Recent content by woodcrafter

The costs of importing timber from USA dealers, sawmills, or even individuals varies really widely which makes it very hard to give any realistic or accurate guide. If you have an idea of the hardwood you would like to use for your project then you will find that in the US there are suppliers...

Very good work - you should be very proud of what you have made, especially as you used recycled material for the table. I hope it lasts you years and years. C.

Resawing can be done on practically any bandsaw, you just need the right blade. You want the widest blade your bandsaw's wheels can accommodate and low teeth per inch count. The fewer teeth that are in the wood at any one time the better the blade will evacuate the sawdust from the cut and not...

Finish them beautifully and then hang them on the wall of your home as artworks. Nature produces beautiful stuff and you have two stunning examples of what nature can do. Don't cut them or try to make them into anything practical. Enjoy them for what they are. C.

Planing 400mm lengths on any type of machine is not easy. Leave the pieces of beech longer until you have them at the required sectional size, be it by sanding or thicknessing, then cut to length. C.

Important points for table saw selection: 1. Get the one with the best, easiest to set and adjust, strongest, straightest, longest fence you can. The fence dictates how well your wood will go through the saw. 2. Cast iron is generally good but there is no rule which says that all cast iron is...

I always start with identifying which wood I want to work with. The colour, the grain, what the budget will allow, how quickly the finished piece needs to be produced. Once I know what I want, and how much of it, I go off and find it. I like working with exotic hardwoods and usually import...

Good luck with the project, and well done for taking it on. My advice: if you choose (as mentioned) to use cherry veneered board then don't try to stain it, leave it be. Cherry is very prone to blotching and is nigh on impossible to stain evenly. c.

Check out the folding saw made by Bridge City Toolworks. Probably the best and most versatile Japanese style saw money can buy. Lots of cash but Christmas is coming so you needn't feel bad about treating yourself! www.bridgecitytools.com C.

Another vote for the Nobex from me. I sometimes dabble in picture framing and find the Nobex to be accurate enough. I glued strips of 80 grit sandpaper to the surfaces to help grip and stop small mouldings from sliding around. If you get one, then try to get in the habit of using the full length...

A friend of mine owns a joinery workshop and about 85% of what they produce is fitted units of one kind or another. They use MDF pretty much exclusively as it is such a stable and easy to work material. It can be sealed, painted, or even veneered if your client's budget would run to it. C.

Go for the biggest section your budget allows. Bigger pipes mean better evacuation of chips and dust and less likely to get blocked up if you are doing much thicknessing, or machining a wood such as hemlock. You do not have to purchase specialist woodworking vacuum tubing - any kind of pipe will...

Sand your elm table to 220 grit then apply Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil. This will give you a superb, durable finish which will look good for years. Look on Youtube for advice on how to apply it. I use Tru-Oil on pretty much everything I make and it has not failed me yet. It is the best grain...

I had a Bosch GTS10 table saw for a while, and wish I still had it. Utterly brilliant machine - accurate, portable, liftable, reliable, decent fence, easy blade changing, safe to use with good guards and anti-kickback, good cutting depth even on hardwoods. I would recommend the Bosch to anyone...

I have used SketchUp for about 7 years, since before Google bought it. For my design needs it is utterly brilliant considering the software is totally free to use. The fact that there are so many useful plugins and so many tutorials available make it an absolute winner. I am certain there are...