Come and see us at the following shows throughout the year, we will add more information about the demonstrators we will have with us at the various events to our website and in our newsletter nearer the time.
British Hardwoods Open Day 8 February 2020 Cross Hills, Keighley, BD20 7BW Visit www.britishhardwoods.co.uk for more information
The Midlands Woodworking Show 27 & 28 March 2020 Newark Showground, Nottingham NG24 2NY Visit www.nelton.co.uk for more information
Makers Central 2 & 3 May 2020 NEC Birmingham, B40 1NT Visit www.makerscentral.co.uk for more information
Yandles Woodworking Show 11& 12 September 2020 Yandle & Sons Ltd, Martock, Somerset TA12 6JU Visit www.yandles.co.uk for more information
North of England Woodworking Show 13, 14 & 15 November 2020 Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate HG2 8QZ Visit www.skpromotions.co.uk for more information
We will be adding more events as they are confirmed, watch this space.
The London International Woodworking Festival looms large on the horizon.
The brainchild of Derek Jones, latterly editor of Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine. this new event enjoys an urban location in East London with quite a stellar first line up for the discerning woodworker.
Courses are running before and after the 26th & 27th October weekend festival (more info on courses here ) as well as a seminar programme during the festival. The seminars are included in the entrance fee to the show. Tickets can be bought in advance here.
Classic Hand Tools have been invited to attend the Tool Bazaar which runs only on the Saturday and Sunday. We will bring along a selection of fine hand tools and will have Roger Benton from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks with us on our stand plus the extremely knowledgeable Richard Arnold who is representing Mortise & Tenon Magazine.
Chris Schwarz will be popping by to sign copies of Lost Art Press Books from time to time when not delivering his seminars. We will have a selection of Bad Axe Saws for sale and many other sundry high quality hand tools. If you have any special requests then please let us know well in advance as we simply can’t bring everything! We are also offering to ship tools bought at the show to your address so you don’t have to lug tools across London if using public transport.
We are not the organisers of the festival, just glad to be invited. The festival website has most if not all of the answers to questions you may have.
We hope to see you there for what we hope will be the first of many London International Woodworking Festivals.
Marking Gauge with Outside Bevel in Rosewood and Maple
Winding Sticks Mahogany
Straight Edge in Rosewood and Mahogany
Large Square Mahogany and Rosewood
Small Square Rosewood and Mahogany
Large French Curves
Dovetail Marking Gauge 1:8 Rosewood and Maple
Fine Furniture Maker offer a range of high quality heritage hand tools. A large number of them are inspired by David Savage himself. For example the French Curves are copies of those borrowed by David Savage from Mr Chandler which David considered to be an essential part of his furniture building studio.
The squares, straight edges, dovetail marking gauges and winding sticks are all classic tools and are used daily in the Rowden woodworking workshop.
Mike, Mary and Fraser recently completed a 5 day course making a chair with Cretingham Crafts
Stewart taught them all aspects of making a chair without using glue or wedges. The magic of green woodworking. They learnt how to use various hand tools including drawknives, froes and spokeshaves to develop skills including cleaving, shaving, tenoning, steam bending and weaving the seats. You do not need any previous experience and all the tools are provided for you.
Fantastic chairs made by all of them and a course to be recommended, described as relaxing by some….
Creating back legs
Sanding front legs
Scraping the back legs
Hard at work
4 rails
Fraser’s completed back
The backs are completed.
Steam bending the back legs
Frame is nearly there
Applying finishing oil
Just the seat to go
Chair frames completed
Busy creating his pattern
Who will finish first?
How much longer…..
Fraser’s seat is complete
Mike & Mary’s completed chairs
Sidney, Mary, Stewart & Mike with their completed chairs.
Last week Joy and Mary spent a couple of days on the Sudbourne Printmakers workshop developing their woodcut printing skills. A wonderful location to do a course, including a trip to the local pub at lunchtime – can’t be bad! The workshops run with 4 people creating woodblock prints and 4 people etching – 2 tutors with each group. As well as creating their prints using different methods Joy and Mary learnt about how to use the tools including sharpening them (something lots of people are wary of doing).
Marking up the Lino before cutting with the Pfeil lino tools
Come and see us at Makers Central again this year on stands A1, A2, P7, P8 and P9. We are being joined again this year by Tormek and for the first time we will have demonstrators from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks and Arbortech.
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks (P7) – we will have Roger Benton demonstrating Lie-Nielsen tools for us. Roger owns and operates RE-CO BKLYN, a custom design/build furniture shop and urban lumber harvesting operation specializing in harvesting storm damaged trees for lumber in the New York City area. His shop specializes in large, live edge slab tables and desks, as well as solid wood stand-alone furniture. Since it was an interest in classic hand tools and techniques that drew him to furniture making, Roger’s classes always involved choosing, tuning, and getting the most out of planes, handsaws, and chisels.
