New GyroJaw

Our friend Duncan from Carroll Drum Sanders contacted us today to put us in touch with GyroJaw, in the USA. They produce a really clever device you put in a vice to hold shaped items. We’ve got one on the way. Should be good, and possibly for green woodworking too.

Rockers

Reader Keith Sharp has asked us if we know of plans for a British rocking chair (rather than an American one). Does anyone know of plans for a rocker, perhaps a Windsor chair?

Wagon Vice Update

Olly Parry-Jones asks why the thread on my wagon vice in the current issue of British Woodworking is offset from the dogs. This is as it is on Richard Maguire’s amazing bench, with the thread to one side. If the thread is below the moving dog block you will restrict the length of dogs you can insert in the holes. And to be honest, I was using the holes in the cleat in the end of the Sjoberg bench.

Maguire and Veritas Wagon Vice

The parts of a Sjoberg end vice ready to be converted into a wagon vice like Veritas's new Inset Vise

There is an ad in the latest issue of Popular Woodworking for a Veritas Inset Vise. This is particularly timely because I’ve been developing exactly the same idea for a simple Sjoberg bench, to replace the end vice. I was impressed by the moving stop Richard Maguire is incorporating into his workbenches, but would prefer if the handle was removable so that you can use the right-hand end of the bench both for planing and crosscutting.

As yet Richard isn’t offering what he calls a ‘wagon vice’ as a kit for existing benches, and the Veritas model costs $89. We’re not sure if it’s available in the UK yet. My upgrade of the Sjoberg bench, as you will discover in the next issue of British Woodworking (out at the end of January), costs nothing, and takes a couple of hours to complete (and probably a few more to perfect).

Dismantling the underframe of the Sjoberg bench to incorporate a wagon vice

I am transforming a bench that costs a few hundred pounds (and which gets a novice going) into a tip-top workstation for more advanced woodworkers. And me!

New Lamello Zeta

Fitting a face frame with the new Lamello Zeta

I’ve been testing Lamello’s new Zeta ‘biscuit jointer’ in our kitchen at home, to fit a face frame to some cabinets and to assemble a worksurface around a drop-in sink. The Zeta produces half-moon grooves like a normal biscuit jointer, except that they are wider and remarkably have a T-section. The two part plastic biscuit incorporates a metal cam-action arm that pulls the two halves together. There are some details in the current issue of British Woodworking, but a thorough test in the next.

This is ideal for kitchen producers who want to fix a face frame to the front of pre-fabricated cabinets either on site or in the workshop. The beauty of the machine is that it can be used for serious manufacturing processes in a workshop for greater efficiency, for quicker construction on site, and for bodging.

Using the Zeta to assemble a softwood worksurface around a sink, without removing the taps

It was for a spot of bodging that I used the Zeta for assembling a trial worksurface around a steel drop-in sink unit. I did not want to remove the existing taps (considering it was the day before Christmas and my plumbing skills are negligible), so I decided to fit one piece of softwood behind the sink (with a cutout for the taps), and two much wider pieces either side, with a narrow joining piece at the front. I could have used threaded worksurface  joiners, but they provide no locating register, and the Zeta was quick and produced much more pressure than I expected. If I’d wanted to use glue it would have produced a seamless join.

Click here to learn more about the Lamello Zeta

Coronet Imp bandsaw

My attempt to buy a Coronet Imp bandsaw for my British-only shed continues. There’s been one on eBay a couple of times recently, but it’s not met the starting bid of £99.99. So I’ve emailed the seller suggesting he drop the price, and perhaps we negotiate on a Coronet Major he’s also thinking of selling. The first time he replied telling me not to waste his time, and since then he’s not answered my emails at all. What’s that about then? Perhaps there are other British-made, small bandsaws I could go for. The search continues!

Workshop heating

We’ve had a fantastic response to our email question asking woodworkers how they heat their workshops. Currently good insulation appears to be the advice people are most likely to recommend. That’s lucky because my shed is very well insulated, with foam in the walls and ceiling. The door, however, needs better cladding before I dare leave my new Clifton plane out there all the time. Fan heaters are popular, which is how I currently heat the tiny shed, aimed at my toes or fingers. We’ll publish some of the responses on the British Woodworking blog and in the next issue of the magazine.

New smartHinges

The smartHinge is easy to fit and looks really professional

Visitors at the Northern Woodworking Show in Harrogate were fascinated by a new type of hinge for box lids we had on our stand. Known as Smart Hinges, they are similar to stopped hinges, but the stop is neatly hidden within the knuckle. All you have to do is rout a shallow 8mm groove and screw them in place. The hinges are being made by precision engineer Clive Jarman, and sold by renowned Andrew Crawford, who has been searching for the perfect box hinge for years. They are not cheap at £39.50 a pair, but the time saving will be significant, and they look fantastic on a finished box. Visit smart-hinge.com to find out more. There will be a test and project in the next issue of British Woodworking.

New Felder Bandsaw

The new Felder bandsaw

Exciting news to see a new bandsaw from Felder at the Harrogate Show in November. To be honest we don’t know much about the saw because it arrived only just in time for the show. I think we can expect to see more new stuff from Felder soon, so watch these pages or British Woodworking for news.

Tidier Shed

I’ve had a great day tidying our little shed, ready to become an All-British Workshop, using kit made in Britain. It’s early days, and I’m only just finding out what stuff I might be able to find to equip the shed. So far we’ve got a good number of hand tools, including a Stanley Yankee telescopic screwdriver. I’m told you can buy a chuck for this. There’s a hand-powered grinder from a car boot sale, and Record vices. The bench is made from mahogany, but I know it was made in Britain because my Dad built it, and I must have stood at it as a young lad. The shaving horse fits into the vice, which I’ve now located on the right-hand side of the bench.