Books on Hand Tool Techniques?

[J_SAMa]

Hi all,

Figured I'd grab a book or two on Amazon for the vacation...
I've been a loyal Paul Sellers fanboy and want to buy the Artisan Course. Has anyone here read it before? It's not a cheap book and I am trying not to waste my money.
Any other ones that you recommend? I'd rather read a general book covering a broad range of information than something focused on a specific topic (e.g. Schwarz's workbench books).
David Charlesworth gets a good review with his books, but the index in the preview on Amazon shows that it talks about many topics I have no interest in, like Japanese tools and tool making.

Sam

 

[Jacob]

Sellers book is the best of the modern writers without a doubt, for basic hand tool use and basic projects. Pricey - too recent to get 2nd copies cheap - but good value. It's a bit over produced - too much graphic design. Production could have been done better and cheaper, but contents excellent.

Dave's books are a bit bits n bobs - mag articles reprinted in no particular order. Not broad ranging at all.

I just picked up "Hand Tools Their Ways and Workings" by Aldren A Watson, which is very tool orientated - more tool/use than project. It looks good though, very thorough with hundreds of excellent hand drawings.

There are a lot of books out there - the more you have the better IMHO!

I must say I do prefer books which don't mention American novelty tool makers too often, or go on about steels, bevels and japanese saws/chisels.

 

[AndyT]

I'd recommend pretty well anything by Charles Hayward as published by the Woodworker magazine in a series of handbooks in the 50s 60s and 70s. Widely available secondhand. The most useful one is on Woodworking Joints though that may be a bit dearer as it has been recommended by Chris Schwarz and others. It describes how you go about the layout and cutting rather than just giving you a diagram.

 

[David C]

Thanks for the miss information chaps.

Just for starters the first volume contains;

Tuning of bench planes.
Prep of Japanese and European chisels.
Through, Secret mitre and twisted dovetails.
Precision plane use for face sides and edges.
Through wedged tennons with mitre, as used by Alan Peters.
Mortise and tennons.
Workbenches with removable tool wells for easier clamping.
My Workshop.
Improving marking knives and gauges
Sharpening with water stones and the Ruler Trick.
Various scraping techniques, including sharpening machine planer blades in situ and use of back bevels.
Winding sticks.
Dovetail cutting on the bandsaw.
The stopped taper dovetail housing, made with router jigs.
Krenov style dowelling.
Some prize winning designs.
Making a wooden spokeshave with Hock blade.

I know that these "bits and bobs" have been greatly enjoyed by a large number of people.
Perhaps Jacob should brush up on his reviewing skills?

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

 

[Jacob]

.....
Perhaps Jacob should brush up on his reviewing skills?....

Sorry Dave - I just say what I think, take it or leave it!
I think it's time you wrote another book - from scratch though, not just a compilation of old mag articles.

 

[J_SAMa]

Thanks for the miss indformation chaps.

Just for starters the first volume contains;

Tuning of bench planes.
Prep of Japanese and European chisels.
Through, Secret mitre and twisted dovetails.
Precision plane use for face sides and edges.
Through wedged tennons with mitre, as used by Alan Peters.
Mortise and tennons.
Workbenches with removable tool wells for easier clamping.
My Workshop.
Improving marking knives and gauges
Sharpening with water stones and the Ruler Trick.
Various scraping techniques, including sharpening machine planer blades in situ and use of back bevels.
Winding sticks.
Dovetail cutting on the bandsaw.
The stopped taper dovetail housing, made with router jigs.
Krenov style dowelling.
Some prize winning designs.
Making a wooden spokeshave with Hock blade.

I know that these "bits and bobs" have been greatly enjoyed by a large number of people.
Perhaps Jacob should brush up on his reviewing skills?

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

Hi David,

Is this meant by "first volume"?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Charleswo ... arlesworth
The table of contents in the Amazon preview isn't quite the same as the one you listed, therefore the question.

Sam

 

[G S Haydon]

Hello J_Sama.

You are spoiled for choice. I have not had the chance to read one of the books from the modern age. A Schwarz workbench book :lol: .
Apart from that one mine are between 1902 > 1970. The most interesting one so far has been a recent purchase. "The Practical Woodworker" by Bernard E Jones. The first volume is all about the tools. Sharpening (saws, chisels, planes etc), use of tools and joints. The other volumes offer a very wide range of projects.

Having not read any of the books your looking at all I could recommend is to look at some of their free content, the projects that they have made and see what attracts you most.

Hi Jacob,

Sounds like you have been fortunate enough to read both the PS and DC books. I can see your not a fan of DC, so what were the 3 top highlights from the PS book.

 

[David C]

Sam,

When I click on that link I get volume one.

It seems to have very good reviews.

Best wishes,
David

Jacob,

I will leave it, thank you. There is nothing much old about those articles.

 

[J_SAMa]

Really, the only thing holding me back from buying the Sellers book is its price... Still can't justify to myself 30 GBP being spend on a book (although from the free content I can see it's quite good).

 

[Jacob]

Really, the only thing holding me back from buying the Sellers book is its price... Still can't justify to myself 30 GBP being spend on a book (although from the free content I can see it's quite good).

Less than a years worth of magazines but 10 times the value. Get it from the library if you aren't sure.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

How long does it take to ruin £30's worth of material? How easy is it to spend £30 unneccessarily on tools? How quickly can you ruin several hours work? ...Put things into perspective!

