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Much depends upon the scale of furniture being constructed, but 3/8" is certainly a simpler size to film for the sake of providing an example of alternative working practices, rather than opt for a...

Thor/Thorex mallets (With steel head and threaded nylon faces) are deceptively heavy for their seemingly diminutive size and a mallet with a 1.3/4" head dia weighs in @ 1lb 14oz. It's the example I...

The lesson to be learned - as intended by Paul Sellers - is that bevel edged and firmer chisels can be used to cut mortise if one lacks purpose made mortise chisels. Speed comes with practise and...

Hi David,

Rabone boat levels (Mahogany or Rosewood depending on age) are nice levels to use, but need a lot of tender loving care and the means by which they're best adjusted typically involves...

Or simply use a cigarette lighter/candle to heat the part.

Ceramics can often develop micro-fractures during the firing/pressing process and don't tend to have the same complex layering as that found in natural sedimentary stones. On that basis, I'd tend to...

Invest in a spare pair of safety glasses and enrol a "volunteer" to crank whilst you grind, or remove the cranking handle and chuck an electric drill to it, but be sure to have it set at elbow grease...

If you read up on boning rods, winding sticks and ranging lines, you'll uncover the means to check for straight and twist over long and short distances using simple tools and eyesight.

1. Boning...

There's perhaps too much focus on the distant past and insufficient time spent reviewing the present/comparatively recent past. The abusive treatment of apprentices you speak of is a thing of the...

Very true too. Even just going back 20yrs there were far more real craftsmen than there are now. IMHO much of the cause has been the lingering attempt to carry out craft training over much shorter...

Behave. :eek::eek:

This means calm down, I'm not arguing with anyone and haven't argued. Here or elsewhere for that matter.

Your chosen point regarding the production of a cube being unnecesary is ill-founded by virtue of the fact the exercise is a means of proving a group of skill sets are complete and the person is more...

David,

My "It's a free world" comment regarded the freedom to choose whichever tools you prefer. Nothing more or less.

Who on earth jumped on who? I certainly didn't jump on anyone, so...

I don't think so, but you - on the other hand do seem to be getting all bent out of shape. Please feel free to think what you wish and point out the error of my ways. You can begin by explaining...

You don't really need to wet sand french polish. Here's some info I've sourced from another site for you. It was already written and I can't honestly improve upon the methods described;


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Hey, sarcasm doesn't suit you. eh? You prefer wooden levels and I prefer metal ones. So what? I don't have any problem with your taste in tools, but you don't need to act like one when referring...

Wooden levels are probably good for collecting, but aren't as accurate for working with as they can have a tendancy to shift with variations in humidity.

Hi John,

I actually agree with what you're saying and have a great deal of respect for those who've applied such high degrees of self discipline whilst learning various skills (Often to very high...

I don't think there was much of a compromise being apprenticed, as I bought my first house and married while serving my final year at the age of 21.

Apprentices presently begin at between 16 and...

If your instructor was unable to carry out the work he expected of you, he shouldn't have been an instructor and could never be considered a master craftsman.

Are your views regarding...

Unfocused and immature attitudes toward work and colleagues tends to let quite a few journeymen down before they decide to move on to other careers.

The easiest means of avoiding screwing things up is to ask someone who knows how to do things correctly. :D

One drawback to "the bumbling around" approach toward skills acquisition is when...

Aside from rise and going, head clearance also needs to be taken into consideration if your staircase falls within a stairwell. The minimum UK standard is 6'6" head clearance between nosing height...

The last time my wife went on a "praise the handy husband" binge I found myself hanging more than half of the new external and internal doors in our neighbourhood. :(

I used to love making things...

You'd be part Scottish descent with the name Wilson, as is my maternal side of the family. They're also Wilson.

The premature onset of an aggressive form of Rheumatoid Arthritis led to my early...