Luis Velasco has worked in his joiner’s shop in the historic centre of Toledo ever since a tender age. He makes and restores pieces for railings, balustrades and columns as well as door balusters and posts and other architectural items, as well as sundry objects… and furniture.

The material he uses is wood, usually supplied by a carpenter or builder. For restorations he uses timber reclaimed from demolitions which is then cleaned up and treated for working, so as to preserve the identity of the place.

With his lathe turning, he uses various tools, such as a range of gouges and chisels, to progressively shape a workpiece. Once this has taken form, he works with sanders, coarse to begin with and then finer.

Although the joinery process is normally a carpenter’s task, he also makes woodworking joints and others with binders, such as glues.