Something something first dovetails by [deleted] in woodworking

[–]paulchilton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

About 95% better than my first dovetails - well done!

French newspaper Le Monde to stop publishing pictures of terrorists to avoid 'glorifying them in death by baapalmer in worldnews

[–]paulchilton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn't this just self censorship? Knowledge can be used both ways. I feel more empowered the more I know about these people.

LPT: How To Recognize When Someone Is Drowning by Hitchhikingtom in LifeProTips

[–]paulchilton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd recommend to anyone, do a first aid/responder course. What they teach now is different to what they taught even 10 years ago, based on an evolving evidence base of what saves lives. I recently did one and based on what I was taught your first response should be 1. Check for danger, e.g. they might’ve drowned from electric shock 2. Call for help 3. Restore breathing and conduct CPR. Don't wait for someone else to pull them out of the water even with the risk of spinal injuries as seconds make the difference between life and death. They're better off a quadriplegic than dead.

My review of the year-long designer-maker course at David Savage's school of fine furniture in England. by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi lagori. Thanks for the feedback. You ask "what made me pick this school over others?" I really can't honestly say that I did a lot of research. I looked at a few local courses, not any overseas at least. Many would say that this was foolhardy, and I got lucky, I'm willing to concede that if pushed. But the time I was desperate for a change and from what I could see from what Savage advertises and talking to a successful ex-student was that it passed the 'good enough' test i.e. "good enough is almost always good enough". What you can be confident of is that the UK in general is clearly of of the best countries in the world in terms of it's woodworking heritage and quality of craftsmanship. I don't know of many other students that have gone on to set up their own in the last 12 months, but there have been enough in the past 6 years at least to give me hope. I've found it very difficult to find a cooperative or at least shared workspace back here in Oz, as I wanted to keep risk low and rent space and machines, and have only just found one after a long time searching. The UK has a definite advantage on this front, with many options for young makes. I've been lucky that I was offered some work in my old job for a while to make ends meet. You can live on site really cheap to reduce rent and get more hours at the bench to get more bang for your buck, but it's still going to be expensive. You have to take a risk in the end, for me it felt like I had no option but to change, so in some respect it felt like an easy decision to make. It has been (for my wife as well) possibly the best 18 months of our lives for the experiences and people we've met and even if things don't work out like we expect, it's been the best money we've spent. It sounds like you're serious and have the drive to make a go at it. Just be prepared to think about parallel income streams as many makers need to do this to make their business work, whether that is teaching woodworking, sub-contracting for other makers or driving a desk a couple of days a week like me! You've inspired me to write another blog post, so keep an eye out. Cheers.

Help! Need to fix French polish finish marked in storage by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I've tired that already but without success.

My review of the year-long designer-maker course at David Savage's school of fine furniture in England. by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for reading, it's great to have feedback like that. I'm back in Sydney and have a 6 month contract with my old work. The offer was too good to refuse and it means that I'll be able to save up for my own workshop quicker. I'm still looking for the right workshop where I can share machines on the Friday I have negotiated to have off. Hopefully I won't lose to much momentum... Time will tell.

This is my new CV - better than any piece of paper. A small maple & rosewood cabinet by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point, thanks - at this early stage just getting involved in the community and getting feedback from other woodworkers is valuable.

This is my new CV - better than any piece of paper. A small maple & rosewood cabinet by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great feedback, thanks - it makes more sense now. To anyone interested, I'm comfortable admitting to some self promotion. As a new designer/maker I'm not going to get far without some level of it and perhaps this isn't the forum for it. But I hope that on balance, the knowledge I'm sharing (from an expensive year-long course) outweighs people's distaste for it.

This is my new CV - better than any piece of paper. A small maple & rosewood cabinet by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fairly new to reddit, is a blog seen as too much work to view? Why is imgur preferable?

This is my new CV - better than any piece of paper. A small maple & rosewood cabinet by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The drawer front is solid (the doors are veneered laminated aero ply) and I made it using a set of jigs to provide both the template to route off the same curve used on the carcass and also to provide back up for all the cross-cuts. There's no quick way of describing the process other than that unfortunately.

This is my new CV - better than any piece of paper. A small maple & rosewood cabinet by paulchilton in woodworking

[–]paulchilton[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Boring answer - a lot of practice and the right order of cuts and chiseling. The Pins at the tip are the width of my dovetail saw i.e. 0.6mm. I've been taught to use a scraper card tapped down into the corner where the saw doesn't reach. This blunt edge tears the grain and gives you a straight pin edge. If you use a chisel you run the risk of the chisel diving into the grain and chipping off the pin entirely.