With a new home to fit out, it came as no surprise to me to hear the words “Dad, will you make us a table?” Obviously the answer was yes. One advantage of this type of gratis job is that the deadlines can be a little bit more flexible than usual, the work generally being fitted in around other projects ...

This handy kitchen bookstand holds even the largest cookbook conveniently to hand and open at the right place, yet it folds flat so you can store it out of the way when you’ve finished creating your culinary masterpiece. I needed to edge-join two oak boards to get the desired width for the front panel. Cut the boards to length and ...

If you fancy a change from making bowls, candle holders and the like, take a look in the kitchen for inspiration. You may even win Brownie points from your other half! Turning for the kitchen Rolling pin Egg timer Spatula Coffee mug tree Kitchen roll holder Pestle and mortar Trivet Bread board Cheese board Herb chopping board and mezzaluna Bread ...

Last month’s article explained the battles we had to satisfy the local council’s Conservation Officer, and described the beginning of the door’s construction. Here’s the concluding episode The first stage of this project gave me two identical frames for the door itself. From now on they would be treated completely differently, so I put one to one side and concentrated ...

This was an opportune commission to receive as it fits very neatly into my ongoing series about turning treen for the kitchen. It’s a traditional meat carving platter, properly known as a trencher. A few weeks ago I was approached by a lady who asked me to turn something useful from a piece of wood that had been lying around ...

What do you make for the youngest member of the family… something that isn’t a toy, yet is personalised in some way? How about a small stool with a “birthday” coin inlaid in the top? This project is equally suitable for a boy or a girl. The coin selected dates from the year in which the youngster was born. The ...

I was asked recently to make a garden bench that was oriental in style and had some form of centre table attached to it. An internet trawl threw up numerous design ideas, and eventually I found inspiration. Here’s the end result A lthough this bench is designed primarily as a two-seater, it will comfortably seat three if the table is ...

This is one of a pair of memory boxes that were commissioned as gifts for my clients’ grandchildren. It’s pretty straightforward – four dovetail joints, a base and a tray. And then there’s that curved lid. (By Michael Forster) The box measures 370 x 280 x 150mm, and my clients wanted the grandchild’s name inscribed in the lid. Well, my ...

The Woodworking Guru makes a wooden model of a single deck electric tram from the early 1900s. MATERIALS REQUIRED: 300 × 600 × 2 sheets of 3mm birch plywood 500 × 100 × 8mm-thick × 1 piece hardwood Offcuts of hardwood: Small sheet of veneer – mahogany colour This article describes how to make a representative model of a single ...

When you ask newcomers to woodturning what they would like to make, they almost invariably say a bowl. In this article I’m going to make a bowl in cherry with an undercut lip, using just one tool The bowl featured here is turned in cherry. When selecting fruitwood it’s quite difficult to find a well-seasoned blank that doesn’t have faults ...