Old Ways of Working Wood: The Techniques and Tools of a Time Honored Craft
A revised edition of a classic guide to woodworking methods that have been refined and developed over thousands of years. It teaches and preserves techniques and historical information that were lost when modern woodworking technology, dedicated to mass production, displaced the craftsman. Every woodworking operation—chopping, splitting, using the workbench, sawing, hewing, boring, chiseling, shaping, planing,
A revised edition of a classic guide to woodworking methods that have been refined and developed over thousands of years. It teaches and preserves techniques and historical information that were lost when modern woodworking technology, dedicated to mass production, displaced the craftsman. Every woodworking operation—chopping, splitting, using the workbench, sawing, hewing, boring, chiseling, shaping, planing, turning—is described in detail. There is also information on the role of various tools in the evolution of wood products, the types and characteristics of wood, the preparation and maintenance of tools, collective tools of antique value, and instruction on the subtleties of the craft, from rabbeting to molding.
The professional woodworker, the hobbyist, the collector, the antiques dealer, and the craft enthusiast will discover valuable information in this definitive work. It is reference, guide, and history all in one volume.
This book contains over 200 line drawings by the author to illustrate age-old, yet fascinating, ways of working with wood. With chapters that describe the ways to fell a tree, methods for splitting wood, and more, along with a complete appendix and index, this is a great reference for anyone interested in the ways of wood working.
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A great resource If you are fascinated by old woodworking tools, this book is a must. A history and evolution of woodworking puts it all in perspective. The book is adequately illustrated (line drawings – no photos). The writer does a great job of explaining how to actually use some vintage tools – such as an adze, broadaxe, drawknife, etc. Surprisingly, some old technology has simply has not been improved upon, and this book will help the modern woodworker rediscover those forgotten secrets.
Woodworking before power tools Book does a good job of describing the use of a wide variety of hand tools for the cutting and shaping of wood for everything from fence posts to furniture. Diagrams could have been larger with less shading so that the details of the tools was clearer.
A book which I pick up over and over… The illustrations, which are drawn by Mr. Bealer, are not at the level of Eric Sloane, but there is a lot of information in the book for the tooliophile (is that a word?). It also seems that much of the information that Mr. Bealer presents in the book was gleaned by actually speaking to the old timers who practiced the crafts of old. Books like this do help to see to it that our history is not lost to technological progress and who knows, some of this information may be good to have in the future.