Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Australian Wood Review

One of the best things about woodworking is that there are so many ways to achieve outcomes. There’s minimalism and there’s also maximalism! Some like to spend on state-of-the-art tools and equipment while others go the way of the spartan, either from necessity or for the satisfaction of exercising ingenuity and the discipline of making do with less. This issue, Damion Fauser takes us back to fundamentals with of the ins and outs of breadboard end construction but shows there are many ways to do this with machinery, power or hand tools. You might call it a maximalist approach However, from what he terms a minimalist workshop, Florian Meigel, 2023 World category Maker of the Year Awards winner, brings us a complex project. Imagine your longboard breaking under your feet…

If you have a Tormek sharpening machine (any model) and a current or previous knife jig for sharpening knives (e.g. KJ-45), this new angle setter is an absolute no-brainer. It does exactly what it needs to do to speed up knife sharpening. The angle setter does not take the place of the knife jig. Rather, the angle setter calibrates the machine and the knife jig holds the knife. The manual’s description of ‘snap, set and sharpen’ is accurate. I won’t go through the step-by-step process here because the Tormek documentation is as clear as usual. To prepare for sharpening, I mounted the angle setter to the universal support (‘snap’), calibrated the correct ‘protrusion’ i.e. the distance from the support to the knife edge, as well as the angle (‘set’), removed…

When I first saw the work of Chi Ling Tabart Iwas enthralled by her whimsical pieces which were coupled with a narrative in the form of a poem or prose. There is something slightly miraculous about her work. Its fragility makes you stop and gaze. You instinctively lean in to hear the voice behind it all, and Chi Ling has something to say. Chi Ling and I were both featured in the Making Space exhibition at Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston late last year. I had the opportunity to meet her and speak to her about her work and was intrigued to know more. Born in Taiwan, Chi Ling was drawn to an artistic life. She studied traditional painting but knew the difficulties of making a living…

The town of Ulverstone, where the Leven River flows into Bass Strait in North West Tasmania, is home to a building called ‘Hive’. Hive houses the visitor information centre and gift shop, a café, Ulverstone Museum and Gallery, Tasmanian Science Centre and Planetarium, and community arts and crafts studios, namely those of Leven Regional Arts and the North West Woodcraft Guild. As part of Hive’s autumn program of events, the Woodcraft Guild recently held a rather poignant exhibition entitled ‘Grain’. The 114 pieces produced by 39 members reflected the history of the guild with the inclusion of works by seven deceased members, all of which were given a place of great esteem. At the entry point to the gallery, one’s attention was drawn to Sue Pitchford’s Mythical Dragon, a wall…

A ruler is such a basic and under-rated tool in any workplace, and yet so important. After all, arguably, we could not work without a pencil and ruler. Always consistent with tool build quality, Veritas make this ruler from extruded and anodised aluminium. Having an accurate ruler at this length is a cabinetmaker’s or luthier’s dream, especially as this ruler can read from 0mm at the end. What is good, is that both long edges are bevelled so you can read directly across measurements onto your piece of wood thus avoiding any parallax error. The base is dished so the outside edges are always flat on the workpiece. The rule is 2-1/2 inches (63mm) wide and the laser etched markings read from the left on both edges. I checked the…

Many of the pieces I make rely on the fall of light and how forms and the texture inherent to wood can be be highlighted. Receiving a prompt to make a light finally hit a trigger to get the ball rolling. A few simple sketches and notes were enough to keep my mind ticking over a number of days, maybe weeks. Then, as the idea evolved, I needed to source suitable material and arrange it to create the base, and then work out how to apply the texture which was to be integral to the overall effect of the piece. All of this sounds fancy, but as a maker of one-off pieces who is not reliant on constant income derived from production work, I have the freedom to explore ideas,…

If you spot a shooting board in a woodworker’s workshop, it is reasonable to conclude that they care about precision and quality in their work. If you have never heard of a shooting board before or yours has been collecting dust for some time in the shop, this article is for you. Here we’ll look at how you can make the most out of this indispensable shop fixture. A shooting board has three parts: An upper board for the work to be placed on (the ledge), a lower board for the shooting plane (the runway), and a stop, mounted at a desired angle – usually at 90° – to the ledge (photo 1). You can make a shooting board or buy a commercial one, and for either option, the techniques…

Richard Wile, a woodworker from Canada designed and first made this hammer which is now batch-made by Veritas. It’s an elegant tool with a 290mm long ash handle that is quite slender but well balanced. It has the feel of someone spending a lot of time getting all the lengths and angles well sorted for optimum efficiency. The impressive turned brass head has a 15mm face diameter. Overall, the hammer weighs about 3 ounces or 85gm. It’s a light hammer designed to tap plane blades into position. Opposing the brass is a slightly larger high impact plastic head that is great for tapping wood pieces into place. The face of the plastic is convex to aid in not marking a wood surface. Deft is the word to describe this hammer.…

TrigJig tools are made in the HICI workshop in the UK. The pocket square is one of their smaller tools and made from 2mm stainless steel plate with 12mm wide anodised aluminium cheeks secured to the plate. As per its name it reads to 100mm as a ruler. The 90° edge is perfectly square and with its laser ruler markings is a nimble tool for small layout work. The ruler reads 0mm from the inside on one face whilst the other face reads from the outside edge of the cheeks. I found it super useful for small layout work. The plate also has holes where you can insert a pencil tip and scribe a parallel edge line. There are angle markings on the outer edge but given the position these…

Breadboard ends are essentially a structural element added to a panel to aid in keeping it flat – this works because the long grain rigidity of the breadboard end is stronger than the (hopefully unlikely) cross-grain warping of a wide panel. The issue is that you can’t simply fix the breadboard end to the panel because this would violate one of the most fundamental wood movement principles. The issue then becomes – how to attach the breadboard end to the panel whilst also allowing the panel to expand and contract across the width. There are simple and quicker methods that can work, particularly on smaller panels, such as long slip tenons, stub tenons and sliding dovetails for example. This article will cover the design and execution of the more traditional…

Surely, I'm not the only one who grew up with a yearning for adventure, nature and speed? I grew up in the rural south of Bavaria, Germany, and spent every day in the surrounding forests and mountains in search of freedom and adventure. In my old age, I’ll look back and shake my head, but hopefully with fond memories. The connection between nature and my profession is a daily companion for me. Whether in everyday urban life or on the open road, a longboard offers a unique opportunity to experience this freedom. I am happy to take you on an escapade – making a longboard in a minimalist workshop where I have learned how little it takes to achieve wonderful results with the joy of experimentation. Work or sport? What…

Diary listings are free. Email to: linda@woodreview.com.au Note: Listings are correct at time of publication but may be subject to change. It is advisable to check details with the organiser before visiting. 1 AUGUST–30 OCTOBER Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (IOTA) 24 Codes in Parallel: exhibitions, conference and events in Perth, Western Australia https://indianoceancrafttriennial.com/ 10 AUGUST–27 OCTOBER MAKE Award and Australian Design Centre The 2023 biennial Make Award exhibition tours to Geelong Gallery, Victoria https://makeaward.au/ 19–25 AUGUST National Skills Week Showcasing skills, vocational learning and career opportunities. www.nationalskillsweek.com.au 1–30 SEPTEMBER 2024 Homo Faber Celebration contemporary craft: 50 countries, 300+ talented artisans in Venice, Italy https://2024.homofaber.com 3–6 SEPTEMBER Futuring Craft 24: The Value of Craft International conference ‘contemplates the various languages inherent in contemporary crafts’ held within Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (IOTA24).…