Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Australian Wood Review

Réne LeBel lives in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Last year, his piece Crosswinds was the winning entry for the Recycled & Rescued category, Maker of the Year Awards. Réne has two workshops. One is for his day job as a bespoke maker, the other is a compact home workshop for his personal projects. At home he explores a range of forms and processes inspired largely by his local environment and the materials at hand. We asked him about his work, and in particular about the complex furniture he builds from ‘random’ endgrain glue-ups. With countless blocks of wood combined for endgrain tables and ‘cubes’, is it about dealing with waste, the challenge, or for the Zen of it? Although I’d made endgrain countertops for clients before, the first time I…

One of the things that keeps me so engaged with woodcarving, is the different personalities of the various timber species and the amazing variation within those species. Each piece I carve is unique in grain, colour and texture. Considerations Deciding how to finish carvings is rarely straightforward because it depends on the features and grain you’re dealing with. Each timber species has a unique set of characteristics and the finish you choose, and how to apply it, will depend on several things: • Is it a dark or light timber? • Is the grain open, or dense and fine grained? • Is the wood compressed, or does it contain burl or spalting? • Is the timber naturally oily or waxy, or is it dry and a bit papery? • Does…

For many years I have worked weekly at a clinic near Brisbane city. In the front meeting room there is a desk, a chain store special that holds a media box and some odds and ends. Over the past few years I have watched its decline. It grew wonky, the corner of the top was peeling, and some months earlier a drawer front fell out. One day, as a furniture maker, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to make a replacement – anything would be better. There is never money available so their budget was $100 as that would be the commercial replacement cost. That meant I was in effect shouting them, so it had to be made from wood already in stock. Gifted wood The wood used is…

In the south-western reaches of Japan’s main island of Honshu, nestled between the Seto Inland Sea and mountains, lies the city of Miki. With a modest population of around 70,000, the city is quiet, and the contrast between its tranquillity and the urban sprawl of neighbouring Kobe and Osaka is striking. Miki is one of Japan’s oldest blacksmithing hubs. Its history dates back to the 8th century when blacksmithing and forging techniques were brought across from Korea. Its identity as a toolmaking centre emerged much later, when local blacksmiths turned their skills to support the influx of carpenters sent to rebuild the city following its destruction in 1578. Today, the city remains one of the last hubs of hand-forged woodworking tools. It is home to a handful of master blacksmiths…

This router plane comes badged as Blue Spruce Tools but is made in the Woodpeckers factory in the USA so you can expect quality. It arrives as a set of components, however it’s not a big job to screw the handles and blade assembly in place. The design is based on the Preston router plane made from the 1800s to 1934 in the UK and its footprint is about the same at 216 x 90mm. Blue Spruce have improved the blade holding system immensely. The base is milled from ductile iron with a nitride finish for protection against rust although initially some of this paint left residue on wood surfaces. All other parts are stainless steel, brass and aluminium. The lovely Bolivian rosewood handles mount in different positions to enable…

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Well…this is my first time, in many ways. It is my first time writing for a magazine, first time making a casket for cremation, and indeed my first time transforming an old piano into a casket. I’m Lorenzo, a woodworker who for some time has been collaborating with Pianos Recycled in Melbourne to transform old pianos into furniture, memento boxes and whatever the customer might desire, to continue the legacy that a piano brings together with its memories. This time the scope was a coffin made entirely of an old piano that our customer Leslie played for more than 60 years as a music teacher. What a story right there, and full credit to her for coming up with this idea! It was not a simple task as there were…

A new tool is a delight to savour whether it’s a totally new addition or an upgrade, and the research through the increasing number of options is an engaging process. A new machine is ever so much more engaging because budget considerations demand more research. My MiniMax 350 over and under had served me well for over 20 years but I was ready to upgrade and after researching the options I settled on the Woodfast PT410A (photo 1). The Woodfast name was born in South Australia in 1941 but shifted focus to woodworking in 1944 with a 4-inch jointer and a 14-inch bandsaw. They were successful. Many will remember the Woodfast lathes that were the standard in many high schools way back when. The entire Woodfast range is now made…

The Laguna table saws have been around for several years and have been recently upgraded. The Fusion 1 model, reviewed here, is the smallest of three. It is however a thoroughly high quality unit albeit on the smaller end of its type. The blade is 10 inches in diameter (254mm) and comes with a TC tipped 60 tooth general purpose tooth pattern. The arbor diameter is 0.62 inch (15.87mm) and it can accept a dado stack of up to 0.75 inch (19.05mm). The motor is rated at 1.5hp or just over 1100 watts. This arrangement has proven entirely adequate for fine cuts of hardwood up to around 7850mm. A significant feature of the unit is its precision ground and polished cast iron tabletop. The top has two T-tracks of standard…

Degrees in sculpture and furniture design followed by years of studio practice and teaching have given Rex Kalehoff the tools to shape and join wood to his will. He has travelled the world, literally, and in the form of his work that has been exhibited in New York, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Belgium and Luxembourg. We asked Rex about his background, and also how he made one of the pieces he entered in Wood Review’s 2024 Maker of the Year awards, the Fox Valet bench. You call yourself a ‘modern day explorer’. Who is Rex Kalehoff? I am a wood sculptor, furniture maker, and educator. I was born and raised in New York City, on a gorgeous 1950s wooden sailboat called The Magic Venture. In addition to early childhood woodwork…

Morphology is a 9 metre long sculpture created in-hand with collaborator Hannah Cheetham. Its name refers to the study of form and structure, however its artistic theme centres on ‘memory’ – exploring themes of ‘harmony and dissidence’. A complex and rich puzzle. Our memories hark back to home, a concept as much as an actual place. A refuge from the world, home is not simply a physical space where we eat and sleep – it’s the place where we can be ourselves. The evocative notion of ‘home’ conjures feelings of warmth, a place we can dream and a place where memories are made. I’m a furniture designer maker and artist with 30+ years on the tools and co-manage the Soap Factory Artists Studio in Newcastle. Hannah’s practice, Built In-Kind, is…

Refractions is the name of a cross-cultural, international design collaboration that took place between Melbourne designer maker and architect Adam Markowitz and Phantom Hands, Bangalore, India based furniture makers. The resulting collection of furniture was unveiled in December 2024 at BLR Hubba, a two-week, annual cultural festival in Bangalore in all its fullness and richness. Made from American red oak, cherry and maple, the collection included a dining table, a bench, two pendant lights and a wall sconce. ‘We wanted to be a part of the design process for the products that would get made as part of the collaboration with Adam Markowitz’, said Deepak Srinath, co-founder, Phantom Hands. ‘Adam came to us with an open mind and the idea for the products came out of several conversations we had…