Woodwork

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Spalting is a by-product of the rotting process that affects all wood to a greater or lesser extent. It’s caused by moulds and fungi, and can create many different and beautiful colours and patterns in the wood. This makes spalted wood highly prized for its looks, especially by turners While there are many examples of wooden artefacts that are a ...

The Woodworking Guru make a traditional high stool that incorporates both Windsor chair and Arts & Crafts styles. Making a stool can seem quite complicated and in a sense it is. It incorporates a series of joints in legs that splay at an angle, which creates problems, and seat shaping that looks a big challenge, although it is easier than ...

The Woodworking Guru recreates a classic childhood favourite – the pull-along brick truck – in durable beech, guaranteed to last a generation or two My own children had a truck full of plain beech bricks, and it proved to be popular and hard-wearing when they were between two and five years old. This type of toy never seems to go ...