At Greenwood Fest, our friend Peter Lamb https://www.instagram.com/gerrishisland/ came in on Saturday night to make a presentation of the Wille Sundqvist and Bill Coperthwaite Slöjd Fellowship award. The Fellowship aims to honor Wille and Bill and continue their legacy. Wille Sundqvist  Bill CoperthwaiteHere’s a blurb about the Fellowship – “The Wille Sundqvist and Bill Coperthwaite Slöjd  Fellowship is awarded to craftspeople to further deepen the meaning, skills, and connections among those passionate about simple living and handmade objects. The Fellowship ... read more

Planing to thickness is something that I haven't done a lot of lately and it shows. I'm sore but not as much as I was the first couple of times I did this. My right bicep is tender and I feel like I could take a nap and not wake up until next thursday. My fingers hurt the most but that is given with arthritic hands. I am going to try to do more of this on regular basis but ... read more

Adding a main shelf underneath my bench is a questionable addition except this time I am going to take control of it. Over the years it proved useful more as a catchall for stuff that just does not fit elsewhere rather than an organised system of storage. It did hold my electric grinder, my metal […] Read the full post Installing My Under-Bench Shelf on Paul Sellers' Blog. ... read more

This weekend my younger son made a couple of pens for his teachers as an end of school gift. He chose zebrawood for this set. He also tried using a skew chisel for the first time. The finish is oil/shellac/microcrystalline wax. Turned out pretty nice. ... read more

Here are a few links for learning about how to make Shrink Pots. How to make a Shrink Pot – Woodworkers Journal Woodwright Shop – Shrink Pot ... read more

We had to run off to a graduation on Friday, but when we got back I spent a rather rushed half-hour in the shed. Thing about that sort of thing is that it gets… messy… So first things first on Saturday, clean up a bit… Right. Next, trim up the other end cap, and set the locking wedge position and glue it in place… And yes, that is the finish starting to go on the box and ... read more

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I’ve finished five big spoons from big crooks, three in black cherry, two in hard (sugar) maple.  I’ll post them here below.  They’re all straight from the knife and treated with flaxseed (linseed) oil.  I had fun experimenting with some different designs on these.  They’re all serving/cooking spoons, way too big for eating spoons.  I’ll mention each spoon’s unique characteristics with the photos below.  Rather than listing them separately on my website, I’ll offer them right here in the ... read more

Even though I am now rehabbing two Preston spokeshaves, I am getting a bit weary of tool rehabbing. It seems I've have been nothing but rehabs forever. I need to do something with wood and not what is used to work wood. On the way home from OT today I decided on what that would be. It's going to be a desktop bookshelf. I have made a boatload of these out of pine and this one is going to be ... read more

It’s fitting for a workman to establish things. As a boy I watched men do this from time to time. People then didn’t flit, they stayed. By that I mean from job to job, place to place, change homes, such like that. They simply established themselves and stayed. Sometimes a new man came. There were […] Read the full post Fitting Things! on Paul Sellers' Blog. ... read more

One of the tools I got from my recent good fortune was an old hand brace manufactured by John S. Fray.  According to information on Sandy Moss's Sydnassloot.com website, Fray was in business making braces and other tools from the 1870's until Stanley bought his business in around 1909 (one page of Sandy's site says 1909 and another says 1920, so I'm not sure which is right).  Fray held at least 6 patents related to braces.The brace as foundThe John ... read more

This afternoon it was my pleasure and privilege to present a carving of “We are still here” in Abenaki to Tom Beck on behalf of the Nulhegan Band at their cultural center in beautiful Barnet, Vermont. Tom was also kind enough to show us the remarkable garden of endangered and heirloom vegetables being grown from seed, including Abenaki rose corn, Montpelier squash, and Vermont cranberry beans. More information on the Nulhegan Band and ... read more

USPS dropped a couple of boxes off today. One had the Late 19th early 20th Century Marple Paring/Pattern Maker chisels. Also in the goodies was a UK made plow with a full set of irons and a Washita stone.The Marple chisels are as close to mint as any I've seen that were not new. I've been looking for a set of pre-WWII Marple paring chisels for it seems years hoping to pick up one here and one there. Almost every ... read more

Making a workbench drawer is a good way to familiarise anyone for drawer making. It’s certain to demolish anyone’s fear that half-lap dovetails are hard to deal with. The system I developed and use almost every time for half-lap dovetails guarantees good fitting dovetails and an outcome designed to last for a century of daily […] Read the full post Bench Drawer—Forget Marking Gauges on Paul Sellers' Blog. ... read more

At extremely short notice, we have been asked to create a noticeboard for the grand opening of the new Dartington Hall deer park. When is it we ask? 9 days time is the answer. Best crack on then!By all means try this at home, but please wear more sensible footwear! Pulling the plate square. Ratchet straps are where it's at, this week.  ... read more

