Handmade Furniture & Woodworking
Solid timber,
cut by hand
Notes on woodworking tools, timber properties, joinery methods, and furniture construction — written for makers in Poland.
Start with the tools guide
What you will find here
Three areas of focus
Each topic is covered with specific detail rather than general advice — species names, joint dimensions, tool specifications.
Tools & Equipment
Hand planes, chisels, saws, sharpening stones — what each one does, how to choose quality, and what you can skip at the start.
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Timber Selection
Oak, ash, beech, walnut, pine — their working properties, movement figures, and where each species is appropriate for furniture construction.
Read the guide
Joinery Techniques
Mortise and tenon, dovetail, through tenon, haunched tenon — the structural logic behind each joint and how to cut them accurately by hand.
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Articles
Recent writing
Tools & Equipment
Essential Woodworking Tools for Beginners
A practical list of the hand and power tools needed to build solid-timber furniture — what each one does and how to avoid buying duplicates.
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Timber & Materials
Timber Selection Guide for Furniture Making
Oak, ash, beech, walnut, pine — their Janka hardness values, movement figures, and the situations where each species makes sense.
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Joinery
Joinery Techniques: Mortise & Tenon and Dovetail
How the two most important structural joints in furniture work, where each is appropriate, and how to cut them accurately by hand.
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Additional topics
More to read
Choosing the Right Wood Finish
Hard wax oil, shellac, lacquer, or oil — how each penetrates or builds on the surface and which suits each timber species.
Safety in the Woodworking Space
Dust extraction, eye and ear protection, blade guarding — the precautions that apply before switching on any power tool.
Understanding Wood Movement
Tangential versus radial shrinkage, equilibrium moisture content, and why some joints succeed in Polish interiors while others fail.
Contact
Send an enquiry
For corrections, topic suggestions, or general correspondence. We respond within two working days.
Kirkby Corner Ltd
ul. Stolarzy 14, 30-010 Kraków
Tel: +48 12 345 67 89
Email: info@kirkbycorner.eu
About Kirkby Corner
An independent reference on handmade furniture and woodworking — no advertising, no affiliate links, no promotional content.
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