 Recently I went to the BBC in Leeds to record a piece on the joy of planing for Radio 4. I talked about how planing appeals to all the senses; the lovely sound that a really sharp plane makes as the shaving swishes off the blade; the beautiful burnished surface that is left; the smell from certain woods as you plane them, the peppery smell form walnut, the perfume from rosewood and the aromatic smell of cedar of Lebanon. Of course I didn’t realize until I had left the studio that probably the most satisfying thing about hand planing is the sheer physicality of it. The rhythm of planing, putting your weight into the stroke and the sense of control from using a tool that responds to your skill. It’s about the hand to eye relationship between you and the tool. Its a unique feeling that you just can’t get when using machines.
 Some of you may remember that last year, as part of North Yorkshire Open Studios, we opened our workshop to the public and also ran some marquetry taster workshops where people could make the marquetry inlay shown. We are proud to say that we have again been selected to be part of the NYOS and are offering the popular marquetry taster again.
NYOS runs on the weekends of June 9th-10th and 16th-17th. The workshop will be open on both days during those weekends. We will hold a marquetry taster on 17th June 9.00am to 1.00am. Please go to the course page for more details.  Specially for NYOS we will also be running a woodworking taster half day workshop. There you will make a set of four trivets as pictured. This is a chance to experience some of the skills of woodwork without having to buy the tools! Please go to the course page for more details. To sign up for these events either ring us on 01943 880111 or go the our contact page.
 One of my early students from when I first started teaching at my own workshop, about five or six years ago, emailed me the other day with a rather gruesome picture of a finger injury that he sustained while working on his band saw. So I thought a little piece on band saw safety might be appropriate.
Many people, including myself, get a bit slapdash about the band saw, it’s quite quiet and doesn’t run very fast, so it seems fairly benign. True, the band saw does not run at the velocity of the circular saw or spindle moulder, so it is not so likely to throw the wood back at you. But it can still cut your finger off!
A lot of workshop accidents come about because something unexpected happens, I suppose this is true by definition. For instance the saw hits a crack so it cuts a lot faster than you expected and runs into your thumb which you would have moved out of the way in normal circumstances. Machine safety is about planning for the unexpected. So here are my eight top tips for safe working on the band saw:
1. Keep your hands at least 20 cm from the blade. Use a push stick to control the end of the cut and have the push stick ready before you start the cut.
2. Bring the guard down as close to the work piece as possible. On some saws the fence can be adjusted to be lower for narrow pieces thus enabling the guard to come down lower, use this if it is available.
3. Don’t clear off cuts away with the hand, use a push stick. It’s easy to forget that the blade is running.
4. Plan ahead:
a. Make relieving cuts if cutting curves so that
you don't have to back out of the cut.
b. Think about the end of the cut before you
start, for instance is the push stick easily
hand? If ripping a long piece have you
arranged support at the end of the cut?
It's while struggling to stop a piece
dropping off the table that accidents can
happen.
5. Ensure that guarding is maintained when you make alterations. I think the accident shown was caused by the operator stumbling while the machine was running and accidentally putting his hand onto the unguarded blade under the table. This is usually guarded but I think it had been removed to fit some extraction. I’m sure H. will correct me if I am wrong.
6. Don’t run the saw with the doors open, even when adjusting the blade. Most band saws have a failsafe switch that prevents this. When adjusting the blade carefully turn the wheels by hand.
7. Always switch off when you are not actually standing at the machine. As the saw is quiet it is easy to leave it, to get something perhaps, then return and not realize it is still running.
8. Finally. Concentrate. A lot of the above can be boiled down to this. As with all machines make sure this is the only thing you are doing and give it your full attention.
For those who are worried, H's finger has lived to fight another day.......
 There are two different routes you can take for buying hand tools, which you choose depends on whether you are money rich or time rich. If you are money rich you can buy hand tools from reputable makers such as Veritas, Lie Neilsen, Clifton and Quangsheng. If you are time rich, or just like restoring old things, then good tools can be found on ebay and a car boots. But you need to be wary. So what should you look for?
Buying tools on ebay is more risky than buying offline as you are not likely to be able to handle and assess them. It takes careful study of the posted images and asking some pointed questions of the seller. Do not be afraid of interrogating the seller.
