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ha ha, me too, but mineral oil is easier on the lungs and other internals.

I make a bees wax paste from 50% mineral oil (the stuff they use in baby oil) and 50% wax. The exact proportion affects how hard the paste is. For the wax, I use a 3:1 ratio of bees wax and carnauba wax. The carnauba wax definitely makes the finish more durable and not so sticky for dust/dirt...

+1 for "err on the side of caution". 1) I buy good quality batteries not cheap stuff from China or India where safety standards are ... er let's be polite.... rubbish. (over the last year or two, I've moved to DeWalt for my cordless tools not least because the batteries should be more reliable) 2)...

You definitely need to separate the wooden shed from the concrete. @artie makes a good point that membrane could trap water against the runners of your shed. The way I did this was to lay rows of bricks on the concrete base so that the runners of the shed base can sit on them. I used about 70...

Yep! My youngest great niece just turned 2 and she can work basic functions of the smartphone like "swiping" and taking pictures before she can make a coherent sentence (other than "That's mine!"). An indication that her mum spends a lot of time on the phone. I've watched her texting and her...

By far the most likely suggestion so far.

At four yrs old, I reckon you could start him on some simple toys. Three bits of wood nailed together can make a plane. You can saw the wood up to show him how a saw works. You can pre drill the holes to make the nailing easier. That's a great opportunity to introduce the concept of working...

May seem like a daft question, but why have you got mice/rats in your garage? Is there a source of food for them nearby? Maybe dealing with that will sort out you rodent infestation.

Even if it is mould (and it may well not be), that is not the end of the world. Checking with a moisture meter will tell you if there is a systemic damp issue, which may mean some damp-proofing work needs to be done. If it is not damp now, that does not exclude the possibility of periodic...

I recently liberated some old planks from the loft of my mum's house when I was adding insulation and a floor for storage. I remember putting these planks there as temporary walk space, oh maybe three decades or more ago. I finally decided to use them to make a puppet theatre for my...

If the paper is peeling off easily, the red colouration could be mould growing on the wall paper glue (basically starch).

I just planked up some apple logs and to avoid too much loss due to warping, I planked them thick; 2 inches. It will take a long time to dry but I don't need it urgently. You say that your log is dry; been drying for years. How many years? I normally plank wood at 1.5 inches thick and leave them...

Hope that the OP is recovering as well as possible. Thanks for being brave and admitting your mistake and showing images of the consequences. It is a reminder that we should all take on board the importance of safety whenever using sharp tools, especially electrically powered ones.

A magnificent beast of a table. Any monk would be delighted to sit at it!

As usual people are arguing about the question: "How long is a piece of string?" The answer is always; "It depends..." Most people can learn to sharpen tools to a degree of accuracy sufficient for woodworking. However, it takes time; more or less time depending on your physical abilities and...

Hmmm, something to think about for when I finally get around to making a chessboard with the lump of ebony I've been dragging around for 20 years! lol

Did you try degreasing with white spirits or methylated spirits immediately before gluing the ebony parts?

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I don't own a lathe so I can't use your method for making the wheels. However, it has given me some ideas. I think I'll try an alternative to the tyre inner tube for connecting the body segments. Instead of having slots I'll cut all the way through and glue...

Very nice... gives me ideas for my niece's twins who are coming up to 2 yrs old in a few months. The wheels look rather complex; I count three rings to each wheel. Can you explain how you made them?

I wrapped some of the shavings around a steel nail and wet it. Next day the shavings in contact with the nail had gone dark. I guess that this also points to it being oak.