The Nature of Woodworking: The Quiet Pleasures of Crafting by Hand
By Rodney Frost
Experience the quiet, pure pleasure of wood shavings piling up around your feet as you learn to build almost anything you can imagine, even if you can't use the tools in your own toolbox. This charming, homespun book by a master of hand tools sets you on the road to working with saws, chisels, and augers--even spokeshaves and drawknives will become second nature--and encourages you to stop along the way to savor the feel, the touch, of handworking wood. Sharing the distilled wisdom of a lifetime in a workshop, the author starts with the basics: how to saw a little better than you can now, how to read wood and take advantage of what it tells you. Next, tackle some easy projects--a nail tray, a sawhorse, a simple clacker. Then, when you're ready, move on to a weathervane or a child's sleigh. Whatever you choose, you're sure to enjoy the satisfactions of both a book on the delights of hand tools and a job well done.
From Library Journal
Many books take the fun out of woodworking because they emphasize measurements to the 64th inch or require a shop full of expensive tools. Frost, an art teacher and craftsman, introduces readers to a variety of hand tools and shows how to complete a number of projects including boxes, a knife, a sleigh, a weather vane, and a chair by using them. His approach is somewhat unstructured, a little bit of this and that, but it works. It is somewhat like spending time with and learning from a knowledgeable friend or neighbor. The book's colorful illustrations are particularly appealing. This is a fun book and should be considered for general public library collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
The author lives in Orillia, Ontario, Canada.
Full of wisdom, and not just about woodworking
I've been poring over books about building stuff (cabinets, furniture, built-ins, etc) on and off for years now, but rarely buy any. You can buy full-book advertisements like the books from Black and Decker (which aren't bad, actually), but you kind of need to buy the tools too.
Same goes for all the other books: they generally assume you'll somehow magically acquire a shop full of tools (not to mention plenty of space to put your shop), as well as all the materials.
Mr. Frost is a wise old dude, who has put in a lot of years of living and knows a lot of good stuff. If you're afraid power tools like me--I've known way too many people over the years with fewer than average fingers due to them--then this is a great introduction.
But if you're interested in graphic design (Mr. Frost designed the Gilbey's Gin bottle long ago), this is an awesome book as well: throughout, the illustrations illustrate not just the projects but also how to do illustration and graphic design.
And if you just feel inadequate because your dad never showed you how to use a saw or gave you positive feedback when you were learning something, well, you should get therapy--but also get this book. Mr. Frost is a gentle and sensible teacher, and his common sense comments (on using a power jigsaw: "Very little skill is needed to operate this saw, except to *remember not* to put your other hand *under* the board to feel the blade when it's running!") are more sincere than condescending.
Watch out, though, because someone forgot to proof read the manuscript (or else left lots of boo-boos in); it doesn't matter, it's still a great book.
So turn off "Yankee Workshop" (anyone could make *anything* with a 20x40 workshop and a hundred thousand or so in tools). This book will take you from the simplest of projects (a pair of sawhorses) to more challenging projects without breaking the bank.
I hope Mr. Frost authors more books - they're real treasures!
I bought this book after buying his, "Whacky Toys, Whirligigs & Whatchamacallits" book. His writing style is truly clever and engaging, and his knowledge of the subjects he writes about is deep and beyond well rounded.
Even if you never actually pick up some tools and craft all the projects in this book, it's a great read, and Mr. Frost shares his wisdom on many topics, not just woodworking. It's philosophical without being ponderous or windy, and extremely practical. I can't praise this book enough, and consider myself blessed to have both of Mr. Frost's books. They fill in so many little gaps in my woodworking and tool knowledge (like the other reviewer, I have read tons of other woodworking books). This book has real "soul", and I urge anyone even remotely interested in this topic to buy this book ASAP! It's truly amazing what one can do with a few simple tools and a little bit of practical knowledge.
Crafty vs Crafting
This is very much an introductory book to craft woodworking. If you have any woodworking experience at all, you can skip this one. The book is full of bright pictures and not very well written text. It's very folksy but has nothing that is not in every general woodworking book you already own.
