mike dennis craft

03/06/2026

A plane from around 350AD found in Denmark inspired this one! I made it while working on the start of a project that aimed to build a replica Viking age ship. It’s a great little tool that I use for a lot of my woodworking

03/06/2026

See inside a plane inspired by an ancient plane from around 350 AD, found in Viemose, Denmark.
The iron was made by Antonin and is similar to other planes found through the medieval and Viking Age. I made this clip as lots of people wanted to see another plane that I showcased dating from the 11th century. More on planes like this in the great book by Thomas Finderup “Saga Oseberg “ (in Danish).

03/06/2026

The importance of the right tool for the job:

How dangerous is hewing? Like working with any tool there is an ele...

02/06/2026

Foot powered lathe. Rihards demonstrates this lathe with a flywheel at the Vienkoču parks woodworking museum.

01/06/2026

Viking age carpentry axe made by amazing bladesmith who I just interviewed on his craft journey. Full video here or on my YouTube channel 😊🪓

01/06/2026

Soeren is an incredible bladesmith. This is how he got here…

Soeren is a bladesmith, known for his swords. I chat with him on my...

31/05/2026

Cleaving a tree with the help of Marlin (possibly the best hewer in the world!). With just a dressing of the faces, 4 legs were put in to turn this into some sturdy workbenches

31/05/2026

On the reproductive of the 7th century Sutton Hoo ship, Nick is one of the amazing volunteers!
Like many of the volunteers, The The Sutton Hoo Ships Company in open for free to the public, where you can visit- or even volunteer! It’s run through donations, so check them out and help if you can 😊🪓🔥

31/05/2026

Last year I wanted to discover what an apprenticeship was like in a different heritage skill. I still have some floors and decorative plaster to do before I can finish the qualification.
Although it takes many years to truly master these amazing skills, it’s really given me a taste of what it’s like to get into a craft today (my carpentry apprenticeship was so niche and nearly 20 years ago!).
I’ll be talking to more craftspeople of all trades and bringing you their stories.
If you want to learn heritage plastering in the UK, then you can get in touch with the Tywi Centre. Massive thanks as always to Charlie Short who runs South_walesheritageplasterwork who kindly shared his knowledge with me during my placement.

31/05/2026

How was a wattle and daub panel made? Well, this one was made with riven oak staves that fitted into the grooves of the 16th/ 17th century oak frame. This type of framing is called close framing and is suggested to be a show of wealth. Then the earth /clay daub was pushed on from both sides. This daub contained a lot of plant fibres. It looks like fingers were then dragged through the daub at intervals to make a key for the plaster. The plaster layer is very lime rich and contains a large proportion of animal fibre. It’s simple, but it’s lasted for centuries !