Roger Benton – Lie-Nielsen Toolworks
Arbortech (A2) – Simon Clements will be demonstrating the Arbortech tools. Simon describes himself as a woodcarver, sculptor and educator. Therefore, visitors may know of Simon through his courses at the Sylva Wood Centre where he has a workshop. Simon will show just how easy power carving can be using Arbortech.
Simon Clements – Arbortech
Tormek (A1) – Pontus Gyllby from Tormek, Sweden is demonstrating the Tormek sharpening system. Pontus has been with Tormek for over 20 years and has played a big part of the company’s growth and success in recent times. With his experience and knowledge in edge tool sharpening, he will demonstrate the sharpening of woodturning, woodworking and other edge tools. Learn how Tormek is the best way to make sharpening easy.
Pontus Gylby – Tormek
Event opening times are 10am till 6pm on the Saturday and 10am till 4pm on the Sunday.
We are doing things a little different at this years Midlands Woodworking Show. We are being joined by a number of other demonstrators some of whom you will remember from the European Woodworking Shows.
Brian Walsh
Brian Walsh is a versatile craftsman who makes his living
from his woodworking skills.
Curtis traces his interest in woodworking to his early
childhood and still has the first toolbox he made from scraps at the age of
10. Curtis was a customer before joining
the Lie-Nielsen team in 2007. His first
Lie-Nielsen plane was a No. 4½ bench plane and remains a favourite tool.
The International Boatbuilding Training College provides the
widest range of boatbuilding training in the world and is internationally
recognized for the quality of its graduates.
Oliver Sparks is a planemaker working from a rural
Northamptonshire workshop. He likes to work high end, and blends traditional
craftsmanship and contemporary design.
Skelton Saws are first class tools and true pieces of fine
handmade English craftsmanship. Handcrafted
from the finest quality timber, the handle of a Skelton Saw is produced from
beautifully figured rosewood.
Every horse is a handcrafted individual; ready-to-ride
horses are available from stock, or you can commission a ‘Special’, made to
your own preferred size and style.
James Mursell of The Windsor Workshop has recently updated his range of travishers, we now offer all three:
Deluxe Travisher – the first of the new models is made of the engineering polymer Delrin with a solid brass toe insert in front of the blade.
Travisher Deluxe £150
Wood Travisher – this is the original Windsor Workshop travisher that has been in production for over ten years, made from Hard Maple.
Travisher Wood £120
Black Travisher – the second of the new models is completely made from Delrin, having similar if not better wearing properties than the wood travisher and is almost indestructible, totally waterproof and crack proof.
Gransfors Bruk from Sweden are famous for their axes and edge tools. They have been hand forging tools for over 100 years and have a deserved reputation for their quality and product range.
Each axe is individually made so you can identify which blacksmith created your axe. The blacksmiths complete their work by stamping the Gränsfors Bruk logo and their own initials into the axe head, as a declaration that the axe has been well made and approved by the blacksmith.
Gransfors Bruk Axes
Gransfors Bruk Blacksmith ES – Erik Sjöström
Gransfors Bruk Blacksmith EW – Eseyas Brhane
Blacksmiths currently forging at Gränsfors Bruk
AS – Anders Strömstedt BK – Kahsai Beyene CS – Christian Sjölund EB – Erik Blixt EE – Emil Bohjort Engberg ES – Erik Sjöström EW – Eseyas Brhane JB – Jonas Berglund LH – Linus Hejmer MB – Mattias Blixt MF – Martin Forslund MS – Mikael Sundberg TT – Tobias Thelin
Blacksmiths who have forged at Gränsfors Bruk
AM – Anders Magnusson CK – Claudia Kowalek CM – Christoffer Malm DF – David Faxby DG – Daniel Gräntz DP – Domingo Gas Pallarés HD – Henrik Danielsson HF – Håkan Frank JE – Joakim Eriksson JH – John Hårdsten JMH – Jessica Mona Hassel KB – Kyle Benkwitz LP – Lennart Pettersson MH – Marcus Hulin MM – Mattias Mattsson KS – Kjell-Åke Sjölund LE – Lars Enander PJA – Paul James Alford PH – Patrik Hansson RA – Rune Andersson UN – Ulrik Nilsson US – Ulrika Stridsberg
The Classic Hand Tools team, led magnificently by tech guru Albert, have been beavering away quietly for months in order to update our website (www.classichandtools.com) to ensure it is mobile friendly.
We have now launched so please refresh your browser and see what our updated website looks like. Our aim was to keep the feel of the original website whilst making improvements – evolution rather than revolution. We think we have achieved this but we are a little too close to it. So we, especially Albert who has had sleepless nights about this launch, would love your feedback. Please let us know what you think.
