Radiata pine is omnipresent but is also a timber with a reputation. It generally has strings of adjectives attached to it where the first is, cheap. Here, a recycled piece, 300mm x 400mm, has been cut into a jigsaw. That was tedious, but more-so was the finishing. Each piece was scorched with a blow torch…
Weddings generate lots of emotional investment. Minute details become important. To make something for a wedding is to buy shares in loaded scrutiny. Here is my response to a request for a box to take cards at a wedding. The brief was relatively open; it sought a white container with a slot for posting cards in its…
Footstools It is a permanent source of inspiration to me that problems posed to woodworkers have no single correct response. If asked to make a footstool, what would a valid response look like? If a footstool is a small flat platform supported 100 to 300mm above the floor, how many ways could I make it?…
New Experiences Never Stop Happening in the Classroom For teaching to happen, a teacher must believe that they have something to offer. But no amount of self belief can surmount a brick wall cemented with the rubble of self doubt. Self doubt compacted under decades of hammering. Regular children in regular schools are frequently open…
Indulging Self and Grand Daughter Every act of making has some self indulgence in it. Here is a response to the gift of scraps of 30mm plywood. The sheet edge is a bold linear graphic. Making my grand daughter’s initials to decorate her book ends indulged my desire to play with mitres in the lines…
Stable Work Surface Jobs in wood offer incredible variety. My brief, on this occasion, was to make a strong and serviceable workbench. It was to be big enough and stable enough for multiple workers to use hand planes. It wasn’t to cost too much for it would be disposed of after three days of use….