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I learned today that Penny Farthing Tools closed in Salisbury on 27 August after 18 years and will be opening in Wantage near Oxford in early October. That'll be a bit far for me and I'll miss browsing through PFT's wonderful stock of vintage tools but I wish them every success in their new...

I recently acquired this saw in very good general condition. My guess is that it dates from the 1950s but I'd be happy to be corrected by somebody with more knowledge The handle once had a black paint finish which has now mostly worn off. The etch is the biggest and clearest I've seen on a...

The LOML is a keen all-round needlewoman and called me in to see this on one of her patchwork websites http://www.gofraser.com/index10.htm This chap's wood sculptures are amazing; the 2 minute video which shows the stages of making a "wooden jacket" sculpture is also worth watching. I guess he...

A year ago, I tried to sell this plane but my timing was bad (credit crunch starting to bite) and my price was too high. Now, with Mod permission, I'm trying again. This plane is absolutely unused, not even honed, and is complete with all its original wrappings and box. The price is £150...

It may be pre-owned but it’s pristine and completely unused. Not even honed. Still in its box with all its anti-corrosion wrappings and instruction leaflet. I bought it when I had unrealistic ideas about the scope of my woodworking. Unfortunately, priorities change and I’m selling it now for...

Hi All Just got my new Rutlands catalogue and have been eyeing up the Dakota horizontal waterstone grinder. I like the principle of horizontal grinding and I like the price. But does it actually work? Has anyone got one of these grinders, please? I'd want one for light hobby use, just plane...

Hi All The house I moved into recently has recessed ceiling lights in the kitchen. Two of these lights intermittently fail to come on or come on briefly and then go out. I've taken out the existing bulbs and cleaned their contact prongs because they looked corroded. I've tried brand new...

Hi All My local branch of Lidls has a big stock of digital calipers @ £8.99 each. From what I recall of comments on this forum in the past, they're pretty reasonable and certainly good value. Hope so, because I've just bought one myself! Regards.

Hi all I’ve just laid a 5m x 2m area of loft flooring using B&Q’s “Finnloft Click” system. The panels are made of OSB 3 with interlocking grooves on all four edges. In practice, you have to trim one short edge for fixing over 600mm joists and then just butt the ends together. Each plank is...

Hi All This plane is completely unused and as new; the blade has not even been honed. It has only been unwrapped, gloated over a few times and then put back in its box. Why am I selling? Well, I moved house at the end of February, I've now got no workshop or bench and realistically, that...

Hi All The handle on my back saw (a gift from the LOML years ago) had lousy ergonomics and was very ugly. I wanted a chunky grip that brought my hand lower behind the blade. So when everyone seemed to be replacing their saw handles a couple of months ago, I became enthusiastic. Then I got...

Hi All These are the first pictures that I've posted so I apologise if they're a bit rubbish. Last week, for the equivalent cost of two coffees and a pastry, I bought this 12" backsaw from PFT in Salisbury. I had to take the handle off to deal with some invasive rust. Tricky! The slots in...

Philly I’ve just got back from the Big Bash (with the T shirt to prove it) and wanted to say thanks for the great time that I had. It was a privilege to be in the workshop of someone who owns the entire contents of the Lie-Nielsen and Veritas catalogues - as a minor part of his tool...

Hi all I've never owned a chisel with a socket handle before and tend to think of them as an American style tool. But yesterday, I saw a Peck, Stow and Wilcox chisel (as mentioned in Classic Hand Tools) going cheap in my favourite old tools shop and so I bought it out of curiosity. OK, OK, I...

Hi all. Just before Christmas, a Trojan Horse (I believe it was called Musah? or something similar) slipped past my Norton AV and planted the Sfonditalia dialer in my PC. This dialer tried to connect me to an Italian "adult entertainment" site as soon as I booted up. My daughter is an IT...

Hello everyone I was first bitten by the woodworking bug when I was a lad growing up in the 1950s. At that time, information was scarce (it usually meant any book by Charles H Hayward), tools were of decidedly patchy quality and we all lived in holes at the side of the road. Absolutely true...