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Picked up some second hand surforms. One of them didn't have a 'cheese grater' style meshes underneath. This one had what I can only describe as metal sandpaper. It looked like a proper surform accessory though with the two clips in the right places. Has anyone used these before?

Have managed to pick up one of these for use at school. Can't find a UK supplier of the blades. They are 350mm long as opposed to the usual 500mm Every time I type mitre saw I get swamped by power tool results.

Fixes the gear onto the shaft / axle in an old hand crank pillar drill. Apologies for the awful photos. Would like to know the proper name so I can buy some. Any recommendations for a good supplier or just Amazon/Ebay type stuff is okay?

Afternoon Not trying to upset anyone or start any arguments! Just wondering if there's a purpose in a thread/sticky thread (does that still exist) or section for London based members? Nothing special about us - just that it seems that the high prices round here mean there are virtually no...

Can't believe it's nearly October! Quite enjoyed it last year. Have to stay away from the lovely people on the Wera Tools stand though!!!!

I keep a box of wings and fins for the kids in my classes to make planes / rockets / spaceships etc. I had an idea to run a chamfer along the 'body' part of the spaceship so that the wings can be attached at funky angles. Lovely idea - nightmare for clamping. I think wide masking tape is going...

I am lucky enough to be in a position where I get to teach woodworking to kids 5-11 each week. Some projects and some weeks go better than others! As a result, you end up thinking what can you tweak and do a bit better. Drilling for some kids can be really frustrating - so I want to share what...

I want to make some toy cars with children that use a clockwork motor to power them along (or a pull back version) Is this practical? Light as possible wooden chassis and pine or mdf wheels. The output axle from the clockwork seems pretty smooth The output axle looks much smaller than...

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81267200 My two kids were watching this morning. Jimmy and a team make crazy projects for children in a big workshop. Not sure if you will want to watch without kids - but's it genuinely funny and tries to make tools and woodworking a bit cool for kids.

Evening, Is there a reason why wood grain is called 'grain'? I understand that it used to be small weight and of course wheat and flour are linked with the word. There even used to be a dye made from insect apparently: Earliest sense of the word in English was "scarlet dye made from insects"...

Currently investigating some projects for a school outside area: planters, mud kitchens etc. Are some types of pressure treated wood unsuitable for use where children will be regularly touching the wood, sitting on it, playing with it?

I have this small lathe - chuckless and with nothing going on at the tail end. The end with pulleys where the chuck should go is 1/2 inch diameter and a Whitworth thread. There is enough room for a four inch chuck. First question - do chucks come with a Whitworth thread or are the...

As a side project at my current job I have been ask to install 10 Ikea flat pack Billy bookcases to make a small library. There is hardly any budget for this! The floor is very uneven - am I best making a full length base / plinth and shimming and levelling that then assembling the bookcases...

I know Rob Cosman isn't everyone's cup of tea. But fair play to him on this tool cabinet. It's from 2017, but I haven't seen this before - apologies if it's old news.

Apologies for terrible photos - house is a mess and it's dark and wet outside!! Picked up this wonderful old drill. Very solid and sturdy hand crank and a lovely lever arm to lower the turning chuck and drill bit. Made a little base out of wood scraps so a drill vice can go down there and be...

I picked this up recently from Ebay. I liked the enclosed gears - useful when working with children. I thought it had a flywheel and auto advance mechanism (which it doesn't annoyingly) It's just a large piece of wood for a manual advance handle. The drill loosens from its mount and rotates...

There are the standard cam mechanisms and linkages. They can be scaled up for large games / stalls for a fair. Is there a cam / linkage that produces a random movement?? For example - someone turns a handle and some targets bob up and down random amounts making them harder to hit.

Out of the blue my pillar drill has stopped. Didn't mis-treat it or over load it. Electricity is flowing in to the switch. Switch works and electricity flows to the motor when the switch is on. Nothing happens though - except a steady low hum. When off the drill, pulleys and motor turn...

We've probably all seen the famous Studley and Schuster tool chests. https://youtu.be/ZVEKmlhP2Ss https://youtu.be/J6XdrLCaBnA With 3D printing, CNC machines and design software widely available I keep wondering if the modern equivalent of these chests will appear? A marketing gimmick that...

Been out for walks in the park over the road. The kids collecting some big sticks and I was happy for them to bring them home knowing I had a tray of spokeshaves in the car. They had a lovely time shaving the bark off and making 'walking sticks' I attacked a funny shaped one that had carving...