Woodworking for Inner Peace: Carving Your Path to Tranquility
Unveil the hidden therapy of woodworking and discover how this age-old craft can become your sanctuary for mindfulness, creative expression, and stress relief. Explore the transformative power of woodworking on mental well-being.
Read MoreThe wooden chopping board has a long and fascinating history that dates back centuries.
The first known mention of a wooden chopping board can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where they were used for preparing food and cutting herbs and spices. In ancient Rome, wooden chopping boards were also a common kitchen tool, used for cutting and preparing a wide variety of foods.
As civilizations began to spread and travel, so too did the use of wooden chopping boards. They became a staple in kitchens around the world, with different cultures adapting them to suit their own needs and preferences.
One of the most well-known uses of wooden chopping boards was in the preparation of sushi in Japan. The use of a wooden board not only provided a hygienic surface for cutting raw fish, but it also added a subtle flavour to the sushi due to the wood’s porous nature.
Today, wooden chopping boards are still a popular choice in many kitchens due to their versatility and natural beauty. They can be used for cutting and preparing a wide range of foods, and are also a popular choice for serving and presenting dishes.
Despite the rise of other materials such as plastic and silicone, wooden chopping boards remain a timeless classic in the kitchen. Their durability and timeless appeal make them a practical and stylish choice for any home cook.
So next time you reach for your wooden chopping board, remember the rich history and tradition behind this kitchen staple.
The images featured within my blog post are available for purchase through my online shop here.
Thank you for taking the time to read read and as always I welcome your thoughts.
One of my favourite tools to use in the wood shop is the Spokeshave. What is a Spokeshave I hear you ask? Think of it as a small plane held by shapely handles in line with the plane iron. The handles afford a lot of control to shape and smooth the wood.
As the name suggests, spokeshaves were once used to shape the spokes of wheels but also paddles, bows and arrows. The name dates back to at least the 16th century though the early history of the tool is not well documented. Over the years others such as furniture makers and carpenters have gladly accepted these useful shaping tools. Historically, a spokeshave was made with a wooden body and metal cutting blade. With industrialisation metal bodies displaced wood in mass-produced tools. As would be expected with a tool that has found use in many trades, there is a wide variety among the styles of spokeshaves, their sizes and the shapes of handles and soles.
Whilst I am not a collector, I do own a varied selection that I use to shape my work. Two I have in my collection (despite me saying i’m not a collector! ) which get the most use are a brand called Dictum. One has a flat base and the other has a curved based useful for planing the inner radius of curved parts. Both of these have wooden handles which I find the grip very comfortable.
Spokeshaves are used two handed, and are either pushed or pulled depending on the circumstance. As with hand planes, spokeshaves are generally used 'with the grain' to reduce tear out.
There are several different types of spokeshaves, Flat, rounded, concave and convex. There is also a combination with a convex and concave cutter to save time switching tools.
Flat base spokeshaves are typically used to shape wood on the outer radius or shaping into straight lines while round spokeshaves are used for shaping rounded surfaces, particularly useful for internal radiuses.. Both types have adjustable blades that can be moved up or down to control the depth of the cut.
Using a spokeshave requires a bit of practice and skill, as the blade must be held at a consistent angle while pushing or pulling it across the wood. It's important to maintain a firm grip on the handle and to keep the blade sharp to ensure clean, precise cuts.
One of the benefits of using a spokeshave is that it allows for more control and precision than using a power tool. It's also a quiet and low-impact tool, making it a good choice for those who prefer a more traditional, hand-powered approach to woodworking.
Overall, the spokeshave is an essential tool for any woodworker or craftsperson. Its versatility and precision make it a valuable addition to any workshop.
Commissioning a special piece.
Would you like to know how to commission a project then read our guide on how to.