 

[Jacob]

.......
Hi Jacob,

Sounds like you have been fortunate enough to read both the PS and DC books. I can see your not a fan of DC, so what were the 3 top highlights from the PS book.

I liked the first projects - cutting board, spoons etc, as he gets the beginner straight into non rectangular shaping wood and issues such as grain*. That's very radically different from the majority of books. Shaping is what it's all about even if the desired shape is flat and rectangular - beginners sometimes seem to imagine that it's a question of buying components (PAR, sheet, etc) and joining them together.
I like his ruthless independence - quite happy to go against the grain over a lot of issues which bother modern woodworkers such as sharpening. I've just noticed that he's got a version of my honing jig on page 213!
I like the absence of product placement - no American novelty tools in sight and a lot of old not very special ones.
Generally practical advice on achievable projects all round.
His designs are a bit dull but thats OK for starter projects.

NB I'm not a fan of anybody, except "anon" - the old chaps who made the bulk of our vast heritage of wooden artefacts, mostly un-named and unrecognised even in their own time.

*PS grain is of course the big one - it bothers woodworkers everywhere! Sellers gets you confronting it from day one.

 

[G S Haydon]

Thanks Jacob,

Does PS offer and advanced option?

 

[J_SAMa]

I like his ruthless independence - quite happy to go against the grain over a lot of issues which bother modern woodworkers such as sharpening.

Pun intended? :wink: 8)

While we are on the topic of shaping wood into non-straight/square objects, what should I buy as a first spokeshave? Flat, round, concave, and there are also the woodies, or "low angle" (which is synonymous to versatility in bench planes) as named by Veritas.
And of course, the never-ending question of vintage vs new...

Sam

 

[longinthetooth]

To endorse Jacob's view, perhaps the 2 essentials of wood WORK are a consciousness of grain and a technique of sharpening.

In addition, an essential of woodwork DESIGN is some knowledge of how wood both performs structurally, and BEHAVES (as its moisture content & the humidity around it changes).

Bukes - haven't a clue. Library good (cull what you need, not what people throw at you).

 

[Jacob]

I like his ruthless independence - quite happy to go against the grain over a lot of issues which bother modern woodworkers such as sharpening.

Pun intended? :wink: 8)

While we are on the topic of shaping wood into non-straight/square objects, what should I buy as a first spokeshave? Flat, round, concave, and there are also the woodies, or "low angle" (which is synonymous to versatility in bench planes) as named by Veritas.
And of course, the never-ending question of vintage vs new...

Sam

Pair of oldish Stanley 151s or Record 051s identical. All you need. Cheap and often have hardly been used. By all means fiddle about with alternatives but these are the essential basics.
NB "low angle" doesn't mean anything significant. Old woodies are cheap (nobody wants them!) and interesting to fiddle with but get 151s first.

PS what I've noticed with 151s and 051s is that if they haven't been used much the cap iron needs a quick dab of a countersink to keep it located on the bolt, otherwise they work themselves loose as you adjust them. I don't know how common this is.

 

[J_SAMa]

I like his ruthless independence - quite happy to go against the grain over a lot of issues which bother modern woodworkers such as sharpening.

Pun intended? :wink: 8)

While we are on the topic of shaping wood into non-straight/square objects, what should I buy as a first spokeshave? Flat, round, concave, and there are also the woodies, or "low angle" (which is synonymous to versatility in bench planes) as named by Veritas.
And of course, the never-ending question of vintage vs new...

Sam

Pair of oldish Stanley 151s or Record 051s identical. All you need. Cheap and often have hardly been used. By all means fiddle about with alternatives but these are the essential basics.
NB "low angle" doesn't mean anything significant. Old woodies are cheap (nobody wants them!) and interesting to fiddle with but get 151s first.

PS what I've noticed with 151s and 051s is that if they haven't been used much the cap iron needs a quick dab of a countersink to keep it located on the bolt, otherwise they work themselves loose as you adjust them. I don't know how common this is.

Wait, the only difference between 151 and 051 is the adjustment right?

I have some questions on spokeshave dating. I've made another thread.

And why's it that nobody wants the woodies? The adjustments are fiddly but it's not like we hadn't dealt with it for hundreds of years...

Sam

 

[G S Haydon]

"And why's it that nobody wants the woodies? The adjustments are fiddly but it's not like we hadn't dealt with it for hundreds of years..."

Potentially for most, the metal offerings of both planes and spoke shaves are quicker and more in tune with how we think these days. That's not to say the skills needed to operate wooden versions is that hard. Using planes as an example I think we all think more along the lines of dialing in using adjusters rather than striking and tapping. Buy a woodie and give it a try. What's the worse that can happen..................

 

[speeder1987]

The essential woodworker by Robert Wearing is the best book I've read, it helped improve the quality of my work no end. Haven't read any of the others though.

 

[xy mosian]

And why's it that nobody wants the woodies? The adjustments are fiddly but it's not like we hadn't dealt with it for hundreds of years...

Sam

I like to use an old 'woody' spokeshave, but I have at least one which is a pain. This, in the one case I can think of, is because it has been used on the edge of quite a lot of material. The wear on the front of the stock encourages the little beauty to bite off too much. I must get around to fettling it.
Most of the wooden spokeshave sharpening guides rely on the blade being flat across its width, I don't think any of mine are. I use a small diamond hone on the inside sliding across the edge and then turn it over and take off the wire with a flatish stone.
xy