Woodcraft PartsWorkshop

From the bench

Guides

Longer working notes from the bench: qualitative, sourced where a fact needs a source, and linked to the tool that does the arithmetic. All seven are written fresh for this site.

  1. Woodworking jigs: what they are and how they workReference faces, repeatability, templates and test cuts, with calculators for three common jig-layout problems.Revised 2026-08-06
  2. Bench dogs: sizes, spacing and workholding layoutsWhat bench dogs do, how hole systems differ, and how to plan a useful grid around real bench hardware.Revised 2026-08-06
  3. Steam bending and bending jigsWhen to steam-bend rather than laminate, and how steam boxes, straps, formers and clamping jigs actually work.Revised 2026-08-05
  4. Choosing timber for a projectWorkability, movement, durability, cost and UK availability, weighed qualitatively for common project types.Revised 2026-08-05
  5. Reducing waste in the workshopCutting-list planning, offcut management, reclaimed-timber cautions and buying only what the job needs.Revised 2026-08-05
  6. Designing a workbench that fits youHeight trade-offs by work style, top mass and stiffness, vice placement, and the mock-up-first habit.Revised 2026-08-05
  7. Orbital sander techniqueGrit progression, movement and pressure, swirl-mark causes, and HSE-sourced dust control for sanding.Revised 2026-08-05

Each guide is written fresh for this site — no recycled text from the domain's past lives — and revision dates are real ones. The long addresses these guides live at are kept from the old site deliberately, so existing links and citations keep working.