Leaving a Workshop for Six WeeksNew!!
I remember a lad I taught back at the college who thought he could just flick the switches off and head straight for the pub. He left a half-finished dovetail on the bench and a pile of sawdust sitting in the tracks of his table saw. When he came back four weeks later, the moisture […]
Twenty Minutes of Tool Maintenance a WeekNew!!
I remember standing in a college workshop back in the nineties, watching a lad spend a fortune on a fancy electric sander only to spend the next hour fighting a gouge in a piece of oak because his chisel was as blunt as a spoon. It’s a waste of time and a waste of good […]
Practising One Cut Until It Is StraightNew!!
I remember standing in a college workshop thirty years ago, watching a young apprentice struggle with a circular saw, fighting a vibrating, wobbling blade that left his timber looking like a jagged mess. He thought the machine was the problem, but I knew better; he was just trying to force a blunt edge through grain […]
Quoting a Repair You Cannot Fully SeeNew!!
I remember sitting in my workshop back in the late nineties, staring at a job ticket for a client who wanted a simple door hinge replaced, only to realize I’d spent more on petrol and travel than the actual repair was worth. I’d gone out there thinking I was doing a favour, but I was […]
Sawing to a Line ConsistentlyNew!!
Most people think that if their cut is wandering off-line, they just need a bigger saw or a more expensive brand. That’s a load of rubbish. I spent forty years on sites and another ten in the classroom, and I’ve seen more lads ruin perfectly good timber because they were fighting the tool instead of […]
The Tool You Do Not Need
I was sitting at my workbench last Tuesday, staring at a brand-new, cordless router that some lad from the college had brought in. He was convinced it would change his life, but all I saw was another piece of plastic destined for a landfill once the battery dies. We live in a world that tries […]
Workshop Jobs for October
I remember a particularly bitter January back in my teaching days when I walked into the college workshop and felt the dampness settle right into my bones. My fingers were so stiff I could barely hold a marking gauge, let alone a chisel, and the condensation on the metal surfaces was thick enough to ruin […]
Getting Another Five Years From a Bench
Most people think that once a garden chair starts wobbling or the wood begins to grey, it’s time to head down to the big-box store and buy a cheap replacement. They’ll tell you it's easier to scrap it than to learn how to repair outdoor furniture for another season, but that’s a load of rubbish […]
Finishing the Thing in the Corner
I can still see that half-finished walnut sideboard sitting in the corner of my shed, gathering dust and mocking me. It’s been there for three years, a silent reminder of that mid-afternoon slump when the novelty wore off and the hard work began. Most of the "productivity experts" online will tell you to go find […]
Five Free Improvements to a Workshop
I spent forty years on site and another ten in a college workshop, and if there is one thing that gets my goat, it is the modern obsession with "upgrading." I see lads walking into the trade shops every week, eyes glazed over, looking for the latest cordless kit or some fancy-pants vacuum system they […]