It’s long been my aim to turn ‘fruit’. When I took up woodturning, some years ago now, I looked at the apples and pears I’d acquired over the years, sat in a ‘live edge’ walnut bowl on our coffee table, and thought ‘that looks easy’. But I’d never got round to turning such items myself. Having investigated a bit more in the autumn, of course I realised I’d need to invest (yet more) ££ in turning equipment. New jaws for my chucks, buffing wheels & finishing waxes and other lit

As the hot summer has receded, enquiries for wood turning have ramped up again. I don't know what happened in the summer - hopefully just people enjoying the sunshine too much to care about their projects. Anyway, here we go again for the winter, and the first job to come in involved turning 4 new short legs/feet, for an old chaise longue. The originals were in Mahogany - obviously difficult to get hold of now except in re-cycled form - so I directed the client to Sapele - a

Another long gap between blogs. It was a busy year here in Hampshire, with the major work of a complete re-thatch of the cottage,...

2024 is here, and with it some interesting new commissions. I turn down at least half of the jobs I'm asked to take on; I don't like...

Merry Christmas to come, to anyone reading this during the advent season. Grudgingly, even this old Grinch needs to accept that it's...

It's been a while since I blogged, as I was reminded on a recent trip back up to God's Own City (of Manchester). (Thanks Mark!) Laziness...

Every now and then I'm approached about something genuinely unusual and out of the ordinary. The sort of job I enjoy most. So I was both...

It's said that a dog is for life, and not just for Christmas. Though that can sometimes be a rather trying experience, patently. I was...

There's been quite a gap between my last blog post and this - life through mid-summer and into the winter somewhat overtook my...

A couple of years ago a good friend donated a piece of Eucalyptus trunk he'd taken down some while before and had had 'lying around'...

The workshop is generally pretty full of wood these days, which is useful and fine when the pieces are sufficiently 'big' to make serious...

It's been a busy 6 months here, dominated by our project to 'tart up' our 500 year-old cottage (Project Bakewell - geddit?). So not a lot...

The pace of modern life is such that there are often many 'little' jobs and ideas which get put on the back-burner, or even totally...

16 years ago I commenced my mid-life crisis period. So I indulged myself with purchase of a MG Midget - something I'd coveted since...

An element of my wood turning which I've enjoyed pursuing recently has involved time. Both mine and the creation of bespoke timepieces....

There's something about working with wood which fires my imagination. Not just the creation of beautiful finished objects, though that in...

For me, creating stuff from wood is both enjoyable and relaxing in equal measure, a trip into the workshop oft feeling a bit like...

Old wood has many qualities. If it's been well treated then it's usually well seasoned. It's generally got character. It can be very...

We're blessed with a large-ish and mature garden here in Hampshire, and we share the cottage and its grounds with our 4 cats. (In fact...

There are occasions when things break or deteriorate, and you start to think, 'where on earth would I source that?'. Quirky details or...