The following is excerpted from Christian Becksvoort’s “Shaker Inspiration.” Opinionated? Yes. Informative? Absolutely. Interesting and inspiring? You bet. Not too many woodworkers can claim five decades of business success, but Becksvoort is among them. In “Shaker Inspiration,” he shares not only his woodworking knowledge and some of his best professional techniques for producing top-quality work,…
Read moreThe following is excerpted from “James Krenov: Leave Fingerprints,” by Brendan Bernhardt Gaffney. After years of research and more than 150 interviews, Gaffney produced the first and definitive biography of Krenov, featuring historical documents, press clippings and hundreds of historical photographs. Gaffney traces Krenov’s life from his birth in a small village in far-flung Russia,…
Read moreThe following is excerpted from the fourth book in our series “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years,” which covers three different topics. 1) The Workshop, including the design and construction of workbenches, tool chests and wall cabinets. There’s also an entire section devoted to “appliances,”which are workshop accessories such as shooting boards. 2) Furniture…
Read moreBack in stock – just in time to take some to Handworks (whew!), we have Crucible Type 2 Dividers and 1:4 Dovetail Templates. (We also have 1:6/1:8 Dovetail Templates in stock…my preferred angle for no reason other than my wrist is well attuned to 1:6). – Fitz p.s. Hope to see you in Iowa next…
Read moreVesuvius erupted on this day in 79 C.E. To commemorate the event, here’s the introduction to Christopher Schwarz’s book on ancient workbenches: “Ingenious Mechanicks.” Why? The earliest workbench depiction that we yet know of is in a fresco in the House of the Vetti in Pompeii, which was buried in the volcano’s explosion and remained…
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