Tag: Tom Fidgen

Architect’s Chair #4

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The glue-up for this project was not without its difficulties. I am reminded of a post a made a while back documenting the glue up for my workbench. On that occasion I nearly haemorrhaged blood from my eyes with the struggle to save the project. This wasn’t quite as bad as that, but it was a real struggle to reproduce the results of the dry-fit whilst fighting against the open time of the glue, a struggle that saw me pounding with a mallet; threatening the wood with violence; swearing like a drunken teenager; and cursing the day I ever took up woodworking. I finally collapsed in a heap of regret, embarrassment, relief and joy. “Never let the wood tell you, ‘no’!” Continue reading “Architect’s Chair #4” →

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The Funeral Chair Part One – Dimensioning and Joinery

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A few weeks ago I found myself in need of a project that might take my woodworking to the next level. Up until now I have tackled very simple projects while I find my feet in the world of hand tool woodworking. I didn’t want to run before I could walk, but I wanted something that was a little more complicated than the small dovetailed boxes I have been pottering about with recently. Tom Fidgen’s book An Unplugged Life provided an ideal suggestion in the form of The Funeral Chair. As I mentioned in my last post, I am sure that seasoned woodworkers would find this project to be quite simple, but bear in mind that I am a noob. Continue reading “The Funeral Chair Part One – Dimensioning and Joinery” →

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Sawyer’s Bench #6

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This is my last post on the Sawyer’s Bench because, barring further coats of finish, the project is complete.

I wasn’t sure what finish to use on this project. Tom Fidgen didn’t put a finish on his apparently, but I asked him for advice and he said that he would use a boiled linseed oil and wax mixture.

Luckily, I had a few blocks of 1oz. beeswax and some linseed oil so, when I was ready to finish, I set about making my own concoction. I went for an 8:1 mix of oil and wax, mixing them by heating them in an old wok over a pan of boiling water on an electric hob. A gas hob is not advisable as boiled linseed oil is flammable. Continue reading “Sawyer’s Bench #6” →

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Shooting board

small_logo1-80x80 (1)My next main project will be a Sawyer’s Bench, designed by Tom Fidgen and featured in his book The Unplugged Woodshop. He hasn’t done a tutorial on the bench yet, but here is a video where he goes through the design of the bench.

The Sawyer’s Bench is basically a glorified saw-horse. It has a split top for rip cutting, a removable fence for cross cutting, and the configuration of the legs is slightly unorthodox in that two are set at 100° and the other two at 90º. This helps with rip cutting, as it not only provides a visual guide for a square cut, it also ensures that you won’t hit the legs with the saw. If my description is confusing, the video will clear things up. Continue reading “Shooting board” →

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Turning saw

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I was watching one of Tom Fidgen‘s videos a few weeks ago, and he was using what looked like a wooden coping saw – a small bow saw, with a very thin blade. I was intrigued by it, so I did a bit of research and ascertained that it was what is called a Turning Saw.

There are several instructional videos and articles online on how to make one of these saws, and I thought I’d have a crack at one. Continue reading “Turning saw” →

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Resawing by hand

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Sometimes, you find yourself with a piece of wood that is just too damn thick for what you need it for. You might have a nice plank of walnut, say, or maple, that is just over 2″ thick, but what you really need is two planks, each about 1″ thick. Or, maybe you just need a plank that is ½” or ¾” thick. What are going to do? Continue reading “Resawing by hand” →

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