things not to do.....
5 March 2019
DO NOT charge ahead and cut up your big sheet of ply
Until you have some idea of what size prints you want to produce cutting up the large sheet of 4 ply may leave you with 16+ blocks of the wrong size. Better still don't cut up all 3 sheets! An A4 print 210mm x 297mm requires a minimum block size of 240mm x 330mm.
9 April 2019
why do I have to use expensive Japanese brushes
The woodblock brush is used to spread paint out in a uniform fashion. There are two types of brush: a round one, which resembles a shoe brush, used for wide areas and a smaller hand brush like a hake, for smaller areas.
Designed to spread paint on the top of the block and wipe away excess paint collected in the indented parts of the block, the woodblock brush has bristles with strong, stiff body portions and fine, soft tips.
Doing it on the cheap and using hog bristle brushes does not wipe away the excess paint in the indented parts as effectively.