Here's what to look for for a selection of tools. Chisels- Is it straight? Chisels must be completely flat at the end, if not they will not sharpen or cut properly. If you can handle it eye it along the length, or better still, check with straight edge both along and across the flat of the back. If it's not flat it will require work to flatten it.
- Is there rust pitting, especially on the flat side? This is only important at the end of the chisel, the last 5 or so mm, beyond that the pitting will disappear as you sharpen over the years.
- Are they old? People say that the steel in old chisels is always better than those produced now. This is not strictly true but true enough to act as a guide. The quality of steel can be judged when dry grinding, the more red the sparks from the wheel generally indicates better quality steel ie steel that will hold an edge longer.
- How good are the handles? Are they split or crushed over on the end? Is there a good ferrule at the tool end of the handle? Do not necessarily shun plastic handled chisels. The older blue handled Stanley chisels and the green handled Marples chisels are good
- Generally a fairly good set of five older chisels, not necessarily matching should cost about £15 on ebay.
PlanesIt is probably more important to ask questions about planes on ebay than chisels as there could be more hidden problems. If you are looking for cheap planes to fettle up I would recommend Stanley or my personal favourite Record. - Is is complete or has it been cobbled together from bits and pieces? I was caught out with this recently on ebay, buying a very old Stanley five and a half plane and the blade and cap iron were for a five (ie 2" wide instead of 2 3/8). When handling a plane you can often see when handles are not original, perhaps plastic on an vintage plane. Sometimes it may be a Stanley cap iron on a Record plane, this would not affect the performance but does indicate a cobbled plane.
- Are the handles OK? When a plane is dropped the handle is the most likely breakage. Check for cracks, current or repaired. Often the handle will be loose and unable to be tightened, this can be corrected by putting a washer below the brass screw at the top of the handle. Often plastic handles are cracked at the small screw hole at the base, this is because the holes in the handle don't align with the holes in the plane base, possibly because it is not the right handle for the plane.
- The other possible breakage when a plane is dropped is the casting of the plane body. This may be at the wings that come up by the blade or a crack running from the mouth up the side of the plane these cracks can be difficult to spot but will effect the flatness of the plane sole.
- Is there rust pitting, in the body or the blade? Pitting in the body may not affect performance, it just doesn't look nice. The sole will be rubbed on wet and dry to flatten it I little pitting remaining will not reduce efficiency. Pitting at the blade edge will make sharpening difficult.
- Is the blade flat? This is the same consideration as with chisels, only more so, as the surface to flatten is so much larger.
- How much blade is left? Old planes often have a blade with not much usable steel left. This will need replacing a new standard 2" or 2 3/8" blade costs about £12 -£14.
- I have been paying about £30 for 5 1/2 record and Stanley planes on ebay recently, although a recent student on my Fettling course made me jealous saying he had been paying £15 to £20 for his!
SawsHere I am talking mainly about older tenon and panel saws. New saws are usually hardened so cannot be resharpened so are not much use as second hand tools. And again it is important to ask questions about the tools when buying on ebay. - Is the blade straight? Possibly the most important question.
- Are there teeth missing, an unstraight saw can be straightened a little, but missing teeth would take a lot of work to deal with, so perhaps this question is more important!
- Are the handle rivets/scews complete? Often older saws have the brass screws that secure the handle to the blade missing, they can be hard to replace.
- Any rust pitting? Minor pitting is not too critical, a clean up with steel wool and a rub with candle wax can overcome it.
This is a quick run through some of the important things to look for when buying second hand tools. I'm sure the experienced ebayer or car booteer can come up with more. I would be interested to hear from them, please comment below.
 My wife, Alison, often asks me why, when I spend most of my time sawing and cutting wood square, can I not cut bread square. We like to eat home made bread in our house and I have to plead guilty to making the cut look like the above when we get to the end of the loaf.
Anyone who has been on my beginners course will know it's not that simple! First you have to plane a face side and face edge on the piece then mark the line square with a marking knife and chamfer down to the line with a chisel. Then we are ready for the cut, remembering to keep the saw arm in line with the saw and the eyes over the saw. All this is quite tricky on a loaf of bread, which is why I can't cut bread straight.
