Mampara

Structurally these joints make a lot of sense and they are rather fun to make. If the long grain of the butterfly insert runs perpendicular to the seam defect it will be a very strong repair. Pity we don't see them more often!

Looks like Mpingo but need more photos to be sure.

No worries - gotta love free stuff!

Here's another one " Nothing involving cheap joinery or dodgy fish has a happy ending." Pearls of wisdom!

Free download of this book available from https://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/the-anarchists-workbench Great summary on the history and construction of work benches. Just in case you need another one!

You need a binary solvent to extract curcumin from ground turmeric. Alcohol + water in a ratio of 60/40 v/v is a popular choice in pharmaceutical experiments. Once you have the extract after about 48 hours of soaking, simply filter to get rid of solids and then evaporate the solvent by either slowly heating it or exposing it to room temperature in a wide shallow tray. This will concentrate the curcumin and increase colour intensity.

Ha ha you evil genius! Beat me to it....

A dead one! Sorry just couldn`t resist.........

Sharp tools are easier to push around. Frequent edge touch ups also breaks up the monotony of tasks and give your hands a break.

Same here, picked up a few interesting tool ideas.

Mate save yourself some time, money and frustration. Buy quality tools from Carbatec. Bunnings is for crude diy home improvement stuff, not fine wood working or instrument making. Cry only once, when you pay for quality.

I just mark the thickness with a gauge all around the edge, then use a dovetail saw to cut the platform, followed by a few sweeps with the gouge and its done. No mess, no fuss and no machine setups. Works every time.

Nowadays I make my forms from jelutong (Dyera costulata). Its light, very stable and easy to work with hand tools, you can hand plane it down to any thickness you want. This timber is widely used by pattern makers, especially for its ease of work and dimensional stability. For longevity and multiple use I reinforce the glue surfaces for the blocks with thin strips of hardwood which can take the wear much better.

No rather use a Dragunov. I once had a piece of Rhodesian teak with a whole live mortar bomb embedded within, made a helluva bonfire!

You just gotta love this stuff! Maybe the maker left them there to mess with our heads, I certainly leave little hidden clues for future generations. Maybe someone someday will have some mental gymnastics trying to figure out what it all means.....