Paul Sellers
Published 14 Nov 2025Auger bits need sharpening from time to time, and they can seem complicated when, in fact, they are not. With a small saw file, auger bits of any size can be readily sharpened with just a few file strokes.
In this short video, I explain the process and walk you through what to look for in buying secondhand and how they will work for you.
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March 12, 2026
Deep Diving: Bit Sharpening | Paul Sellers
January 11, 2026
Paul Sellers’ Thickness Guide | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 19 Sept 2025Often in our woodworking projects, we might need many repeat cuts that guide our planes to give stock of precise thicknesses, and I make guides just like this one to give me the precision I need.
They are quick and simple to make, and you can change the thickness of the strips to match the thicknesses you need.
To access the Thickness Guide drawing follow: https://paulsellers.com/thicknessing-guide-drawing-and-cutting-list/
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December 18, 2025
How to Carve a Star | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 25 Jul 2025I have been asked to create this video for some time but couldn’t get to it. Here it is.
All you need is a good sharp chisel. This chisel is an Aldi, £2.50 version, so nothing special. The steps I show guarantee a positive outcome, but please be prepared to put in some practice on a scrap of wood. Avoid softwoods because they have hard and soft aspects surrounding the growth rings which are sometimes difficult to work with. I’m using cherry, but there are many choices that have consistent grain, such as poplar, oak, and walnut.
Carving this star took me a little over half an hour to do. With practice, you will get to understand the grain of the wood, direction and the chiselling techniques I used. I hope you enjoy creating your star!
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November 29, 2025
Exploring Hand Tool Woodworking | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 28 Nov 2025Most of the woodworkers I come to meet have lost any working knowledge of just how efficient and effective hand tools are in daily woodworking, and yet I have used them to make my living for 60 years. Not only have they lost the skills and knowledge, but they have lost belief in themselves and the ability to use them.
With our team, I have spent three decades training hundreds of thousands of woodworkers worldwide to use the methods I was raised with as an apprentice, and they are discovering that hand tools are not outdated or outmoded.
Watch this video and ask yourselves, if you couldn’t use tools just like these in your day-to-day woodworking.
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November 26, 2025
A Tray in a Day | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 11 Jul 2025Not every project needs to be complicated, and many can be a machineless exercise that develops hand skills and simplifies the project all the more.
People often shun plywood as a legitimate option over solid wood, but where solid wood might otherwise expand, contrary to the grain in solid wood oriented at 90º, plywood will be a perfect choice because of its stability, strength, and longevity.
I say a tray-in-a-day, but six in a day is highly possible, especially when you use only hand tools and no power equipment. Enjoy!
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October 5, 2025
How to Make a Stool with a Woven Seat | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 9 May 2025I designed a basic introductory-level project to steer and guide any new woodworker into making a great first-time project. I also wanted a basic introduction to weaving Danish cord (but you can use nylon or natural rope) into a seat.
The two came together in a single stool that, though simple and fun to make, will last a lifetime. There are features to working the wood that you will be unlikely to see or learn about elsewhere because I designed the project with you, the beginner or novice woodworker and seat weaver, in mind.
Trade secrets and tips of the trade throughout, you might just amaze yourself, your family, and friends with a professional-looking outcome.
Bookmarks:
Rails Layout: 02:08
Shaping the Legs: 16:48
Glue Up: 35:34
Finishing: 51:53
Seat Weaving: 54:14
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September 2, 2025
How to Make a Poor Man’s Gauge | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 25 Apr 2025Creating solutions does not always mean going out to buy dedicated manufactured tools but thinking about how you can become the solution.
In this short video, I show how you can set up an ingenious way to set out for hinge recessing, mortise and tenon parts, and then a beading tool in a matter of a minute or two only. It’s a trick that’s bailed me out time and time again.
It’s yours just by watching and learning!
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August 1, 2025
How to make flat boards straight, smooth and square (stock preparation part 2) | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 28 Jul 2013In this video Paul Sellers shows how to prepare a flat smooth board from rough stock. He does this with winding sticks and a no. 4 plane.
