Crafts / Craftsmen / craftswomen (craftspeople, I suppose)

She wants to finish it in beeswax herself

Lessons learned.

• standard router bits don't plunge cut very well, need an end mill style bit
  
• it's easy to break a small bit by taking too heavy a cut
  
• if you're marking out clock positions, do it before you've made a ring while you still have a centre point
  
• check the extra depth required for the centre point of the forstner bit
  
• a pin nail is not a beefy enough centre pin for the circle jig
  
• think more about trailing power cable when cutting circles
  

Anyone got any recommendations on where I can gat some PAR white american oak in a wide width - approx 600mm x 800 x 32. 2 pieces biscuit jointed would be fine if needs be.

Tried to make a handle for a japanese knife:
Removed the core from a reindeer antler to for a ferrule and then tried to shape the walnut wood to fit. I decided I didn’t trust the precision of the press fit so glued everything up before shaping.

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Shaping with a plane and various chisels and files.
It’s a cheap knife and the original handle was pretty awful.

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Finished, oiled, waxed, and buffed. Will have to look into a really durable finish. Boiled linseed oil maybe.
Antler from dad’s shed probably cast and found somewhere. Walnut from off cuts from downstairs neighbours kitchen renovation so as ethical as I can, I think.

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Would like to start doing more (well, some) woodwork.
I assume Youtube would be an obvious place to start, but I don't really have space for a workshop at the moment. I'm also moving house so buying stuff or making space doesn't make much sense.

So - courses. Anyone done any, recommend any, any specifically to avoid?
I'm pondering bookrack or table here
https://www.newschooloffurniture.com/shop/

Seems a little pricey, but then it is London and works out about £20ph and you get what you make of course. And it's handy as I'm in Greenwich so it's easy to head to on the way from work.

Am I missing anything obvious?

I don't have a workshop, but I have a shed. I don't do any woodwork in there because of dust + bikes. Tools I need just get brought out onto the decking when I want to make something. Which means I'm limited to dry days.

I don't have a workshop, but I have a shed. I don't do any woodwork in there because of dust + bikes. Tools I need just get brought out onto the decking when I want to make something. Which means I'm limited to dry days.

Probably what I'll aim for once moved. Quite like to start getting something started in the meantime, and while I'm not training for anything

YouTube and cheap power tools. Then upgrade your tools as you outgrow them/start to notice their defficiencies. If a wanted a circular saw, I'd buy one from Aldi. My skill level wouldn't notice the things that made it cheap. As that started to grate, I upgraded and sold on the cheap one.

Of course, you can start with hand tools, as that's cheaper. But it's often harder to use them (well) than you think. For example, I could never cut a straight/true line with a hand saw, so I got disillusioned around making longer cuts. Bought a relatively cheap track saw from Screwfix and now I'm totally happy ripping 2m long cuts as I know they'll be straight.

What I will say is, if you are storing tools to use in another spot, make sure you can get them in and out easily, or you won't bother. Adam Savage talks about "first order retrieval", which sounds wanky, but if you have to move a lot of shit to get at your router, guess what you'll put off using. That's why tool/peg boards are more than just showing off your stuff, if you can just grab what you need, the whole process is much more enjoyable. I'm getting to the stage where I'm breaking that mantra so will need a storage redesign soon.

first order retrieval

Fair point. Have done the same with kitchen and clothes storage. As open as possible so I can see all I've got and trying to avoid clutter hiding away.

I'm a professional so it takes the offer of money for me to be interested in a woodworking project but I have from time to time made small boxes. It's a rabbit hole of possibilities and it's challenging but the skills all transfer as basic hand tools are at the core of carpentry skills.

I once hand planed an entire wooden floor but that's another story, the outcome was I learnt to handle a plane though.

Resin is runnier than I'd imagined. Much leakage. Masking tape and packing tape both fail. I'm thinking wrapping the whole thing up in clingfilm and then duct tape on top. Any better ideas?

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Axminster tools do loads of courses either down here in Devon or in Sittingbourne. I have done one course and it was really good. As a bonus you get 5% off all tools for a month after the course.

Wow, that looks messy. For cracks that big I think you need thicker epoxy stuff.

Its two part epoxy resin - medium viscosity, perhaps there's a thicker variety.

Letting it set up for a while has helped, but need to prevent leaks.

The thicker the resin, the harder it is to get rid of bubbles without vacuum equipment. With regards to the tape, it looks a little messy, you have to make sure that there are no folds and that wherever the tape is in contact with the wood it has been well burnished.

Is this a wood turning project? Most guys I know who do that kind of thing flood the shakes / cracks on the blank with epoxy before turning as it actually turns pretty well. You may be better off taping the outside then laying your bowl flat and filling one crack at a time then bringing the epoxy back to surface level with sandpaper or a gouge.

The tape was less messy before it started to leak everywhere. Taping from the outside is a good shout. One crack at a time will take forever though.

I plan to finish it on the lathe once they are all filled and set.

Kitchen roll holder finished, should have listened to the advice and forgone the biscuit joint as forgot about it and turned the base down too thin so it got exposed :( ah well, guess I can claim it’s “character”..

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I'll give you a fiver for it... Posted... ;)

That's quite a lot for a cat (who seems to be pondering whether it is a scratching post or an anal plug).

Ha! Just kidding, like you are. Looks good and yeah, keep it up!

Lovely work. Don't suppose you have a link to this clamp / what type of clamp is this?

Cheers.