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Hi, I'm fortunate to have just picked up some smaller logs from a cedar that was felled today. I'll seal the ends of the logs, but I'm not sure how best to deal with the slice (leaning against the car in the photos), which was cut off from the side at the base of the trunk, to maximise the...

Hi, I need to turn a large piece - 145mm square and 650mm long - which is far bigger than anything I've attempted before. It weighs 9kg, so I am wondering how I should safely support it at the tailstock? The standard spinny cone presumably isn't sufficient. I am wondering about drilling a hole...

Hi all, I'm planning to replace the base of the large pedestal in our front porch, which is rotten. My intention is to cut it where the red line is in the attached photo as the wood is sound above that, and turn a piece to fit in below. My question is what wood would you use? The original is...

I've managed to make a large scratch in our oak flooring, which goes through the surface to expose the natural oak beneath. Any advice on the best way to repair it invisibly would be welcome! For scale, it's 47cm long and 5mm wide. It's not particularly deep, 0.5mm at most. It was originally...

I was given this log last year - I've just cut it in half and delighted to find some lovely spalting. But I don't know what it is! The freshly cut wood is pale and close grained like birch, but the bark isn't at all like birch. My Google searching of the bark suggests alder as the closest match...

Hi, I was lucky enough to get the trunk of a cherry plum (prunus cerasifera) which came down in February's storm. Unfortunately though it had a lot of rot, and after cutting it up I've only managed to salvage some small pieces of sound wood, some of which have some holes where I've gouged out...

Hi all, I've got to the point where I can't put off making a decent bench any longer. I don't want to have to laminate/flatten a worktop so I'm looking at a manufactured board, and from my investigation so far I'm thinking if one of these: - Oakley furniture boards - which are manufactured...

Hi all, I'd be grateful for any advice from more experienced turners whether anything can be done with a piece of wood like this, with deep splits, or is it best thrown on the fire? I'm not too keen on encasing it in resin as this looks quite a costly/complex exercise, but is there anything else...

Hi all, I'm trying to take the wheels off my JET bandsaw to change the tyres. The top wheel came off easily after removing the retaining nut, but the bottom wheel will not budge after removing the retaining nut and the washer behind it. Looking at the parts diagram from the manual, there doesn't...

Would anyone like Bill Jones's "Notes from the Turning Shop" and "Further Notes from the Turning Shop", both in good condition although 'Further Notes' has a crease in the front cover from top left of centre to bottom right of centre. £20 for both, including p&p within the UK (Royal Mail 2nd...

I'm having a go at making my first small box with mitred corners, but a couple of the corners slipped a little during the glue up. (I used masking tape on the joints but didn't seem to get a tight enough join, so added some clamps which I think is when the slippage took place). So, is there a...

Hi, I'd like to use my hand held 1/4 inch router to cut an angled groove, and am thinking of doing so by making a wedge shaped base at the appropriate angle to screw to the router base. Is this safe or am I doing something stupid? (I don't have a router table and using a table saw isn't an...

I was lucky to get some freshly cut logs from an unusually (for the UK) large fig tree today, up to 24cm diameter and up to 40cm long. Am I doing the right thing to cut them vertically in half through the pith to aid drying and avoid splitting in the centre? Should I coat just the end grain, or...

I've just bought my first one. Should I put a secondary bevel on the blade?

Hi all, Any advice on glue stains would be appreciated! I've just made a bowl with a piece of 3 inch lime, but a couple of small hairline cracks appeared as I was shaping the outside, so I squirted some ca glue on them and then finished shaping, thinking that the glue stain on the surface...

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone can identify this wood - could it perhaps be holly?

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can advise on calculating my lathe speed? I have a lathe with a 3 phase motor running off a domestic power supply. It has a control knob to regulate the speed, but only with numbers 1 to 10. I would like to be able to work out what speed the lathe is running at on...