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From the way people go on about sharpening it seems that sharpening is becoming a competitive sport. Welcome to the sharpening Olympiad of 2023 fellow woodworkers. It is a bit like fly casting competitions, all very well in itself but does not catch any fish. Perhaps our sharpening enthusiasts...

I am a hobby carpenter of about 7 years experience but I only started carving about 6 month ago. I fancy that anyone who has chopped out mortices and tenons can cut basic shapes. i use flat chisels obviously for straight letters (I, L, M, N etc). And I started with a cheap set of gouges topped...

I started making routed signs using a supplied template, then drawing the letters and routing them out. I recently took up carving and have made two signs with raised letters by hand. It is not too difficult but it is a lengthy process. it Is really hard to make machined stuff look anything bit...

If it were metal it would be an issue but wood is flexible so that as the jaws of the chuck close the wood crushes differentially and moves the piece. Put the tenon in the chuck (the shoulders should be up against the lips of the jaws and not bottom out on the chuck). Bring up your tail stock to...

I run a dehumidifier in my workshop, it is an older Curry’s generic one. I take about 5L a week out of the air and maintain about 60% humidity. It saves my tools from rust.

I think that many of the YouTube presenters started as a bit of fun or because they thought that they had something important to say. They then fell into actually making a living at it. But in YT you don’t actually have to sell stuff as you get lots of ads pushed your way anyway. In any case, a...

Oak has high tannin and you may find the oak quickly turns black.

If your lathe is long enough and you clamp the heavy end in a chuck you may be able to turn it ok. As someone said practice on cheap stuff before committing to a heavy hard wood.

Don’t forget to check for worm holes.

I had one of those tacky things. I despised it and hated it from day 1. Hot in Summer, cold in winter, forever dark and damp.

I am a bit late to the party but check under both the head and tail stocks for a build up of wood dust and oil which affected my lathe alignment.

Decumidifiers work on the same principle as fridges and do not use ‘vast’ amounts of energy. Of course if they are fighting a losing battle to lower the humidity of the whole locale…. I was once in the storage business and dehumidifiers were definitely more effective than heaters.

Mine cost £11. Really one is not interested in the actual accurate measurement moisture percentage rather a comparison between the background humidity vs. what you are interested In. By that I mean you don’t think ‘I will accept 15%’ then measure a floor and find 8% in some areas and 14% in...

I have a 3mx4m newly built log cabin type workshop so it is largely draft free. I run a domestic dehumidifier and it removes a couple of litres of water from the air a week. More in wet weather. I don’t have any rusting issues. Your garage needs to be sealed better, but I don’t believe that a...

By coincidence I was just watching this which is very useful as I have just bought a little, very cheap, saw from a flea market.

Tools are there to be modified to meet your needs. Indeed tool steel is reasonably priced. Even cheaper old chisels from a flea market or car boot sale.

I thought that the peacock carving was very good and realistic. The tail was a bit basic but the idea was good given more time it could have been stunning.

Whatever, I am a fan of this entertainment show, which is not a woodworking tutorial. Misti’s chair was spectacular, if a little unsteady.