favourite usual pages still remain, including AOB, readers’ letters, archive, Timeslip and, as something new, we also give you a glimpse at what you can expect from the next issue.

We hope you like it!