I’m teaching two courses in Munich this October at the new and expanded workshop for Dictum GmbH. Today I visited the new workshop, and it is impressive. Located by the Munich Ostbanhof (east train station), the new facilities are flooded with natural light and have beautiful new German workbenches. And downstairs is Dictum’s Munich store and a huge array of choices for food, culture and lodging. The classes are taught in English (with German expletives). If you are ... read more

We recently moved house. The new place has a lot more space and the workshop is getting crowded. A great opportunity to empty one and fill up the other, with all the lovely things that I make. It's great to see my settle in a domestic setting at last.The doors here are narrow and there's enough renovation to do without widening them, so there was only one thing for it; drill out a few pegs. Even when drilled, they didn't ... read more

In our research for “Ingenious Mechanicks,” we translated parts of a codex from 1505 that was written and illustrated by Martin Löffelholz. In it, Löffelholz showed what are likely the first modern workbenches with a tail vise and face vise. During the translation, we also encountered a recipe for what we thought was a love potion. As “Ingenious Mechanicks” is a woodworking book, and I have no need for a love potion (I’m married), translator Görge Jonuschat and I ... read more

When I got home from work tonight the plan was to put the new AC in the window, put the box in the recycling, and head for the shop.  I figured it would take 10 minutes, tops.  I had bought a smaller, lighter AC to replace the unit that was there because the old one weighs a ton. I have to concede that I can longer carry two of these at same time, let alone deal with one.I got the ... read more

"I imagined it would be quite straightforward. It actually took me five years just to get the basics."--Robin Wood.Five years ago I built my first lathe and started on this turning journey. It has been a blast, full of mistakes and lessons and outright laughter. Do I have the basics down? Maybe, but I also know enough to sense how little I know. I have found that making mistakes early and often is a key to growth, and nothing to ... read more

Adding the upgrades to my workbench makes me feel more settled in; like I’m here to stay! When you get used to something being the way you intended and then it’s disrupted for a period you realise a bit how you spoiled yourself. But it’s even more than that really. After two years at my […] Read the full post Upgrading My Garage on Paul Sellers' Blog. ... read more

From the collection of Justin Boesch A very rare Huber and Flickinger Patent Plane (all patent information referenced from datamp.org) US Patent: 145,106 Patent Dates:  Applied:Oct. 18, 1873      Granted:Dec. 02, 1873 Patentees: George W. Huber – Norwalk, OH  And Aaron E. Flickinger – Norwalk, OH Manufacturer: Not known to have been produced ... read more

I’m getting nowhere sorting Greenwood Fest pictures, so will just post a few here & there rather than trying to write a comprehensive blog post about the event. The wood gets delivered in a dump truck. Easy to unload, but last year we just left a large jumbled heap for people to sift through. This time I asked for (& got) volunteers to sort and lay out the wood so it was less hazardous. Then – I kept worrying we’d run ... read more

Many of you on a more local level said that you hoped to come by and visit us when we were more settled and that’s just about where we are. Next weekend, Saturday 23rd, we are opening up the garage workshop and the studio in Abingdon, UK and we will be here to talk about […] Read the full post Come to Our Open House on Paul Sellers' Blog. ... read more

  During Jim’s visit a few weeks ago, we recorded this new episode (listen above) in which we further explore the topic of Jim’s article from Issue Three: “On Perfection: Both Practical & Practiced”. Jim talks about how this topic developed in his own life and what happened when he enlisted others to contribute their own answers to a series on his blog. Jim was surprised to find different perspectives on perfection in woodworking which eventually inspired his M&T article. ... read more

Yoyoka Soma is 8 years old, and is an Asian who rocks so hard. And her entry for the Hit Like A Girl 2018 contest shows that she knows how to hit her kit like a boss.Have a great weekend. ... read more

My new WP blog  is, after spending 2 hours each of the past three mornings with WP chat support, finally working properly. Links within threads, from post to post, now work, and links to pages found via search engine also land on the correct pages here. Whew! Things were looking grim for a while there and I wondered if the migration was going to be a mistake. It turns out that the WP Beginner article that I used on migrating ... read more

Starting in  the the linden forests of Russia, this video follows the making of nesting dolls from tree to paint.  From what I could find on the internet this is still a localized craft industry in Russia,  like so many trades were in England and elsewhere a few hundred years ago.  Then you bought Sheffield tools and Wycombe chairs; now we buy Stanley tools and Ikea furniture without caring if they are made in Mexico or China. It starts ... read more

Believed it or not, this is also in response to a question asked by Matt about a  Funky Spokeshave he found.  His is a EC Stearns copy of Leonard Bailey patent, so this is where it all start...Leonard, yes that would be THE Leonard Bailey of the famed Bailey/Stanley bench planes fame, was involved with a few small companies to manufactures and sell his designs before and after being involved with Stanley Rule & Level Co.One of them being, the ... read more

After 35 years of running Bridge City, John Economaki is stepping down ... read more