Books....proof positive of dumbing down!

[jimi43]

As some will know...I love books and books on woodworking fascinate me.

I tend to aim at old books as I truly believe they contain all the information one needs in a deeper form...most books these days are aimed at the mass market...and are...as such...dumbed down to sell more copies.

Proof, if proof were needed came in the form of a fantastic "little" book I purchased at my local bootfair last weekend entitled simply "The Home Workshop - 1.150 Drawings, Photographs and Diagrams...Shows you how to do hundreds of home jobs yourself. This book will save you pounds...5 /-"

I touched on this excellent and strange volume over on the Hand Tools Forum and thought I would bring it to the attention of the "wider" audience of UKW...for it is worth it....

Just a brief summary if I may....

Now I would have thought that it would cover woodworking in a rather small and simple way...None of it!! (pictures are clickably supersizeable!)

My day starts upon my return from the office in the city....a quick trip to the workshop to whittle up a coffee table with my trusty spokeshave...remembering to remove ones jacket so as not to get shavings in my breast pocket.



Infuriating calls from SWIMBO "Darling...how often have I told you a jack plane must be rested on its SIDE on the bench"...were ignored as I worked away to finish before dinner....

For those of you interested in my workbench...here is one I knocked up earlier....



Note the simplicity of design....an evening's work after listening to **** Barton - Special Agent....

Now...to a more serious subject fellow readers....

How often have you lain awake at night in fear of being bombed or gassed....?

A troublesome thought....but never fear...over the next few chapters I will show you how to reinforce your parlour to prepare for an air raid...build a DIY Anderson shelter and seal you doors from the evils of gas attack...



Once the Luftwaffe have departed for the evening we shall decarbonise the car engine....and whittle up a few dovetail joints....



What amazes me is that all this is done by the "home" worker....with bombs falling around him...dressed in a business suit and without power tools!

Are books today dumber......HELL too right they are....

Here endeth the tongue-in-cheek lesson on precisely why I love old books.....

Thank you

Jim

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I have an old that takes you through lots of stuff like gas fitting and wireless repair, fascinating stuff.
One I have has plans for a snooker table.
Not like modern books, half about tools quarter techniques and quarter uninspiring projects.

Pete

 

[JoinerySolutions]

Jim, =D>

Love it. But then I share an interest in woodwoork related books, both old and new. Nice post.

Rob.

 

[AndyT]

Brilliant - I love these too. I've got the second book you quote from - but not the wartime edition with the air-raid prep - I'm jealous!

I'll see if I can pick out some good bits later - you might be able to guess where I found my avatar pic!

 

[ondablade]

Modern day dumbing down drives me nuts.

Having had my fill of OTT claims about woodworking equipment in the past few days can I add that the modern day habit of routinely making lying claims about stuff (and not just woodworking equipment) is even further up my hit list...

Maybe it's the times we live in, although in some ways that just provides an excuse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga

 

[Orcamesh]

Great post Jimi!

I too like old books (but have mostly new books) but I agree that a lot of the modern ones are for the mass market.

I've got "Planecraft" as I'm sure many others have in here which doesnt have too much hilarious stuff in it, but in fact is still very useful today if you use hand planes. My copy is dated 1954, but this was first published in 1934.

Then not related to woodwork, but "How Things Work" (Heron Books), not ancient as it is circa 1963, but details the A-Z of technical items from distillation to electrostatics to photographic lenses to helicopters! This too can still be useful today if you want to know how something works in a briefly described manner.

cheers
HM

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I dug mine out I have

The Complete Woodworker by Bernard E Jones it has a section on Areoplane Woodwork
A 4 volume edition of The Practical Woodworker by Bernard E Jones.

And The Handyman and Home Mechanic.

All very interesting and full of tips.

Pete

 

[mike-reid]

nice post, ill have to look out for some of these books in future now

 

[dickm]

Yes, got several of those books. My bench was made from exactly the design shown some 40 years ago and it's still as solid as the day it was made. Which isn't bad, considering the basic frame was made from timber thrown away by the contractors building Lancaster University.

 

[TEO]

Jolly good show,
jolly jolly good show!

I love it, thanks for sharing
Toodle-pip
T

 

[AndyT]

Ok here are a few pics from "Practical Home Woodworking Illustrated", Odhams, 1951.

The amateur does not need much space, but he does need to be dressed properly:

Proper turnups come in handy for catching the shavings:

This fellow's been confined to the garage for wearing a wooly pully instead of a proper weskit, but at least his shoes are shiny:

But, humour aside, the projects can soon get quite ambitious. Ignore the period telephone etc and I think this is quite a tasteful piece of furniture:

- in fact it's quite similar to one we bought from a shop for quite a lot of cash.

And for hand tool techniques, such books often cover plenty of detail that you need to know.

 

[mike-reid]

I can hear the narrators voices from Harry Enfield and Chums,''mr Chubnewarner'' when ever i read this topic.

I have spotted some carpentry and joinery construction manuals, vol 1-2-3 for a quid each in a local shop. will have to nab 'em at some point and have a wee look.

those shoes are shockling shiney!!

 

[jimi43]

Yeh...me too!....

I have been reading more of mine...I note that, even though he keeps his suit trousers on he does take off his jacket, waistcoat and rolls his sleeves up when he is concreting the driveway!!!



Jim

 

[Racers]

Hi,


I remember all the navies in 3 piece suits when digging up the road.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

Hi,


I remember all the navies in 3 piece suits when digging up the road.

Pete

- well, they didn't want the brickies saying they were scruffy:

 

[ByronBlack]

I'm confused with the humour in this thread. I thought everything wore a three-piece while wood-working?

Nice pics Jim, if you like old books, then you may like the new re-issue prints from http://www.lostartpress.com/ the books are really nice.

 

[BelgianPhil]

I just picked up my frirst workbench from Freecycle and it looks remarkably similar to the one in the first picture. It came from a school workshop and it shows.

Although i guess his doors weren't held shut by chewing gum.

 

[jimi43]

You won't be able to post pictures until you have posted a bit more my friend...

Here ya go:

It does look remarkably similar

Jim

 

[ProShop]

just found this thread, excellent =D> =D>

 

[custard]

This thread deserves another airing!