I would like to get a book for beginners on the use of all hand tools and no* power tools, covering small & simple to moderate projects, the only power tool I will be using is a small drill press, even then mostly an old handcrank drill or a bit brace. Any recommendations?
Thanks all,
Alex
If you've got a Borders Books nearby, they've got Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Shop, Exploring Traditional Woodcraft" on the bargain shelf, at $7.99.
I found this at my local book bargain warehouse (Barnett Books, Wallingford, CT):
I picked up this at my local library's used sale:
Both are useful, but are not project books.
Barry
Hi, Barry,
Cheers
Frank
I am not a violent man by nature, but I'd like to take that guy out behind the wood shed........ ==
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it. -- Thomas Sowell
You've gotten good suggestions here. I'd also add Aldren Watson's book: _Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings_. It's not a project book per se, but it goes into a good bit of detail on using handtools and discusses applications that are useful. He also has a good companion book to that one whose name escapes me at the moment (_Furniture Making_?). It is a combination technique and project book, and is well worth checking out.
Chuck Vance
Chuck Vance responds:
You know, back in the middle '90s, if my time sequence memory stands up, I busted my butt trying to sell publishers such a book. A project book based on hand tool use for the projects, keeping the projects relatively small so as to make them good learning experiences. Interest was so minimal that I got a response from only one publisher and that amounted to a basic "no thanks" in a tone that also said "drop dead".
Wonder if enough market is seen as being out there, now? My hand tool skills have pretty much slacked off a bit, but it might be worth the work to get them back. And it just might be fun.
Charlie Self "In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office." Ambrose Bierce
Why not make the book into a .pdf for sale as download or on a cdrom, from your ("a") new website? Example, Dan Collucci sells "a lens collectors vade mecum" from his site and on eBay:
Alex
AArDvarK asks:
Well, because...actually, I'm currently working on one book for that kind of sale (as a few people may recall, on birdhouses). I've discovered a number of things while doing that book, including the fact that QuarkXPress is fairly complex when you don't use it for a couple years, that an editor does more work than I ever would like to admit, and that I'm an absolutely awful proofreader.
Add to that a few personal problems (well, life problems, not really personal, such as the basement fire we had the end of June last year that kept us out of the house for several months, and our upcoming move, plus the necessity for restructuring my writing business, plus a couple other things) and writing and producing a book of good quality is simply not as easy as all the tales seem to tell.
Too, a trade publisher pays an advance which goes into things like supplies for projects, new photo gear, etc., that help produce a better book. When everything comes out of the writer's pocket, in addition to the time to write the book, some things tend to get sloughed off. Add to this finished book distribution. Trade publishers currently are still the hot set-up for getting a book produced, out and seen and sold. They've got the contacts with printers, the editors are right there waiting, they sell to the same bookstores and libraries regularly, they pay for the copyright registration, they take care of ISBN numbers...the list goes on. Selling from a web site is only one aspect.
But it is a thought, when I've got some time and money to spare, because I'm told that the income is quite good even if you sell far fewer copies. Right now, I have enough work to keep me reasonably busy, more coming in, and a move coming up in about 3 weeks that will return me to a real woodworking shop with space for decent photography as well. And I do have that first book to do if I can work my way around the interruptions and find all the old files on one of my hard drives.
Charlie Self "In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office." Ambrose Bierce
It definitely should be fun. And if you don't find any interest from traditional publishers, you could always do something like Jeff Gorman does, and "publish" it as a website.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is more interest these days. If the hand tool market is any indication, a lot of folks are "discovering" unplugged tools these days. I don't know if it's reflective of a general trend in society or not (i.e., a "back-to-our-roots" movement headed by the boomers). But if you think about how much money goes towards hobbies, it's logical that recreational woodworking itself is seeing a renaissance. Along with that, it would make sense that neander woodworking is making a comeback too.
As an aside, when I was participating in the Oldtools group, I was struck by how many of the regulars were in jobs that were extremely high-tech. Maybe it's not really surprising that they would look for the opposite extreme in their hobbies.
Chuck Vance
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