30 March 2025 : I've set up this Blogspot account to post photographs instead of using Instagram - for a whole host of reasons! All of the Instagram content has been transferred and it's unlikely that I'll return to that platform.
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Having had to re-size/thickness some of the timber for the table I'm making, some extra sanding is required.
The two rather ancient corded sanders* I have are really not up to the job (that's my excuse!) so I've bought a cordless sander that uses the same batteries as most of the other cordless tools.
. . . and some of the timber components ready for sanding and then assembly
* listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree
A woodworking plane - just 3" long! It may look like a toy, it's not - used to tidy up the shoulders of tenons to improve their fit in the mortises.
It's beautifully made in hardwood and brass with fully functional blade adjustment - the blade being removable to sharpen.
The timber order for the table I'm making was ready so, as the delivery cost for a small order was expensive, I went to Shepton Mallet to collect it - and to make the fuel and time cost worthwhile added a trip to the Haynes Motor Museum. That's Haynes as in the publisher of car and other manuals - a collection of about 300 cars.
The warehouse at Timbersource - the saws and planers etc were at the back of the building, I couldn't go round there - my timber is on the upper shelf of the rack on the right hand side.
. . . and at the Haynes Museum there was a C-registration, 1965 Austin Mini in Island Blue. This is the same as my first car, HLC823C, in the identical colour, purchased in June 1965.
New Year's Day must be a day for "etsy browsing" as I sold two G-Plan items within about 15 minutes of each other to two different buyers.
A nest of Quadrille side-tables and a Quadrille "coffee table" (actually the largest table from a nest!)
Packed with cardboard, bubble-wrap, industrial cling-film and tape - ready for a DPD collection.
A VERY rough sketch of the table - the perspective is out of proportion but it's letting me work out the timber requirement - the drawer is going to be a new challenge.
UPDATE: 6 January 2026 - Timber has been ordered, but about 10 days lead-time - I'll be doing some more practice joints etc in the meantime.
The ultimate plan is make an oak console table to replace another table in the house - as the timber is pretty expensive I'm making a smaller test piece using the same techniques but with oddments of timber (oak for the top and legs, a contrasting timber for the rails - it might be a mahogany)
The top has been made gluing six strips together and the rails and legs cut to length. Mortises have been marked out and cut in the legs (with the new machine)
Tapering the legs - the leg (with the mortises already cut) is clamped onto the jig at a slight angle overlapping the edge of the jig - the jig is then passed through the table saw to cut a very fine wedge to create the taper - the two "inside" faces of each leg have the taper cut.
Please, no comments about the lack of a guard on the saw, the operation can't be done with the guard in place - the width of the jig allows for keeping hands well away from the blade.
The "glue-up" - clamped upside down on the MFT
Routing the bevelled edges on the oak top
The final result - not perfect by any means but good practice for the various techniques, and it used up oddments of timber.
Our previous coffee machine was plumbed into the water supply with a water softener* and a filter - they were uninstalled when the new machine arrived, freeing up a lot of space in the under-counter cupboard.
As we prefer to use filtered water in the coffee machine I have installed a new "filter tap" (3-way - H, C & Filtered) on the sink next to the "coffee nook" - using the previous filter unit with a bit of simple plumbing** and we have pleasantly-tasting water again.
It all fits behind the false back in the under-sink cupboard, yet readily accessible for the approximately six-monthly filter cartridge replacements.
* the water softener, being redundant, is for sale on ebay & Facebook Marketplace
** not very elegant as the original pipework was poorly laid out - but it's functional.
A footstool to go with our refurbished mid-century modern chair* The frame** is made of, I think, sapele timber with mortise and tenon joints attaching the rails to the legs - all edges with a soft round-over and finished with a hard-wax oil.
The upholstered top is a sheet of 9mm board and a dense foam pad covered with polyester wadding in a stockinette cover, a thin cotton covering and finally the citrus coloured chenille fabric.
The colour match isn't perfect but is closer than the photograph suggests.
The festive cut-outs are up on the fence again - I've failed through lack of inspiration to add a new one this year - but the new picture is taken from the other direction, looking from the road.
One slight change is that they are now watched over by our new security camera on the fascia above the garage doors!
The usual Christmas tree in the porch and lights along the front of the house will be installed this week and the traditional "St Mary's Road Christmas Lights" will be switched on at all the neighbouring houses on Sunday 7 December 2025 - with, weather permitting, some consumption of mulled wine as we celebrate.
.oOo.
I'm flattered that a lady living down the road (she's lived in the same house for more than 50 years) that walks her dog past twice a day makes a point of bringing her grandson to see my various seasonal displays.
We've just booked a birthday treat in May . . . involving a bear, a duffel coat and a suitcase.
Staying at a trendy Z Hotel near The Savoy theatre - just hope there's marmalade for breakfast!!
Our "commercial" coffee machine developed some VERY expensive to repair faults - we've had it 10 years so not too bad. The previous (identical) machine got to 16 years before we decided to replace it.
So, it became a "value judgement" on the cost of repair against a new machine - sense prevailed and we now have a "semi-automatic bean-to-cup" machine.
The new machine in the "coffee nook" - as they call it in the U.S.
Downsides:
- it's not plumbed into the water supply as the previous machine
- it doesn't have sufficient throughput of hot water to make tea
- it doesn't keep cups warm on the top of the machine*
Upsides:
- it has a grinder so the quality and taste of coffee is better than from ready-ground
- it will reduce electricity usage, only taking power when making coffee - the previous machine kept the water tank heated (think a small immersion heater!) 13 hours a day
- there is a 3-year warranty
- the previous machine required periodic servicing at about £150 a time
*remedied with a hotplate on the shelf above the machine, timed for brief "coffee time" periods during the day. UPDATE: After 5 days the heat tray has failed 😞 - Amazon is being pursued for a refund - UPDATE - which has now been made. . . and yet another UPDATE - a new hotplate has been purchased, German made and built like a tank it keeps the cups warm.
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The old machine has been sold on ebay for "parts or repair" - offsetting about 25% of the new machine cost.
Just bought from Facebook Marketplace, at a very keen price, a machine to cut mortise joints - second-hand but unused, packed in the original box.
I've been cutting mortises with a drill, chisel & mallet - the machine makes a better job, is more accurate and faster. Tenons are cut on the bandsaw.
The panel is now installed and fits snugly between the two beds enabling it to become a double (a foam "slab" will slot in between the two existing mattresses)
A trip, staying in Alnwick, to visit the "Christmas at Bamburgh Castle" tableau - themed on Treasured Tales - including Captain Hook, Jack & the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Rumpelstiltskin . . . and more.
The Christmas Tree was constructed with a spiral staircase and stacks of books amongst the decorations (a similar theme to the St Pancras Christmas tree a couple of years ago)
This chap, made from sheets of Corten steel was at Alnmouth
Other highlights were a visit to Cragside with a 6-mile scenic drive around the enormous estate (in the rain!) - and on the way home, the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum in Sunderland.
I did go to the Harrogate Woodworking Show on the way up to Northumberland - managing not to buy anything save for a £20 bundle of "useful hardwood offcuts"
Parts cut to size ready for some joinery . . . I'll post some progress pictures and the item when it's finished.
Tenons cut . . . .
