Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Teo Rhe recalls the shock on people’s faces when they learn that his bench isn’t made out of wood.

A great wood stain does double duty. First, it adds to the aesthetics, either by enhancing the natural grain pattern of the wood or by covering blemishes, depending on the stain you choose.

Once the pieces have been glued together, we give it a coat of varnish to highlight all the grain of the wood, and we place ...

Butternut, sometimes called white walnut, is great for carving and other uses, but it is potentially an endangered species.