Moving on to hardwood

[sickasapike]

Learn how to sharpen your tools. I am not assuming that you do not know how to presently, but suggesting that a re-double will pay dividends. Sure did for me.

Check, thanks, I'm kitted up with a set of stones that I'm starting to use, and happily all of my tools are bought in the last few months so should all be in good nick; before then I had a box of tools I bought in Indonesia that came over in the part-container I sent (cost by volume so might as well chuck them in !) but the quality is abysmal over there so I replaced/junked the lot, but the timber there is superb, and so dashed cheap ! - I have a reciept somewhere for the timber for that, I'll see if I can dig it out and post it for a giggle !

I brought over a couple of cutoffs from the Merbau beams when I (well, a gang of barefoot savages with zero concern for their personal safety and I) put an attic space in the villa I had out there, wish I'd brought more, I had to pay a fumigation surcharge for bringing timber into the EU anyway as the packers swathed my stuff in timber (which annoyingly had disappeared by the time it got to me). One piece became a new mallet a few weeks back, two other bits are waiting for me to have the confidence to make a couple of little boxes.

Funny, I knew they called it 'Merbo' or the like but never saw it written down, I just looked it up from memory and it's the same name over here.

 

[sickasapike]

Spring-loaded centre punch!

I can see why your version would fit better on the label on the box, but I like my name for it

(thanks !)

 

[sickasapike]

I think overall hardwoods are actually easier to work than softwoods. More uniform in makeup so cut and sand cleaner than pines that have hard and soft layers in the grain.

I probably chose a less stable piece as my first proper hardwood to rip when I used some to make sled rails; it curved round the riving knife and almost met again behind it - was a great illustration to me why a riving knife is so important, I ended up rotating it so the bend was secured against the sled.

Thanks for the info, the first proper hardwood project is turning some recycled maple kitchen cupboard doors and square cut planks into some shelves so they should be pretty stable, after that I'll be tackling some pretty raw oak lumps, not sure what for yet, probably more of a challenge there.