Here at PJW WoodWorks creating a piece of furniture to your requirements can be as simple or involved as you wish to make it. You, as a client may want to have considerable influence in the design, perhaps to echo a particular style or you may admire our our originality, design or craftsmanship and leave us to create something special for you, either way we are happy to oblige.
After making the initial contact via email or face to face at an event, the first step in the commissioning process is to arrange a meeting to discuss the proposed project. This meeting can take place at your home, on the proposed site of the project or at our workshop. Similarly we can carry this out via email or other means should you so wish. Here we will discuss details about your project, the purpose of the piece, surroundings, dimensions, timber choice and finishes. We will also discuss budget parameters and timescales.
After clarifying the brief we will then begin the design phase, which depending on the complexity of the project will take several weeks. We will produce a set of pen and pencil drawings (we’re old school here at PJW!) and also should it be required scale models for your consideration. A design fee may be charged, usually based on the scale and intricacy of the piece, which would be deducted from the total cost should you decide to proceed with the project. All designs whether produced or not will remain the intellectual property of PJW WoodWorks.
After the design and drawings have been revised and finalised a deposit of 50% will be required with the balance upon receipt of delivery. From receiving the deposit we will begin sourcing and ordering timber and materials and get them into the warmth of the workshop.
You will be regularly updated with progress reports along the way and we of course, welcome your visiting us at the appropriate stages of of construction. For many clients getting an insight into the different processes involved during the making is a hugely rewarding experience that adds greatly to the value and appreciation of the finished piece.
To clarify, the steps involved for commissioning are as follows:-
Initial contact.
Arriving at a design brief
Design procedure :- Following up the brief
Preliminary sketches & proposals
Terms, fees, estimates
Design development - working drawings, models and mock ups.
50% Deposit
Workshop procedure:- Ordering materials
Preparing templates and cutting lists
Cutting out materials and beginning the construction phase.
Keeping you informed of progress, possible meetings & consultations during construction.
Delivery, site fixing and final payment.
We hope you have enjoyed our guide on how to commission a piece of furniture or in fact any woodworking project you may have in mind and as always we welcome your thoughts and ideas.
How Its Made
A shelf made from English Yew with a live edge & dovetailed Ash frame.
I quite often usually have some left over timber from projects that almost always go back on the timber rack. I had a couple of pieces of English Yew left from a project from a few years ago just gathering dust in the shop. Wanting to make space for extra wood, I wanted to do something with them before relegating them to the firewood pile.
Inspired by a technique that floated into memory from many many years ago I decided to turn them into shelves. The pieces I had left over were not not in the best of conditions hence why they were left over so I made the best of what I could. But before I go further in to the build first some details and a few facts about this beautiful and distinct wood.
The Yew, tree of life and death, surrounded in lore and mythology, with branches that droop on old trees that can take root and form new trunks where they touch the ground. The Yew came to symbolise death and resurrection in Celtic culture. Many churches were built next to Yew trees which were places of worships with many Yews predating most of the buildings.
The Yew is a coniferous softwood though the timber is so hard and strong, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was a hardwood. European Yew, especially from Spain, was prized for its straight grain for bow making because it bent well. Today there is only a limited supply of wide, straight grained Yew with narrower branches with roundwood being favoured by turners.
The heartwood is a light orange-red brown with white sapwood which some woodworkers use for contrast. It has a fine and even texture with grain that varies greatly from straight to wavey or interlocking. The tree is quite toxic, some species more than others, from the leaves and fruit to the bark which in todays modern medicine is developed into anti-cancer drugs. From a sustainability point of view certified European Yew is relatively rare; the tree is more commonly found in churches, parks and gardens than forests or woodlands.
First part of the timber preparation is to visually inspect the piece to check for any bow, twists and any defects that would cause problems. I had to deal with some particularly gnarly interlocking grain that I knew would give me some trouble. This piece while having a slight bow in it was pretty much twist free so I took it straight to the thickness planer where I planed it down to around 19mm. I had a few spots of tear out, nothing a cabinet scraper wouldn’t sort out.
