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We have a new (to us) house. It has a lot of paving and we were thinking of removing some to create beds for flowers/vegetables/fruit. The paving is concrete slabs of mixed sizes (all edges multiples of a given distance so they fit together). We can think of two strategies Cut holes in...

Hi all, I am toying with the idea of converting our garage into a more usable space. The garage is single-skin blocks with a flat roof, power and light. It is close to, but not attached to, the house. We have plenty of drive space and the car never goes in the garage. I am thinking about...

We have an old hand-made chest of drawers. One of the nuts holding a handle on has disappeared. I need to identify the thread in order to replace it. The fitting has a threaded bar which goes from the outside to the inside of the drawer front. I have measured the thread of the bar (male...

I have a job that needs doing, and have been trying to get quotes for it. I have only managed to get two so far, and they are both higher than I expected. Now this may be because I am sorely out of touch with current prices, or because the builders don't want the job and so gave a high price...

I have a thick branch of seasoned yew that I would like to convert to planks - but I am not a planker and do not have access to one.I don't want to purchase a planker for one job, so where might I find a professional who would do the job for me? I have no idea what kind of professional would do...

Hi all, I have a fence that I want to shorten. It has vertical ‘planks’ of feather board(?) nailed to three horizontal fence rails(?). I want to shorten it to two rails. I’m thinking that a circular saw might do the job nicely. I don’t have a circular saw (yet!) so have no idea if this would...

I feel a little presumptuous doing a work-in-progress - I am self taught and and still learning. My method and techniques may be poor, and the stick may turn out to be a disaster, but I guess you can ignore the thread, or laugh at me, or even (best of all) point out where I could improve. I...

Hi all, I have a fresh yew log from a friends garden that I want to carve. I have done this previously and have seasoned the log with its bark on. It works and I have had minimal splitting, but removing the seasoned bark is a lot harder than removing the unseasoned bark. My cautious self says...

How a bout a thread for all those non-joke comments that get put in the joke thread. Here you can - Ask for explanations - Criticise the jokes - etc

https://www.gov.uk/alerts Apparently there is a test next weekend

Seriously, though - is there a tool for opening them? I generally use a flat-bladed screw driver, but some tins are so flimsy that this results in a deformed lid that gets progressively worse each time it is opened. Plastic paint cans are fine - there is usually an obvious recess to insert the...

Hi all, we are thinking of buying a property but there is some remedial work to be done. Most of it looks straightforward, but I do not understand the implications of the slipping external tiles. The porch seems to have slumped a little, but not having much experience of this kind of thing I...

I have a 'potje' like the one above (max outside diameter about ten inches). It is intended as a cooking implement - perhaps it stands in the embers? We are never likely to cook enough to use it as a cooking vessel, nor would we wish to burn enough wood to do so. But I wonder if it would make...

Hi all, Our garage is on a separate plot of land, not attached to our main plot. It turns out that this means it is not covered by standard house insurance. Ha anyone here managed to insure a separate building? Who did you use? I have tried some google searches but keep getting dragged...

Hi all, apparently it is decorating time again, but unfortunately Laura Ashley have stopped making emulsion paint. A shame as the paint was really easy to apply and the pastel shades suited us. What other paint brands should we look at? I tried some of the big names from the local Jewson but...

Hi all, I have bought some flexcut profile scrapers. Out of the packet they scrape well, but the instructions say that they can be improved. So I tried on a couple and all I can do is make them worse..... Has anyone here successfully sharpened a flexcut profile scraper from blunt? What should...

Hi all, A recent carving nudged me into using a gouge an mallet for some of the rough shaping. I liked the technique and was thinking of getting a set of gouges to use for my next carving. Doe any one here have some opinions that they can share? I want a set that will arrive sharp - some...

I have a narrow, fairly innaccessible space into which I could put several water butts to store rainwater. As I would only be able easily to access the end one, I would like these to fill and empty as a group. That means a low-level connection between all water butts. Has anyone done this? I...

I almost didnt use it - but it is almost my last piece from a source I can no longer access. I thought 'might as well - dont want to waste it'. I dug out the rot, filled the cracks with milliput, and spent a bit of time tidying it up. The shaft is a little bent - but not too much so. I kept...

I bought a power carver, but could not get on with it - prefer carving by hand. It has been sitting unused for a year so it will be better in the hands of someone who wants it. (see amazon listing for technical details and reviews - all links to commercial offerings are just to...