How do I cut a circle in wood?
Four methods by size and finish required — hole saw, jigsaw and pivot, router and trammel, and the cut-slightly-oversize-and-sand approach.
intermediate40 min4 min read
Tools & Materials
What to buy, what to skip, and how to use it.
511 guides in Home & DIY
How do I get plasterboard home and store it without breaking it?
Why plasterboard needs different handling from every other sheet, the carry that does not break it, and the storage that keeps the edges intact.
beginner25 min5 min readHow do I glue end grain so the joint actually holds?
Why end grain sucks a joint dry, the sizing technique that fixes it, and the reinforcement any loaded end grain joint really needs.
intermediate25 min3 min readHow do I light a workshop or garage so I can actually see what I am doing?
Why one bright ceiling light is the worst possible arrangement, how much light a workspace actually needs, why colour temperature and rendering matter for finishing work, and the shadow problem that only a second light solves.
beginner1 hr5 min readHow do I sharpen a spade, hoe or axe?
Garden and forestry edges are sharpened differently from woodworking tools — a coarser edge at a steeper angle, from one side or both depending on the tool, and a file rather than a stone.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I use a router template and a guide bush?
Guide bush versus bearing-guided bit, the offset calculation that makes a template the wrong size on purpose, and the routine for making identical parts.
advanced45 min4 min readHow do I work out what size a bolt or machine screw is?
Measuring diameter, pitch and length, telling metric from imperial, and reading the M-number system that most household fasteners use.
beginner15 min3 min readHow much does a sheet of plywood, MDF or chipboard weigh?
Realistic weights for the common boards and thicknesses, what actually drives the difference, and how to work out any sheet from its density.
beginner6 min4 min readHow much gap should I leave for timber to move?
The practical allowances for panels, cladding, worktops and wide boards — and the four construction details that let timber move without anything breaking.
intermediate12 min4 min readHow much weight will a picture hook actually hold?
Reading a hook's rating honestly, the two-hook rule, and why the hanging hardware on the back of the frame fails more often than the hook on the wall.
beginner10 min3 min readMy OSB got soaked in the rain — is it ruined?
What happens to OSB when it gets wet, why the swollen edges are the real question, and how to decide between drying it out and replacing it.
beginner15 min4 min readShould I use a honing guide or learn to sharpen freehand?
What each method actually gives you, why the argument is less about purity than about repeatability, and the projection jig that makes a guide fast rather than fiddly.
beginner12 min4 min readThrough bolt, sleeve anchor or shield anchor — what is the difference?
Three heavy masonry anchors that look similar and set differently — how each grips, which suits a through-hole and which does not, and where none of them belongs.
intermediate15 min3 min readWhat is the difference between bonding, hardwall and multi-finish plaster?
Backing coats build the depth and finish coats give the surface — which background takes which, and why using the wrong one produces a wall that cracks or never sets.
beginner20 min4 min readWhat is wet-and-dry paper for, and how do I use it?
The black paper that works with water — what it is actually for, which lubricant to use on which surface, and why using it dry throws away most of its advantage.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich pencils and paper do I actually need for drawing?
What the H and B grades mean, why a set of twenty is a waste, and the paper weight that stops everything buckling.
beginner15 min3 min readWhich treatment use class do I need for my timber?
The exposure classes that specify how heavily a piece of timber has been treated, what each one is for, and why buying the wrong one is a mistake you only find out about in four years.
beginner8 min3 min readWhich vice do I need, and how do I fit one to a bench?
Woodworking and engineer's vices do different jobs and mount differently. Why a woodworking vice sits flush with the benchtop, why it must be bolted rather than screwed, and the packing trick that stops the jaw racking.
intermediate1 hr 30 min6 min readWhy do my jigsaw blades keep breaking or bending?
Six causes, from forcing a turn to a worn guide roller — and why a blade that breaks in the same place every time is telling you which one it is.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy is everything still in inches, and how do I convert without getting it wrong?
Where imperial survives in British building — timber, pipe, fixings, plumbing threads and old houses — which numbers are real conversions and which are just names, and the rounding discipline that stops a conversion introducing an error.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy is my hand plane tearing chunks out of the wood?
Tear-out is a grain-direction problem before it is anything else. How to read the grain, and the five adjustments that deal with timber where no direction works.
intermediate20 min4 min readWhy should I not use plasterboard screws for everything?
They are cheap, they are in every toolbox and they are the wrong screw for most jobs — the three properties that make them good at one thing and bad at the rest.
beginner8 min2 min readAre glued-up pine panels any good for shelves and worktops?
The finger-jointed pine and hardwood panels every DIY shed sells — what they are, how they behave over a span and in a heated house, and where they beat both timber and sheet material.
beginner9 min4 min readAre reclaimed bricks worth using?
Where a reclaimed brick is genuinely the right answer, the wastage and durability questions to ask before buying, and how to clean old mortar off without destroying the face.
beginner15 min4 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.