Recent content by timberfly

Thanks everyone for the really useful ideas. There are definitely a few ways to approach this! Here's the idea I'm leaning towards: Get a bandsaw Use a birch ply board and cut several v-grooves 5-10cm apart, and at least 9mm deep for 19mm dowels Add a thin piece of ply on the base of the board...

Thanks everyone. @Phil Pascoe - I've looked at plugs but need them to be thicker than are available - and there's some fun in the make-it-yourself part. @stuckinthemud - For a bandsaw, my initial thought is to make a sliding jig with the long part of the dowel clamped down, and run that...

I have a project where I'm making lots of small wooden discs to use as game counters. I'm cutting them down from 3/4" hardwood dowel and each counter is about 1/2" thick. At the moment I'm working by hand with a manual Nobex mitre saw, but after 100+ counters it's hard going. :D How would you...

Thanks everyone. The dowels are really short, about 50mm, but I need relatively precise depths of about 10mm as I want to embed a small magnet flush in the end of each. Even if I make more variations of this in future, I don't see them ever exceeding 100mm in length. I have a very cheap, ropey...

I've never owned a lathe before, but need to make some shallow (up to 10mm deep), 10mm diameter holes in the end-grain of 20mm hardwood dowels. A lathe seems the best way to do this accurately and with repetition, with a drill chuck attachment for the tailstock. And a great chance to try...

The window does have a wooden lining, so potentially an option to screw in there. In the images I posted above, it looks like they've built a full wooden frame which the shutters are then attached to. If I'm using my existing window frame, can I miss that step? @Ollie78 - did you end up using...

I have a tall, large window in our kitchen (about 2.2m high, 1.2m wide) and looking for options to replace an old roller blind. I like the look of shutters, but having them made up at that size seems really expensive. I've attached a couple of photos of the style from eBay. They wouldn't need to...

Thanks Rog, the slotting's a good call but you're right about the purchase on 18mm. In terms of the info, that's in part because it's still flexible. I have some basic parameters - 50x50cm with a strong preference for solid wood, and I'd like to design the build in way that means the end-result...

Thanks both. I'm still finalising the design but they'll probably end up squares with radiused corners. I need to sketch it up, but I wonder if there's a design option with a half-bullnose edge on a large bottom base (50x50), and then the same - just smaller (say 35x35) - on top. Kind of like...

Thanks everyone, this is helpful. I'd like to use solid if at all possible, but see I might need to compromise. One thought: would changing the design to essentially integrate a brace solve the problem, or just change it? So if I had the main base as 50x50cm at 18mm thick, but then put another...

Hi everyone. I've been asked to make some large lamp bases, 50x50cm. I'm interested in making them from pre-produced solid oak furniture boards - there are several on the market, but like these. My question: if I make them 50x50cm and 19mm thick, can I just cut them to size, make them up and be...

Hi everyone, I'm making some low baltic birch ply trays to hold plant pots, but I need some advice with the legs. The legs I want to use are turned solid wood with an M8 thread (all off the shelf), like the picture below, and screwed into a metal plate on the underside of the trays. The problem...

Thanks everyone. The rolling pin and dowel ideas are clever, but part of the fun is working out how to do this from scratch! :-) And a CNC absolutely looks the easiest and most accurate way, maybe one day... There's definitely more for me to look into with the router. In terms of the bullnose...

I'm trying to make a large number of small identical hardwood circles (probably oak) for a child's game. Think small coasters, about 6-7cm diameter, with smooth bullnose edges to use as oversized counters. But I can't work out the best way to do it. I'd like both sides to have no hole in the...

I'm buying my first set of new blades for a Dewalt D27300. They 260x21x3mm and cost about £55 new from Dewalt or £30 as generic. Any chance the branded blades are worth it, and any idea whether these Elu blades would fit? They the same dimensions and seem to have the same fixings, and also only £16.