On the February beginners course the discussion got round to bread making. We had Nick on the course, he's about as fanatical about his bread making as I am about my furniture making. In our house bread making consists of slopping flour, water and yeast together then bashing it around till it feels springy then leaving it to rise and forgetting about it so the dough climbs over the side of the bowl. Nick has a much more precise approach. This consists of mixing a preferment the day before and being very precise in mixing and kneading over an extended period. I tried out his recipe over the weekend, it took almost a weekend to do it! But I must admit that the consistency and flavour was much better than our usual bashed up bread. I think it will get even better because I suspect out yeast was getting a bit past it.
This is what I like about teaching. Although I'm the teacher I can still learn from my students, be it a new light on a woodworking technique or a new approach to bread making.
If anyone would like Nick's bread recipe let me know and I'll send it to you.
 Today I've been preparing for the dovetail days over the weekend and also the beginners course that starts next Saturday. On the first day of the beginners course we sharpen and fettle planes and chisels. For those who have no tools I have to provide some to work on. I like to buy old record and Stanley 5 1/2 planes from ebay for the plane fettling. But finding suitable chisels has been more difficult, so I thought I would try a set of Narex chisels from Workshop Heaven. Matthew Platt, who runs this execellent business, recommends them as the best economy chisel on the market. I received a set of four from Matthew today and must say I am very impressed. Generally I don't like chisels with striking ferrules, they often seem uncomfortable, but these have a good balance and feel right in the hand. Some economy chisels can take ages to fettle up ie lapping the machining marks and flattening the back and regrinding. I tried fettling the 6mm chisel and had it cutting as shown in the picture less than 5 minutes. Matthew says these chisels are ground with a slight concavity in the back, this makes lapping easy. The true test of a chisel is how long will it hold a good edge, I haven't used it enough to tell you that, but I am optimistic. At £30 for the set I think they are excellent value. I am always impressed with the service from Workshop Heaven, they really know their tools and communicate an enthusiasm for them. I hope Matthew doesn't mind me saying that I hope they do not grow too big, because then they may lose that commitment to quality which is so uncommon nowadays.
 I’m preparing for a couple of one day dovetailing courses I have coming up this weekend. I find people’s attitude to the dovetail interesting. It has a certain mystique about it, but in fact it is like any other joint just requiring careful attention to method, technique, accuracy and concentration to produce good work. Because the dovetail is held in such high regard it is often used inappropriately, often spoiling and otherwise good design. This is often true of those following the arts and crafts style.
As with all craft work cutting dovetails always goes better if you are “in the zone” or, as it is coming to be known, in a mindful state. Being mindful means focusing awareness on what is happening here and now. In our daily lives we are used to running on automatic pilot, we are often doing many things at once, for instance the teenager walking to school, listening to an ipod and texting at the same time. I know women pride themselves on their ability to multitask but multitasking means you are never really experiencing properly the things you are doing. By being mindful of just one activity or task you can do amazing things and also get more enjoyment out of doing them. When cutting dovetails you should aim to fit the joint straight from the saw, this means careful focused attention to what the saw is doing, particularly at the start of the cut. You can’t achieve this whilst texting! But when truly “in the zone” you can be surprised by what you can do. Before sawing I would suggest making a few cuts in a piece of scrap first, partly to renew you acquaintance with the feel of the saw, but also to settle yourself into a mindful state for the real cutting.
I recently saw a design for a box on a woodworker’s forum. The designer was clearly in love with dovetails. So much so that he was dovetailing across the grain, an extraordinarily weak joint, in fact so weak as to be useless! The designer had let his love of the joint get the better of him. In the right place, in drawer making or on the corners of carcasses in shaker or arts and crafts work perhaps, dovetails can be elegant and appropriate, but use them sparingly. Don’t design the piece round the joint, design the form then decide on the best way of constructing it.
 Mindful sawing,
I was sad, and rather angered to hear that the BA Furniture Making course at Leeds Art College is to close, this follows news of staff cuts on the Furniture foundation degree at the London College of Furniture . Also my daughter is a student on the formerly highly respected BA Embroidery course at Manchester Metropolitan University, this is also to close. It seems that craft teaching in the UK is taking a real hit at the moment.
