Many moons ago, my wife and I bought the house we live in now, from the estate of my great-aunt. It is a house that I have known all my life, although the old girl probably wouldn’t recognise it now.
Anyway, at the time, I wasn’t a hand tool kind of person, and I had so much else on my plate that I wasn’t even really a woodworking kind of person. Nevertheless, when we ripped out an old fireplace, I decided to save the mantelpiece. I’m not sure why, but I did. Ever since it has been quietly sitting in my shed, my old shed mostly, and now my new one. It’s time to put it to good use.
It must be quite stable by now, having seasoned for over ten years in the shed – just the thing for some winding sticks. I began by ripping the rough dimension from the main board, which can then go away for another day. Then I planed down to a reference face, then a reference edge, then an opposite edge and final thickness.
Finally, I ripped diagonally down the length to get my two sticks. Once I had planed up the sawn faces smooth, I had my blanks, ready to start the inlay.
This design is based heavily on one from Paul Sellers. I cannot link to the design because it is part of his Masterclasses website, and there are strict instructions not to share resources without prior permission. However, the winding sticks project is part of the free section, so all one needs to do is join in order to have access. Just follow the link and fill in your details. There are downloadable plans and instructional videos, as well as lots of other projects. Well worth a look.
The next post for this project will cover the inlay.
goatboys woodshop 
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