Handmade; Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction by Gary Rogowski

Handmade; Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction by Gary Rogowski

Paperback — Linden Publishing 2017 #GRHCF$19.00 Buy Now

Owner and headmaster of Portland, Oregon’s acclaimed Northwest Woodworking Studio, furniture craftsman and teacher Gary Rogowski offers a personal and meaningful meditation on finding focus, mental clarity and purpose in the modern age of distraction. This is one highly respected woodworker’s observation and journey into a passion and exercise that keeps him whole and gives him perspective as he navigates a world filled with intrusions. Chronicling why craft matters, this is a book most woodworkers can resonate with.

The Woodworker’s Guide to Hand Tools by Peter Korn

The Woodworker’s Guide to Hand Tools by Peter Korn

Paperback — Taunton Classics, 2016  #PKWGHT $28.00 Buy Now

Currently on Back Order from the publisher. Please be patient.

Culled from classic articles from Fine Woodworking magazine, master woodworker, owner and headmaster of The Centre for Furniture Craftsmanship Peter Korn covers virtually all the hand tools in the modern workshop. For convenience, tools are listed alphabetically within chapters organized by function, such as abrading, cutting, planing, sawing, etc. Beautifully illustrated, Korn’s Guide to Hand Tools explains what each tool is used for, which tools are essential for your shop, how to recognize quality when buying tools, how to tune-up tools for top performance, and in many cases, how to use each tool efficiently – all the information you need to get the best out of your tools. A definite resource for your go-to shelf in your woodworker’s library.

Classical Guitar Making: a Modern Approach to Traditional Design by John S. Bogdanovich

Classical Guitar Making: a Modern Approach to Traditional Design by John S. Bogdanovich

Hardcover — Sterling Publishing, 2007 #JBCGM $35.00 Buy Now

Currently on Back Order from the publisher. Please be patient.

Playing a fine-sounding instrument that he or she has lovingly crafted from scratch is a thrill for many a musician. With this richly illustrated manual, well-known luthier and guitarist John Bogdanovich shows exactly how to build that first, beautiful guitar, using traditional, time-tested methods. All that’s required are basic woodworking techniques and a minimally equipped shop. Bogdanovich discusses the anatomy of the guitar, sound, choosing an instrument, selecting woods, templates and molds, and preparation. In more than 300 pages of text, he painstakingly lays out the details of construction, from assembling the neck and sides to installing the fingerboard and bridge.

The Workbench Design Book: The Art & Philosophy of Building Better Benches by Christopher Schwarz

The Workbench Design Book: The Art & Philosophy of Building Better Benches by Christopher Schwarz

Popular Woodworking Books, 2011 #CSTWDB $35.00 Buy Now

Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use was compiled as a follow-up to Schwarz’s Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use. It includes complete plans, expert instruction and rationale for building various workbench forms, as well as instruction on improving existing workbenches for better workholding, and an improved woodworking shop.

Schwarz takes you through the design of 9 specific workbenches and critiques of 10 additional workbenches, as well as his suggestions for making any bench work most effectively for the type of work the user does. The 9 workbench plans have a range suitable for handwork and power tools. A discussion of workbench design rules teaches what is effective in a multitude of work situations, and why. Along with expert instruction and rationale for building various workbench forms, improving existing workbenches for better workholding, and an improved woodworking shop, Workbenchesincludes guidance on additional workholding options–from shop-made jigs and commercial bench dogs to vise hardware.

Workbenches Revised Edition: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use by Christopher Schwarz

Workbenches Revised Edition: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use by Christopher Schwarz

Hardcover — Popular Woodworking Books 2017 #CSWRE $35.00 Buy Now

You might want to take note that this is an updated edition of Schwarz’s 2011 Workbench Design Book. In this revision, your very first workbench will do everything you need it to do–possibly for the rest of your woodworking career. Encompassing years of historical research and real-world trials, Christopher Schwarz boils down centuries of the history and engineering of workbenches into basic ideas that all woodworkers can use: designing your own bench, classic rules of good design, how to build an inexpensive and practical bench, and how to properly use any workbench. Includes plans for 5 benches – 2 sturdy English benches and 2 variations on the French Roubo, as well as a portable bench you can clamp to any solid surface. The old-school benches in this book are simpler than modern benches, easier to build and perfect for both power and hand tools.

