69 Comments

  1. Thank you Paul, Joseph, and crew. You are a truly wonderful group of people; compassionate, caring, and giving. I appreciate the effort and work you put into furthering and expanding the craft we all enjoy. Merry Christmas.

  2. Wonderfull surprise and amazing Christmas present for all of us!

    This site and its community is become so special in many aspects in this moment of my life…

    Congratulation for your exeptional work and your generosity.

    With gratitude and respect.

    –Óscar

  3. Absolutely fantastic Paul. I was making these last week after your blog entry and was going about it in many of the same ways, but some of these wrinkles will help to take the accuracy to a new level.

  4. These are really fun to make. I’ve done an Oak and Holly one for the top of our tree, several Holly and Cocobolo ones for general decorations and a 10″ one out of Ash that’s going to be part of the central decoration of the dinner table on Christmas Day. My son has made a candle holder at school that’s going on top. Must dash as the kids and I are off down the workshop to make my wife a carry tote for her gardening gear.

  5. I really enjoyed the video. I will be making these for all the gifts.

    I hope in the future a video will be made showing all the jigs you use and how to make them.

    Merry Christmas to all
    Bob

  6. Paul, Joseph, and Staff,

    You folks are the real stars. Shining and sharing the light of knowledge, bringing together a wonderful international wood working community of which I am proud to be a part. I have not viewed a site where people are more respectful of each others ideas, views and aspirations. As the saying says, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’.

    Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays to the Seller’s family and to all of our members around the world! Another great video, and thanks.

    Joe B.

  7. Paul thanks for this one also, a very nice surprise and another fun project. I love your techniques with the simplicity of the tools you use. These will make nice Gifts. Next year looks to be a fun year from the hints you have been dropping and I can’t wait.

    Thanks again !

    Steve

  8. This is just brilliant! Lots of simple techniques that I would have a hard time imagining as usual. I will be trying my hand at this.

    About the only question I have is, could the similar pieces have been ganged together and jointed on the plane for accuracy?

    Cant wait to see Paul’s method for inlay work.

  9. Thanks Paul. You always amaze us with your creativity and skills. Your originality is consistent and is unmatched by any other online teachers out there.

    Thanks for your free videos and I hope you keep them coming. Merry Xmas!

    Simon

  10. Thanks so much for this very informative video showing your skills to be replicated in accuracy and patience for us all. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning watching you work and inspiring me to have a go at this.

    A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all there at the castle and to my fellow members on this site. Have a good one!

    Clem

  11. Another nice video. I enjoy seeing all the various tools/jigs that Paul pulls out of the ‘closet’ or makes on the spot. And this time we saw him use a Veritas saw – shocking 😉

    I’m curious, what is the intended purpose of that grey board with the piece of 2×4 attached to the back, used in this video to present the various pieces of the star?

  12. With the plane he uses, wouldn’t those be Woden stars? Not wooden stars?

    Better than a Dr. Who Christmas special, and it works on wood.

    Thanks
    Happy Holidays.

  13. I have watched this video for the 3rd time now, looks so complex but Paul makes it so simple and the jigs are so ingenious, love it.

    I meant to comment on my 1st post, do you finish any of these with shellac or leave plain ?

    Thanks again for another wonderful project.

    Steve

  14. Thank you for the wonderful Christmas present. Your gift multiplies many times over as each of us make gifts for our family and friends. Merry Christmas to the Sellers family!!!!!!!

  15. Paul, thank you for the lesson on how to make these stars. You have provided some wonderful information on how to make perfect delicate inlay joinery. I look forward to putting these methods into practice. Take care.

  16. Paul, you did it !! I have been trying to get my wife interested in wood working for years, without success. Margo, happened to be in the room when I started watching the “Christmas Stars”. She went crazy and is now in the workshop giving it a try.

  17. Paul, great video, thank you for all your teachings. When we met in Tampa last year, you showed my wife and I one of these stars. When I looked at it, it was beautiful, but WAY over my head how to construct one. Later my wife (who LOVED it) asked if I could make her one and I had to tell her my skills are not there. She watched the video with me and was amazed at how much work and accuracy you put into making the stars. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you and your family. All the best Bob & Patti

  18. Paul, I like the video on making stars. I have now made 3 and enjoyed making them. I didn’t think I could make one that could be so accurate but with your directions is was quite easy. Thanks so much. I also have my bench stool completed up to the last video and now just waiting for the next video on making the seat. Watching your videos has greatly improved my skills and my confidence. Thanks again…

  19. The stars are great.
    I found an easy way to hang these stars. I took a straight pin and cut off the head. Then tapped the point a couple times with a hammer on an anvil to sharpen it. I then put the pin in my 70 year old hand drill. With the star in a vice I drilled a hole in the edge of the star. Then I threaded a 2 pound mono filament fishing line through the hole, tied a knot and then I hung the star. Modern chucks will not hold a drill as small as a pin. The hand drill was just the thing.

  20. I have been struggling with making a three-dimensional Lone Star. I made the mistake of showing my wife the four pointed stars and even some five pointed I made and she wants a three-dimensional Lone Star! Help, Paul!

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
    David

    1. David, I recall someone on Lumberjocks.com listing a 3D lone star project a few years ago. He may have included instructions. I just did a quick search and couldn’t find it, but maybe with a better search …

  21. There were lots of great tips in this episode for precision woodworking on small pieces that I really loved! I had not looked at this video since I was focusing more on the furniture projects but glad I finally watched. Thanks!

  22. Dear Paul
    You mentioned that you were going to show us how to inlay these stars in this video from 2013.
    I want to inlay a compass rose and my practice attempts look very amateurish ( rose looks good, edges of inlay look bad).

    Any chance you will be doing ‘how to inlay shapes into solid wood’ video soon? Thanks for all you do!

    1. Hello,
      It is on the list, but we can’t invest the time and resources required to cover this topic fully at the moment. We’re trying to focus our energy on the really key aspects of woodworking to have a firm foundation to build on in future videos and articles.
      Best, Phil

      1. That’s a good idea. If Paul just gives us a hint as to the right way to go about cutting the edges. I’m using the small hand router plane to get an even base, but the edges are a little ragged. I’ve tried using a sharp knife, chisel, etc for the edges, and I’m always going just a little off line. I wanted to inlay a compass rose onto a solid wood desktop. If he could spend a couple mins telling us what we should be doing on a Q&A session (I love those , by the way) I would really appreciate it.
        Thank you!

    1. Hello Ronald (@brzteach),
      Paul only used the shooting board for the 45 degree angle, not the long faces. On a 5 point star, I would have thought that left you with a 36 degree angle that needs planing unless I am mistaken. You could make a somewhat scaled down shooting board for that purpose.
      Best,
      Phil

      1. Thank you for your Reply Philip! I took the lack of earlier replies as a sign that yes a special shooting board stop will be needed. It took more energy to write the question than it did to make the stop. Alas my angles were off, and it is time to get back to it and make more pieces, with the correct angles! after a bout three batches im getting the hang of it..

        Im still breaking tips of segments when i use the shooting board( about1/5), any tips?

  23. It has been a wonderful year after finding Paul&Co, despite COVID-19, which alsoprovided a litttle more workshop time and opportunity.
    Thanks to all of the Sellers’ team for their guidance in the development of my woodwork skills, long dormant or should that be undeveloped!
    Greetings from South Africa, and best wishes for 2021.

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