After planing both sides i needed a straight edge to go against the wall and provide a reference point for marking out. This was achieved by drawing a straight line then using a bandsaw to cut to and then finally finishing off with a couple of passes on the jointer.
The next step was to deal with the Cambium. This is the section above the sapwood that would have been covered in the live bark of the tree. You may hear this as being called a live edge. Here i pulled off any loose bark and chiseled down any sharp sections. I then used a nylon brush mounted in a drill to remove any loose debris. I also cleaned up a few sections with a block plane where a chainsaw had trimmed some protruding branches.
After cutting the shelf to length, using a set of rasps, I shaped a profile on both ends finishing off with a few grits of sandpaper backed by some cardboard just to add some extra pressure to the paper when sanding.
The next task was to make the sliding dovetails. For this I chose to use a dovetail bit in a router using a jig which relied on the guide bush. This ensured a neat uniform dovetail housing and with the jig meant it could be repeated with minimal setup for batch work should I need to. When the sliding dovetail sections were complete on the shelf the router bit was transfered to a router table setup and the corresponding pieces were machined.
The next stage of the construction is the frame which the shelf is attached to and would subsidquently be attached to the wall. I opted to use Ash simply because I had a small piece left over from a previous project that I could do something with.
The frame is constructed with traditional hand cut dovetails purely for asthetics but it does provide strength to the joints with the prospective of be able make wider shelves with support for future projects.
The dovetail joint probably pre dates written history. Some of the earliest known examples of the dovetail joint are in ancient Egyptian furniture entombed with mummies dating from First Dynasty, the tombs of Chinese emperors, and a stone pillar at the Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple in India. The dovetail design is an important method of distinguishing various periods of furniture
You may hear the dovetail joint refered to sometimes as a swallowtail joint, a culver tail joint (culver also means 'dove'), or a fantail joint.
The dovetail joint is very strong because of the way the 'tails' and 'pins' are shaped. This makes it difficult to pull the joint apart and virtually impossible when glue is added. This type of joint is used in box constructions such as drawers, jewellery boxes, cabinets and other pieces of furniture where strength is required. It is a difficult joint to make manually, requiring skilled workmanship.
First step is to start with the tails. I start by setting up a scribing gauge the thickness of my back piece and scribing three sides on the tail pieces. I then use the dividers to mark out the width of my tails, in this case divided in to three. From here I use a shop made dovetail jig for marking my lines and angles which are marked off from the points made by the dividers.
Next step is to cut the tails to my layout lines using a dovetails saw. The waste is removed using a coping saw then finally pared back using a sharp chisel with a clamped block that is 90º to the face of the tail board.
Next is to create the pins. First the tail board is placed in position and then marked using a marking knife. The marks are then transfered down to the scribe line using the dovetail marker. The dovetail saw is used to cut to the waste side of the line and the waste removed with a coping saw. Using a clamped block, the shoulders are pared back with a chisel. Fine adjustment is usually required on the pins to make sure I have a nice snug fit. When I am happy with the fit I sand the inside faces then prep for gluing up. I place masking tape on the internal corners as this makes cleaning up a little easier. When the glue has set I then using a hand plane to smooth out the dovetails followed by several grits of sanding.
Next stage is to drill some holes both for wall screws and also for plugs which will be used to cover the screws. The plugs are made by forming a dowel using a dowel plate, some lengths of Ash cut to slighter wider than the hole, then hammering the piece through the plate. The ends are rounded off using a special tool which I acquired many years ago. The plugs where made as a snug fit so they could easily be removed should the shelf need to moved in the future.
Final steps include sanding the shelf and frame with several grits of sandpaper, starting with 120 through to 320. The Yew I was using wasn’t in the best of shape so I decided to use a little clear resin to fill in any defects such as dead knots and some splits. After sanding, a few coats of a hard-wax oil was applied to both the shelf and the frame.
