sutton046

As I prepare to commence running woodworking activities with kids in Primary Schools, I have been exploring the best type of benches to make and to use for the programs. My existing benches, used by adults and secondary students, are fantastic. They are solid and made for serious woodworking. However they are heavy and need to be assembled. Each bench is held together by 4 bolts. I have made shorter legs sets to enable young children to be able to use them. This pic shows the two types of benches I have been using - the 2-vice model and the 4-vice model. Shown here in the process of being set up ready for a program with secondary students. Meanwhile, I have been researching benches specifically for kids - and the results of my research so far have been disappointing. So I was thinking... how about supermodified saw stools? The important criteria for kids benches me are: easily portable, stackable, stable, able to fit inbetween the wheel arches of my ute, solid enough to not bounce whe...

The job I have just complete was to re-build an old table. This beautiful oval extending table is a family heirloom - but has had a hard life too. The owner approached me, keen to have the table repaired and the missing extension leaf replaced. So I picked up the table from their home and have begun the rebuilding task. The two halves of the top are removed here, showing the damaged frame. The damage was extensive - more than I realised when I put the table in the back of my ute. It was when I started to investigate the table closely in the workshop that the true situation became evident. See the pic above! A jarrah table with cabriole legs, the extending mechanism is of the winding type with a crank handle. The end rail which houses the winding "socket" was smashed into 4 pieces. Of the 8 primary joints in the frame, 7 of these were broken. In most of these, the tenons were broken off inside the legs. Rebuilding the Table Frame. The table had been repaired before, long ago. ...

I recently completed my third program with the students at the Belmont Alternative Learning Centre. (BALC) The projects I offer sequentially introduce new skills and reinforce previously learned skills, which the participants apply in the building of their projects. Last time I worked with the BALC students, they each made bedside tables. This time, the project involved some more tricky skills and maths, as the participating students each made a bar stool . In addition to angled legs and components, this project included the upholstering of the tops, which the students also undertook themselves. Making the Bar Stools. The following sequence of pictures help tell some of the story: The measuring, marking and preparation of the angled components required good accuracy. The use of dowelling jigs still requires care and accuracy for a good result. The glue-ups are always a high pressure event as we race to beat the fast drying glue! Glue-ups are best done with people working in pairs. Onc...