For the next six issues, in conjunction with Veritas and BriMarc Tools & Machinery, we’re giving one lucky reader per month the chance to get their hands
on a fantastic low-angle jack plane, worth over £250! Ideal for shooting mitres, working end-grain and initial smoothing, this must-have hand tool also
features a combined feed and lateral adjustment knob for fast, accurate changes to depth of cut. To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic piece
of kit, just email your top workshop hint or tip to [email protected], and if you can, please also attach a photo illustrating your tip in action.
Good luck! To find out more about Veritas tools, see http://www.brimarc.comhttp://www.getwoodworking.com October 2019 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking 85
HOBBIT-ESQUE NESTING BOX
p Used in conjunction with a self-guided
cutter, a router or router table.
p Alternatively a standard cutter can be
used when guided with a guide bush.
p Includes fixing screws.http://www.trend-uk.com
[email protected]
01923 249911An 8mm thick mini flexible curve used to make templates,
enabling a shape to be cut repeatedly with precision.NEW FLEXIBLE CURVE ROUTING
GUIDE TEMPLATE ACCESSORYProduct Ref. Length Price
CURV/8X500 500mm £32.40
CURV/8X1000 1000mm £62.40INC VAT
INC VATREADERS’ HINTS & TIPS
We always love hearing about your projects, ideas, hints and
tips, and/or like to receive feedback about the magazine’s
features, so do drop us a line – you never know, you might
win our great ‘Letter of the Month’ prize, currently
the new Trend^14 ⁄in 30-piece Router Cutter Set,
worth over £100. Simply email tegan.foley@
mytimemedia.com for a chance to get your
hands on this fantastic prize – good luck!ea ays o e ea
tips, and/or like to
features, so do dr
win our gre
the nWRITE & WIN!
CUTTING DOVETAILS
Hi Tegan,
I’m a retired master carpet fitter so I’m not much of an authority on
woodworking, but it has been a passion since my school days (I’m
now 72-years-old and nothing grabs me like a trip round a tool shop
or a woodworking show).
Being on a pension I have to use a lot of recycled wood; the results,
however, can be surprising and I thought you might like to see my bird
nesting box. I wanted it to look a little different from the run-of-the-mill
versions so, inspired by The Hobbit, I decided to make it round.
The body of the box is made from the styles of a discarded ladder,
which means that it must be Baltic pine. The bracket that holds it to the
wall is from the frame of some built-in cupboards that we took out at home,
while the roof timbers, the top and bottom finials and the spindles that they
fit on and also support the roof, are from an old pine bed that was being
thrown away. Two pieces of 20mm ply were used to make the top and
Dear Tegan,
As a follow on from Michael Forster’s article
on ‘the joy of dovetails – part 3‘, which was
featured in the March edition, this is a tip
that has benefitted me and perhaps would
be of help to others.
Firstly, while I appreciate that, like other
woodworking techniques, practice makes
perfect, unfortunately as an amateur
woodworker there are so many different skills
to master but not enough time to practise them
all. Consequently, when the time comes to carry
out a particular task, it could well be that it’s
been some time since that task was last done
and any ‘muscle memory’ has been forgotten.
I have found the following simple procedure
to be very helpful in cutting dovetails. To cut
tight fitting joints, it is especially important
to make the tail board saw cuts perpendicular
to the face of the board. The procedure is based
on quickly and accurately creating a kerf indent
on the end-grain for the saw to follow, as
is sometimes done when cutting accurate
cross-grain saw cuts when this is referred
to as a kerf wall. It is difficult to form a similarkerf wall in the end-grain using a chisel and
knife, as the grain doesn’t hold up well enough.
With the joint marked out in the usual way,
use a square-edge steel rule that is approximately
the same thickness as the saw blade, which
will be used to cut the joint. It is important that
whatever you use, it must not be a sharp edge!
The aim is to slightly compress the end-grain
fibres, and not to split the timber.
With the board in the vice, place the edge of the
chosen rule exactly where you want the end-grain
saw kerf to be, and when in place, tap the top of
the rule just hard enough to leave a very shallow
indent – 0.5-1.0mm will be plenty deep enough.
You will then have produced a straight kerf line
exactly where you want the saw to cut. It works
particularly well when cutting the tails and the
board is set at an angle in the vice, so that the
cut line is vertical. The shallow indent helps
prevent the saw slipping off the line. The principle
can be used on both the tail and pin boards.
A very simple, and quick, step that will help
ensure that the start of the saw cut is made
easier and more accurate.
Regards, Steven LewisMike’s Hobbit-inspired
nest box was made
entirely from recycled
materials
bottom of the nesting section; these were
recovered from waste left over from having
our flat roof redone, and finally scraps of felt
from when we felted the shed meant that
the total cost was just 75p! I don’t count
glues, biscuits or varnish as these had all
been bought for other jobs. I hope you like it.
Best wishes, Mike WalkerHi Mike, I especially love this design, and as you say,
it is certainly unique. Even better that it’s made using
entirely re-purposed materials. I wouldn’t be surprised
if you got a fair few commissions off the back of this.
I’m sure our feathered friends will appreciate it too!
Best wishes, TeganPositive saw locations
provided with indents
in the end-grainMaking indents with
a 150mm ruleIndents made showing
positive saw location‘Tails’ cut showing
accurate 90° from
the face of the boardRule in the indent
showing how
shallow they are