Australian Wood Review

Made in Austria, the Hammer planer/thicknesser comes in 410 and 310mm widths, but this review looks at the 310mm wide model. Three phase is standard but a no cost extra is the single phase with an impressive 4hp motor. Apparently Hammer and Felder ma

HNT Gordon, wooden planemakers, now produce vices. A bench vice was released some time ago and more recently a patternmakers vice. The patternmakers vice is attached to the top front edge of the bench by a sturdy hinge allowing it to pivot through 90

Carbatec’s new cabinet saws are on the money. Trialling one at their Brisbane testing workshop it was apparent this new range has had a lot of research and development invested into it. Over the same basic cabinet, table, arbor and trunnion structure

Bridge City Tools have a name for high quality, cool looking tools. This mini block plane is made of mostly aluminium with steel screws and knobs. It’s very small at a tad over 4" long, and beautifully made with crisp CNC machining of components. The

The X8-PLUS 200mm Industrial Bench Grinder with 915 x 50mm linisher and mitre table has a full cast iron body and base. There are four rubber feet to help eliminate vibration and allow the machine to run smoothly. This versatile machine has a 0.75kw,

Green woodworking’ is an ancient method of fresh wood manipulation that remained nameless until Baltimore chairmaker, Jennie Alexander, coined the term in the 1970s. Jennie, who passed away recently, was also fond of other words like ‘caddywompus’, w

Over the past 26 years (seems like 260 years actually) I have reviewed hundreds of tools for this magazine. Some really grabbed me due to their functionality, innovation and/or innate brilliance and have become essential tools in my workshop. But wha

A table inlaid with a map of the stars at the moment man first stood on the moon. A sideboard that speaks of the dark history of European settlement and the hope of cross-cultural exchange. A drinks cabinet that echoes the misery of addiction. Furnit

It seems the debate amongst fine furniture makers about the best methods to stop drawers is as old as the one about drawer making itself. Often there is a tendency to invest more time in the quality of the drawer, and cut corners in the design and ma

In the great pantheon of woodworkers, from Nakashima and Krenov to contemporaries such as Brian Boggs and David Upfill-Brown, you consistently find most belong to a particular type of woodworker, which we’ve come to refer to as a ‘designer maker’. Th

I’ve always had a fascination for Japanese style woodworking. When the opportunity arose to participate in a week long course in Kiso, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, I pounced like a ninja. The course, organised by Australian based Japanese craftsman, Shi

Newborn babies tend to attract plastic until the cot becomes a scale version of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the clutter of shiny gifts meant to delight the little one. Fortunately we woodworkers can make playthings that are truly unique and ca

I rarely work with published drawings. By matching an image of a finished build in my head, instead of following detailed plans, I have been able to free myself from a fixed path of work and allow myself to experiment with tools and techniques. Desig

Decorative edge-treatments can add greatly to the appearance of a piece of furniture, and there are plenty of bearing-guided router bits available in numerous profiles. These can do a good-enough job for you in many situations, but what if the edge y

Some time ago a ceramicist friend was showing me her work in an exhibition catalogue, but flicking through the pages several forms jumped out as having potential for woodturning. I photocopied the images and put them aside, and every time I caught a