A warm welcome to all fellow woodworkers, as it grows, I hope you will find this blog, if not informative, then at least an interesting and entertaining read.
My name is Barry Horton and I am a professional furniture maker and restorer with some fifty years experience, the last twenty of which I have been living and working in France. The focus of my blog will be on a quiet type of woodworking with hand tools. These methods have been the mainstay of my professional working life. In the interests of honesty though, I must confess to the need of using some machinery. Like most furniture makers, the market has long enforced the need of mechanical assistance, simply to retain some measure of competitiveness within the market. However my noisy and dusty monsters live in another adjoining shop and are used solely for the purpose of heavy sawing, conversion and dimensioning; some large shaping and molding. Everything else happens in the hand shop.
I use natural organic products wherever possible. Being a vegan I also try to avoid the use of animal derived products. This is sometimes impossible, especially when restoring antiques and even on new work where hide and bone glues are required; there is unfortunately no alternative that has the same properties. Such dilemmas and other similar questions open up the possibility of also discussing more philosophical topics. So all in all I hope my future posts will provide a moments diversion, to accompany a cup of tea or coffee. So please do drop by from time to time.
