I want to read some old woodworking books -- any suggestions?

[Mark Wells]

The wind up:

We had to cut down a big hackberry tree in our front yard. The tree service said they would take the trunk to the saw mill for me. The trunk was about 8' long and about 22" in diameter. To make a long story short, they had a lot of trouble pulling it onto their trailer using a come-along. Some nice guy with a forklift drove down the street, saw they were having trouble, stopped, and helped them get it in the trailer. It was a big ordeal.

Then I was reading one of Roy Underhill's books and he showed a picture of a cart they used to move logs in Colonial Williamsburg. Here's a similar picture:

It has two big wheels at the end of a long beam. On the short end of the beam, near the wheels, are two hooks that snag the sides of the log. You put the long beam up in the air, snag the log, then pull the beam down so it is parallel with the log. Then you chain the log to the beam. Now, if the log is centered properly, you pick up the front of the beam and roll the log out of the forest. Genius!

I think the old timers understood finesse much better than I do.

The question:

I'm tired of reading books and magazine articles that just encourage me to buy one product or another and have all my woodworking problems solved.

I'm considering cancelling my Fine Woodworking subscription to read old books instead. Do you all have any suggestions for old books (or books about old wood technology) that are a good read?

Mark

[J T]

Wed, Oct 11, 2006, 9:49pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Mark=A0Wells) dideth stateth: I'm considering cancelling my Fine Woodworking subscription to read old books instead. Do you all have any suggestions for old books (or books about old wood technology) that are a good read?

You've gotta cancel Fine Woodworking before you're allowed to read old books? I cancelled mine long ago. WoodenBoat has proved much more interesting, and has articles on how they used to do it.

Wanna read old woodworking books, eh? Well, you "could" come to my place and read some of mine, I've got a fair collection. But then I'd have to kill you, so that option's probably out for you.

You wanna read the old books, then start out in your local library. You wanna "buy" old books, then you go to used bookstores. You can check eBay, but I consider that a last resort type of thing, when you can't find whatever you want anywhere else - shiping can kill an otherwise good deal - that's IF they happen to have what you're after, and the price isn't push way too high. There's a lot of on-line booksellers - I've got around 40 links saved, and sometimes go thru every one of them when searching for a specific book. I've sometimes spent weeks and weeks searching for a book, at an affordable price - got one for under $20, including shipping, that was being listed most places well over $50 - not a woodworking book by the way. I stay away from new bookstores, unless I want to check out their magazines.

You didn't bother saying what your specifi interests are, so I'm not about to go thru my books and copy titles. I've got books listing old tools, including their pictures, and their uses - some of the stuff I'm not even sure Roy knows about. Then I've got other books, some going back to the 1920s, and earlier. I've got a few I've paid less then $40 for that I now see listed for close to $400 each. Amazing. There's stuff on the web too, articles you can read, or print out - including reprints of personal diaries, etc., telling people's personal experiences back in the 1700-1800s, and how they did it back then - all free, you've just gotta look. You might want to check out some of Roy's books too, they're pretty good.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[J T]

I remembered, just as I pushed the send button. When I buy a book, I normally prefer to thumb thru it first, unless I know very well what the content is. So, used bookstores are about #1 on my list. At times I do frequent new bookstores to check out their books, then any I'm actually interested in owning, I check on-line for a used copy. If I just want to read one, I check my local library - if they don't have a copy, I see if they can borrow a copy - they do have a fee for this now, so in some cases it could be cheaper to buy a copy, but seldom is. Any books you don't want, you can usually trade them in at any good used bookstore.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[Locutus]

So you spent weeks and weeks searching so you could save $30? Interesting.

[whit3rd]

You might enjoy _A Museum of Early American Tools_, by Eric Sloane Ballantine Books, 1964

[J T]

Thu, Oct 12, 2006, 2:59pm locutus [e-mail] (Locutus) doth burbleth: So you spent weeks and weeks searching so you could save $30? Interesting.

Don't let it worry you. I'm sure that sooner or later you can find someone that will be able to explain it to you.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[Locutus]

Nothing to explain, just doesn't sound like a good return for the effort spent.

[J T]

Fri, Oct 13, 2006, 10:03am locutus [e-mail] (Locutus) doth claimeth: Nothing to explain, just doesn't sound like a good return for the effort spent.

Sure it is. Maybe you've got money to pay listed prices for out-of-print books, but I don't. I don't put bread on the table from woodworking, it's a hobby. Buying a woodworking book for a lower price, after a bit of looking, is part of the hobby. After all, no matter how I spend the time, it's not like I'm losing money from not doing paying work.

That was one example. I've bought other books, listed for a lot more, for from $5-$30, by looking - I'll probably never buy a book for more than $30. Adds up to a fair amount over a year. It's not like I spend 8 hours a day looking, or even look eery day. Plus, these are books I already know exactly what their content is, and they're not available just anywhere. I just remembered, I've now got a complete set of eight steam books from about 1920. The complete set was listed at about $450 last I looked, I've probably got less then $75 invested in mine - plus, I've got several extras I need to get rid of, that usually list for about $35-$45 each.

If you would like to buy an interesting, out-of-print, book on boatbuilding, I have one I've seen listed for $385, + shipping. Of course, you "could" look around, and get the same book for probably $35 to $50, including shipping, but why bother?. I've had mine for years now, and paid about $10 for my copy. I'll make you a good deal, $350, including shipping, and you won't even have to waste time searching.

I'm pretty well set with woodworking books for now.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[Mike in Arkansas]

When I'm looking for an old or used book I always go to Addall.com. They can search the inventory of hundreds of used book stores around the world. In fact I just purchased a book, well it's actually a catalog, through them. It's called 'Builders Woodwork" from 1927 and shows architectual details of houses of that era. Doors, windows, mouldings, ect for Bungalow, Craftsman style and what have you. I purchased it to resell on eBay because I had just watched one sell for $360.00 that had over 20 bidders. So I did a fast search, found this one at Addall.com for $100.00, bought it and listed it on eBay. Went for $45.00. Go figure.

[Henry St.Pierre]

[e-mail] (J T) wrote in news:21723-452FE561-1@storefull-

3336.bay.webtv.net:

Mr. Locutus doesn't understand that the fun (or value, profit) is in the search. Poor man. Hank

[J T]

Fri, Oct 13, 2006, 6:17pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Mike=A0in=A0Arkansas) doth posteth: So I did a fast search, found this one at Addall.com for $100.00, bought it and listed it on eBay. Went for $45.00. Go figure.

Let me know next time you're selling a book. LMAO I've got somewhere around 40 links saved, including AddAll.com. On a concentrated search I use 'em all. I don't buy books to sell tho, I keep 'em.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[J T]

Sat, Oct 14, 2006, 12:05am (EDT-1) [e-mail] (Henry=A0St.Pierre) doth wisely posteth: Mr. Locutus doesn't understand that the fun (or value, profit) is in the search. Poor man.

Only partially true. The finding, then purchasing, at a low price, is the capper.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[DanG]

Here is one I enjoyed:

______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Mark Wells]

Thank you guys for the two Eric Sloane recommendations. I had never heard of him before and I look forward to reading them when they arrive at my local library branch. I know I was vague about what I wanted, but that was kind of on purpose. I almost view this as wood education for education's sake.

Mark