The closure of the Leeds course means that there is no degree course in furniture making offered north of Watford. Eventually the teaching of furniture making will be entirely privatized and regionalized. To get a professional training one will have to relocate to the south east or south west and pay for a private course, an option available perhaps to ex bankers, but not for a young person wanting to follow a passion for making things. We will be a sad country if opportunities for self fulfillment through making become the reserve of the wealthy.
I taught my four day beginners furniture making course over the last few days. The students came from a varied background, we had an alcohol abuse counselor, an architectural engineer, a graphic designer and a TV script writer. When asked why they have come on the course, to a person it was that they wanted to get away from the desk and computer for a few days and actually MAKE SOMETHING. This is the reason why there are so many crafts courses like mine springing up all over the country, textiles, woodwork, jewellery making, ceramics the list goes on. They cater for this pent up desire for creativity which is being stifled by the world of work as it is now.
The loss of making courses in higher education is being compounded by the demise of Craft Design Technology (CDT) in schools. I know CDT is a shadow of the former woodwork and metalwork that those over 40 can probably remember from school, but at least there was some making involved. Now, I am told, the position of CDT within the curriculum is being reviewed by the Government and recommendations are being made that it should be dropped from the basic curriculum to be on the same level as Citizenship. This will mean that cash strapped schools will run down a subject that is expensive to run.
Now I don’t want to sound like an old bore but I believe that the teaching of craft skills is character forming. It instills the idea of doing things right and also the judgement when something is right and, as I said before, satisfies the inate desire for creativity. We will become a sad, possibly sick, society without it.
Getting out from behind the desk and making things!
I’ve been thinking recently about what factors make for good work in furniture making. By good work I am thinking of two things; is the work well made and was the making an enjoyable experience. I can identify four essentials of good work.
 Sharp and well set up tools. This is the basis of good work. Without tools that are exquisitely sharp and adjusted to give optimum performance woodwork can become a chore where one is fighting the tools and the material. With well set up tools one can respond to the nuances of the sometimes difficult material we work with. Sharp tools leave a crisp edge and a burnished surface that needs little or no sanding. They also enable an extraordinary level of accuracy. This brings us to the next essential.
 Accuracy. “In furniture making you always get found out”. It is important that each stage in the making process is completed with accuracy. We’re talking tolerances of half a millimetre or less. If one doesn’t observe the rule of accuracy it will come back to bite you at a later stage, as inaccuracy may be multiplied by each subsequent process, evident in ill fitting joints, out of square frames or badly running drawers. Inaccuracy will also spoil the work for the maker, having to fudge things to make up for the previous mistake.
 Method. I’m not sure this is the right term, what I mean is you should know how you are going to approach the whole of the job before you start. When you embark on a project you should have the path through the job mapped out, either in your mind or on paper. If you don’t have this map then you may find you are lost half way through the project. “Oh dear I can’t get in to make that cut now I’ve glued up that mitre”! Mapping out saves time as you plan the most efficient way of doing things, it also make the work more enjoyable as you are more in control rather than being surprised by unexpected difficulties. Attention to method brings me to number four.
 Concentration. I have previously blogged about this on the other site, http://www.christribe.co.uk/blog/in-the-zone/00004.html it is often referred to as being “in the zone”. Woodwork is not something you can do whilst doing something else! It requires total concentration to produce good work. It doesn’t take much of a lapse of concentration to drill a hole in the wrong place or cut a piece too short , yes we’ve all don it! As one gets further into a job concentration becomes more important as there is more invested in it, cutting short a part that has been morticed, moulded, veneered and inlayed is a tear jerking experience! Being in the zone is almost a meditative state where one feels totally in control of the tool and the material and its relationship to the whole project. Really good work comes out of the zone.
These are my four essentials of good woodwork, interesting that only one is a physical attribute all the others are psychological attributes. As a teacher of furniture making I can teach how to sharpen your tools, but the other essentials are more difficult. To some extent I try to teach by example, communicating my enthusiasm for the essentials through my teaching. The only other way to learn them is by experience.
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