If I were a smart man, I wouldn’t discuss my failings as an editor, writer and publisher. But I do like to keep people informed on how our upcoming books are going. So here goes: “Mouldings in Practice” by Matt Bickford. This book is almost completely designed and ready for the printer. What has slowed …
Before I can complete the expanded edition of “Roman Workbenches,” I have to build a reproduction of the bench I saw at Saalburg this summer – the oldest surviving workbench I know of (about 187 A.D.). I took complete measurements of the intact bench during my visit and I will reproduce the bench as best …
The following is the introductory note to our new book “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years: 1936-1966.” This entry explains the history behind the project and the doubts that we battled throughout. I know that it is an odd book for us to publish, and I promise that our next titles will be filled …
The following is excerpted from “Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley,” by Donald C. Williams, with photographs by Narayan Nayar. This book is the first in-depth examination of one of the most beautiful woodworking tool chests ever constructed and presents the first-ever biography of Studley (1838-1925), a piano and organ builder …
Making a Monument: The Studley Tool Cabinet – Read More »
For those of us with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about traditional American tools and furniture, there is one name that makes us all tip our hats: Charles F. Hummel of Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. Hummel’s impressive career as a champion for American decorative arts – as a scholar, lecturer and author – are …
‘One of the best ‘how-to-do-it-books’ of the last and present century.’ – Read More »
Publishers set deadlines so they can control when their books hit the stores (this keeps the money flowing), and so they can prevent the author’s vision from spiraling out of control (this keeps costs under control). We eschew deadlines as much as possible. The book is done when the book is done. And if the …
For a taste of what our two most recent titles offer, we’ve created PDF excerpts, which you are welcome to download. The pdf for “The Intelligent Hand” by David Savage includes the table of contents, foreword, a look at some of the important players in the book, introduction, and four chapters: “For the Unbalanced Among …
Free Excerpts of ‘The Intelligent Hand’ & ‘Shaker Inspiration’ – Read More »
Trestle tables seem to always find a use. 2018 has been a busy year so far. Teaching (and the traveling that goes with it), plus trying to work a regular job has kept me in almost constant motion. My next stop is in Bellbrook, Ohio, at Little Miami Handworks July 18-22. We will be building …
Mary Ownby. A famous chairmaker near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Ownby is shown here boring out a rifle barrel. The following is included in Volume 1 of “The Stick Chair Journal,” an annual publication to expand the universe of all things stick chair: More history. More plans. More techniques. Reviews of tools. And Big Thoughts. (Important note: …
This video answers three common questions from people reading “The Stick Chair Book” or watching the “Build a Stick Chair” video. Question 1: How do you set your tenon cutter to make a 2-1/4″-long tenon? Question 2: And why are all your tenons 2-1/4″ long? Question 3: Why do all the short sticks in the …