sutton046

On a recent Sunday I had a very enjoyable gig to do. Sonia, a customer, had turned 40 recently. To celebrate this milestone, she organised a venue, the Victoria Park Arts Centre, and 11 of her very good friends to spend the day with her. My task was to facilitate a woodworking activity for the day. We designed and carved wooden spoons. It was a great day! Prior to the participants arriving, I had set up my portable benches and gear. We used only traditional hand tools: carving gouges, carving mallets, curved scrapers, bowsaws and coping saws, spokeshaves and rasps. Many had never done stuff like this before. There were nine different timbers on hand for people to chose from. During the course of the day (either sides of a beautiful meal together), each person designed and made a beautiful and functional wooden spoon. After the tool work, it was just a final light sand and a coat of Orange Oil to finish them off. Twelve people each with a very different spoon with which th...

I recently spent two days working with bods from a NOW Green program, building seating at the Crossroads Community Garden being developed in Gwelup, Western Australia.  This community garden is a joint project of the Scarborough Church of Christ, City of Stirling, the Department of Health's North Metropolitan Area Health Service, and NOW Green. The Crossroads Community Garden had received grant funding to enable significant expansion. The project will see an additional 50 garden beds, community meeting area, pizza oven, fruit trees, artwork and more. This would also include some seating in the centre of the circular garden layout. That's where I come in. The new garden bed walls are in, ready for the seating. My role was to work with the mob from NOW Green to lead the building of the central seating using predominantly recycled timber. Due to concerns about termites, CCA treated pine was used for the 16 posts. All the seats and supports were made from salvaged...

I admit it. I love going to my local markets. Is it the delightful collage of people and languages buying and selling all manner of household bric-a-brac? Is it the thrill of the hunt? Is if the ever present chance of scoring a bargain? Yes, yes, and especially YES! I am usually chasing tools at the markets. Sure, I have lots of woodworking hand tools. Some might reckon I'm a tool junkie. Teaching woodworking handskills to groups of up to 20 people, I need a lot of tools. Good quality old fashioned tools - not the cheap modern imported crap from the big hardware stores. Hence I have in my head a list of priority tools I am always seeking, and a list of tools I will be opportunitistic about given the right chance. Other than that I am always open to being surprised...  My grandaughter Paree with a bargain $5 wheelbarrow  Run by the local Rotary Club as a fundraiser each Sunday morning, anyone from the public can sell whatever goodies they have...

What is it about the dovetail joint that it seems to have such mystique these days? In the past, it was just a standard every day method of jointing timber. Maybe it is the prevalence of new technologies and techniques better suited to mass production, man-made panel products and flatpacking which has lead to the growing fascination for this traditional joint. Most woodworkers creating dovetail joints nowdays use screaming routers aided by finely machined metal router jigs to cut these joints. Sure, they are sharp and crisp joints, but the journey is just not the same... there is something wonderful about using your hands and traditional hand tools to make a nice dovetail joint. If you are interested in how to cut these joints by hand, I invite you to follow through the process and come with me on the journey. Half-blind dovetails on the top edge of some sheoak bedside cabinets under construction. I am one of those people who does not own a dovetailing rout...