Beginning woodworkers can build any of these benches. The technical drawings are clear and show every detail. Using the step-by-step instructions, you will be amazed at how easily these workbenches can be constructed.

Woodwright’s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft by Roy Underhill

Woodwright’s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft by Roy Underhill

Paperback — University of North Carolina Press, 1981 #RUTWS $27.00 Buy Now

At one time in Roy Underhill’s storied career, he was master housewright at Colonial Williamsburg. In 1979 he created the PBS series The Woodwright’s Shop, which became one of American’s leading how-to television shows, inspiring millions of viewers to take up the bench.

The Woodwright’s Shop is written with the most engaging sense of humor and illustrated by over 300 photographs. Underhill offers historical background, folklore, and era-bound technology as he introduces and details traditional woodworking. Underhill, aka Saint Roy, begins with a guide to trees and tools, and then moves on to chapters on gluts and mauls, shaving horses, rakes, chairs, weaving wood, hay forks, dough bowls, lathes, blacksmithing, dovetails, panel-frame construction, log houses, and timber-frame construction, as well as the author’s descriptions of the shoulders woodworkers in America stand upon.

The Woodwright’s Guide: Working Wood with Wedge and Edge by Roy Underhill

The Woodwright’s Guide: Working Wood with Wedge and Edge by Roy Underhill

Paperback — University of North Carolina Press, 2008 #RUTWG $26.00 Buy Now

According to Christopher Schwarz, “The Woodwright’s Guide captures the true glory and mystery of the material that built this country, from the first swing of the axe to the final shaving of a smoothing plane. Roy Underhill’s impressive technical knowledge, respect for traditional methods, and amusing storytelling make this his finest effort to date. I devoured every word and enjoyed it immensely.” This says it all.

The Joint Book: The Complete Guide to Wood Joinery by Terrie Noll

The Joint Book: The Complete Guide to Wood Joinery by Terrie Noll 

Spiral Bound — Chartwell Books, 2009 #TNTJB $15.00 Buy Now

Featuring step-by-step, illustrated instructions for over 70 joints, and providing authoritative knowledge on choosing the right joint for the job, The Joint Book fills its niche as a leading resource in a woodworker’s library.

Handplane Essentials, Revised & Expanded by Christopher Schwarz

Handplane Essentials, Revised & Expanded by Christopher Schwarz

Hardcover —  Popular Woodworking Books 2017 #CSHERE $37.00 Buy Now

No woodworking tool is more satisfying, quick and precise to use than a handplane. Planes can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools. Yet many beginner and professional woodworkers are intimidated by handplanes. This book is here to set the record straight. Plus, this edition includes 14 new articles as well as new and updated tool reviews.

Handplane Essentials contains everything you need to choose the most suitable plane for your project and your budget, as well as to sharpen it and use it successfully. Compiled from more than 15 years of the author’s writings about handplanes in magazines, trade journals and blogs Handplane Essentials is a primary guide for woodworkers, living up to the root word Essential in its title.

Woodworking with Hand Tools: Tools, Techniques & Projects by the Editors of Fine Woodworking

Woodworking with Hand Tools: Tools, Techniques & Projects by the Editors of Fine Woodworking

Paperback — Taunton Press, 2018 #FWWWHT $25.00 Buy Now  Loaded with clear photographs, drawings, and step-by-step instructions from 35 articles from Fine Woodworking Magazine, this is a useful and necessary resource for anyone who works wood. And, because hand tools are essential to the highest level of craftsmanship, bringing a refinement to work that machines alone cannot produce, these selected articles clarify the how, the when, and the why of the use handtools. Whether using only hand tools or using them in combination with machines, woodworkers will find plenty to value in Woodworking with Hand Tools.