sutton046

After wishing I could be there for the last few years, I have finally done it! I went to the "Woodworking in America 2013" Conference/Event (WIA) in Cincinnati, Ohio in October. What a joy it was to be there too! I was one of many hundreds of woodworkers present, but other than an Adelaide boy who lives and works in the USA now, I was the only Australian as far as I know. Imagine it... Two and a half days of non-stop woodworking talk, demonstrations,  tools and activity. Bliss. Even more blissfully, there were hardly any bods selling power tools and machines in the "Market Place". The focus was pretty much on hand tools there. Fantastic second hand and antique tools for sale, new tools from the many boutique saw makers, plane makers, and other tool makers that the USA woodworking community can support. Timber, gadgets, books, and paraphernalia for all things wood. There was even the Hand Tool Olympics going on in there all day too. Day 1 , I started the morning goin...

Yes, I have been in North Carolina doing a week of green woodworking with the legendary Roy Underhill of "The Woodwright's Shop" fame. What a privilege it was for me to have been able to get a place in this course, in which I shared with nine other very nice blokes who came from all over the USA. For the benefit of those outside of the USA, Roy has been doing "The Woodwright's Shop" TV woodworking show for over 30 years. To date there have been 429 episodes made!  The inspirational starting point in their woodworking journey for many Americans, Roy's programs focus on traditional woodcraft & woodworking skills, techniques and history - using only hand tools and human-powered machines. The setting for the course was Roy's beautiful property at McBane Mill, which to a wandering Australia has the most amazing array of tree species in the woods. For Australian eyes, it was fascinating to see the diversity of tree species in one small area of forest...

It all starts with an idea, a concept - and a need. My customer had been pouring through magazines and the internet over many months, gathering up ideas for her new kitchen. She drew up a concept drawing, and we bounced around the ideas, construction implications, proportions, materials, and other practical matters. The concept drawing of the kitchen. I did a scale drawing on a piece of plywood, showing the detail of the proposed cabinets' face frames. This would help me determine the methodology for constructing it. All drawer fronts and doors will be set into the frame, with the frame creating "borders" around them. The cabinets would be made up of a group of Modules, each with fancy feet on the bottom front corners. The face frame "border" would be 40mm wide, with a bead and quirk along each side - like you would get from an old wooden moulding plane. However, with the grain of a lot of WA Blackbutt being pretty wild, I opted to use a router cutter rather tha...