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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I sold the two sanders on Facebook Marketplace, together with a corded heat-gun that I'd had for 48 years (it still worked perfectly)
The funds were recycled into a battery operated heat-gun - not as powerful as the mains operated, but adequate for my requirements - it is, of course, the same brand and therefore battery platform as all my other cordless tools.
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.
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.
A "Record" curved sole spokeshave that was my grandfather's - cleaned and repainted in the authentic Record Tools blue.
This type of tool was, as the name implies, originally for making wooden spokes for wagon and other wheels by hand - nowadays they're used for a variety of wood-shaping functions (they come in both curved and flat sole versions)
Have to admit I'm unlikely to use it . . . . we'll see. At the moment I'm using it as a paperweight on my desk!
A guide/jig to hold the work-piece on the bench-hook when using a fine saw - pressing against the timber being sawn, with an abrasive strip of coarse sandpaper to prevent slipping. The Japanese saw is just resting on the bench.
The design stolen from Finbarr Lucas on my recent woodwork course!
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. . . . . and some second-hand chisels better suited to cutting mortises than my existing set. An ebay purchase for £9.99 for 9! Yes, they need cleaning up, grinding and sharpening but chisels looked after last a lifetime.
UPDATE - after some cleaning up I found that I had a set of 4 Marple "Shamrock" brand chisels in graduated sizes amongst them. A pretty good find!
A simple solution for sharpening my chisels and plane blades.
The board has "diamond stones" in various ascending grits, attached by strong magnets, to progress through the sharpening process to achieve a fine edge with the correct bevel angles.
The wooden gauge is to set the chisel or plane blade in the red tool for the required angles for the bevel(s) as the blades are rolled across the stones, applying pressure to the leading edge.
The new table saw I bought a few months ago has now had quite a bit of use - and it's excellent.
A few modifications and accessories:
It's now mounted on a wheeled truck so it can be stored under a bench - ready for use, with a connection to the dust-extraction system.
To accommodate some of my woodworking hand-tools I've made a simple tote from oddments of plywood leftover from other projects.
It houses the most used tools - including a couple of new saws to replace the ancient ones that had been handed down from my grandfather. I bought the chisels and mallet in 1969!
A better table for the drill-press with a fence, sliding stop and slots for clamping work when drilling - the board has been recycled from the old drill-press, hence the areas with the light coloured woodfiller.
A drillpress- to replace the cheap(er) machine I sold at the start of this year.
This one has software to vary the speed for different materials and set the drilling depth as well as a cross-hair laser to pinpoint the drill position - it's also unusual in that the bed is fixed and the motor unit slides up and down on a rack and pinion track making for more precise drilling.
A bit of modification was required to mount it on an existing mobile cabinet.
In the relentless quest to make even better use of the limited workshop space I modified the drawers in the bicycle side bench to house the ultrasonic cleaning tank* - it's on a tray that slides out (rather like the kitchen's pan drawers in a previous post) to fill and load items for cleaning.
* using a mixture of water and degreaser the heated tank oscillates the solution at a very high frequency and shakes dirt and oil from components, tools etc.
The board I used for the slide is part of the top of the old sewing machine that I repurposed into a desk and two drawer units in earlier posts - it's just plywood with a paper-thin veneer.
A useful steel sack truck - picked up cheaply at an auction last week - a quick wire brushing and two coats of green Hammerite paint plus a pair of rubber handlebar grips and it's as good as new.
I sold the very small table-saw I bought in 2018 about a year ago - and have now replaced it with a better, larger model - it's an Evolution R255TBLS+ which has received rave reviews since it was launched about 8 months ago.
Whilst it has greater capability, it's still compact and light enough to store away under one of my benches in the workshop.
The picture is from the manufacturer, I'll be adding "in action" pictures, along with some accessories I'm making in the next few weeks.
Another new tool - a brand new Bosch router bought via a woodwork forum at 40% of list price (I drive a hard bargain!)
This machine supplements my small routers - where larger capacity or more power is needed.
16 February 2025
Another (sort of) new toy - it's a small CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine, in essence a router that is driven by software to cut and engrave timber and plastic (a laser cutting add-on is available to cut thin metal and also a pen attachment for drawing)
I bought it about 18 months ago but have yet to get round to working with it - 2025 New Year's Resolution to master it!
21 December 2024
Another post for the compressor enthusiast 😊
19 December 2024
New compressor to replace my 30+ year old smaller model* - and an "air nailer/stapler" to go with my other air operated tools.
The compressor is remarkably quiet when it's charging the air tank - and has plenty of power for the jobs I need it to do.
*sold for more than I paid for it all those years ago 😊
5 December 2024
Workshop update - November 2024
Time to reorganise the limited workshop space with more storage cases, shelving, somewhere to park the track-saw and its rails, and reposition the dust extraction:
1 - general view (bike workshop is out of view to the right)
Lots of other power tools stored on more shelves and a planer/thicknesser machine on wheels, stored under the bench.
* the drill press has been sold (Jan 2025), pending purchase of another, better model