Part 1 is here: How to make square stock straight, sm…
Someone asked about the can Paul uses to lubricate the sole of the plane. You can find out how to make one here: http://paulsellers.com/2011/10/recycl…
To find out more about Paul Sellers and the projects he is involved with visit http://paulsellers.com
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July 25, 2025
How to make square stock straight, smooth and square (stock preparation part 1) | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 8 Apr 2013Paul Sellers shows how to prepare wood from its rough sawn state into useable stock. He goes into detail about how to remove twist from a square piece of wood and make it “four square”. He does all of this with hand tools. Specifically the plane, square and winding sticks. The video was first posted on https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com
To find out more about Paul Sellers and the projects he is involved with go to http://paulsellers.com
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July 8, 2025
Paul’s Drawer Tour | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 21 Feb 2025What’s the question? Why did Paul put the drawer in such a dumb place, or what does Paul use the drawer in his bench apron for?
Well, this drawer is pretty much my catchall for all of the small tools and bits of equipment that would definitely go astray in quick-time if I didn’t have it.
The hundred and more pieces and fifty types cannot be housed in any kind of order without my becoming obsessive and compelled. It gives me efficiency and economic ability minute by minute, and to say it’s opened a hundred times in a given day would not be an exaggeration.
Those odd moments of inconvenience when something in my vise stops its use are so well worth it. I love this drawer exactly where it is.
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May 26, 2025
Card Scraper Guide | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 17 Jan 2025A Dual-Purpose Aid That’s More Than It Looks!
It’s not always easy to successfully establish a good cutting edge to a card scraper, and we woodworkers just love DIY over almost everything and anything else we do.
You will not regret the ten minutes it takes to make this lifetime aid that guarantees pristine cutting edges to your card scraper every single time you need it.
Any scrap of wood will do, so now you have no reason not to master sharpening card scrapers for the rest of your life.
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April 20, 2025
Using Paul’s Sharpening System | Paul Sellers
Paul Sellers
Published 13 Dec 2024Want to make this system? Here’s how: • Making Paul’s Sharpening System | Pau…
I have been sharpening edge tools for sixty years and every single day of my life, and the fastest way to get the surgically sharp edge comes when you master freehand sharpening.
This video gets you started, and you will see how easy and quick it is to sharpen your edge tools once you take the first step, following this simple how-to.
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February 7, 2025
How to Make a Wallclock | Episode 7
Paul Sellers
Published 11 Oct 2024Refining the cove with a gouge and then scraping it and sanding it prepares us to fit the cove to the timepiece.
In this episode, Paul walks you through mitering the cove by hand using a poor man’s mitre guide and a block plane to trim and fit the mitres freehand.
We walk you through using CA (superglue) to attach the coved pieces securely and permanently in place.
Once done, we can apply our choice of finish. Three to four coats are usually enough after sanding the first to take away any raised grain.
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January 30, 2025
How to Make a Wallclock | Episode 6
Paul Sellers
Published 27 Sept 2024The decorative undercarriage is a matter of choice, and because the clock is somewhat traditional, Paul decided to add the feature to his version here.
The steps are simple and quick to do even without using any machines at all. By creating the roundover followed by the coved profile and joining the two together, we create something of a more classic look in a matter of a few minutes.
Using a traditional carving gouge, we make the cove from a solid section of oak and show you how to refine the cove using a card scraper.
With the main block attached to the underside of the clock, we are to transform the whole appearance of the clock.
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January 19, 2025
How to Make a Wallclock | Episode 5
Paul Sellers
Published 13 Sept 2024The main joinery for the clock and the panel all came together, and now we are ready to form the roundovers to the top and bottom pieces.
We will use the traditional method using a bench plane and, in our case, a #4 version. Following this shaping, we can focus on the final finishing of all of the components by scraping and sanding the surfaces.
After all of the parts are sanded, we follow specific patterns for gluing up the main carcass of the clock.
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