Old B & W Books and SS

[Window Guy]

Very ........ I am another book lover, especially anything on Woodworking or Bicycling .

Steve

[Skip J.]

Thanks Steve! Are any of your ww'ing books oldddddd books???? If so, which ones?????

Next year about this time I may let this one go......

[Skip J.]

It's that time of year again, when SS takes over our lives...

I got out my stack of old American Woodworker mags that Dave Parkis shared with me, and started reading them again. I read the whole thing, cover to cover, including the adverts. This one is the Nov/Dec 1988 issue, I don't think I have read it before.....

The very first letter from readers says: "So much emphasis is placed on doing things with machines that many woodworkers have lost touch with the hand tool tradition. Magazines like yours would be doing a great service to our craft if you put more emphasis on using hand tools as an alternative to machines. Most of us have hand tools but few of us know how to use them. Let's see more articles on tuning up these tools and how to use them efficiently. Maybe an article on planing a board from rough sawn to square and smooth. I'd also like to see articles on using old tools like wooden planes and moulding planes. There must be other woodworkers out there who feel the way I do."

And of course, all the other letters from readers don't mention handtools at all. It's funny/ironic that the first article is on beginning carving, all done with handtools, mostly gouges. It's an excellent article and I believe I understand carving issues a little better now.

[Admiral]

American Woodworker is available online through Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Amer...kDAAAAMBAJ

[DJChurn]

Have not read every post but I have often thought this myself. Briefly, the books were better, much like some B&W movies, but you guys add color.

In my opinion the old FWW series that re-cap their early years in rich B&W are a steal at what they can be had for on Amazon as used books. Recently read an illustrated article on installing a morris-style adjuster in a coffin-plane. The article was not comprehensive but nonetheless provided food for thought.

A little tired of books/videos inspired solely on the accumulation od tools rather than skills.

[Maxwell]

That Feirer book was the bible for my four years of cabinetmaking apprenticeship.
Have a great end of the week.

[Skip J.]

Admiral said:

---

American Woodworker is available online through Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Amer...kDAAAAMBAJ

---

Thanks for the link! Yep, I've got that one with Norm on the cover.

I'd print off the pages to read tho, when I'm not working I want to read away from my desk...

[Skip J.]

DJChurn said:

---

Have not read every post but I have often thought this myself. Briefly, the books were better, much like some B&W movies, but you guys add color.

In my opinion the old FWW series that re-cap their early years in rich B&W are a steal at what they can be had for on Amazon as used books. Recently read an illustrated article on installing a morris-style adjuster in a coffin-plane. The article was not comprehensive but nonetheless provided food for thought.

A little tired of books/videos inspired solely on the accumulation od tools rather than skills.

---

Hi David, I know what you mean. Some of the older books get very descriptive with their text... and the B&W photos can be pretty good too.

Hopefully I'm done with accumulating tools and am now finally using them...

[Skip J.]

Maxwell said:

---

That Feirer book was the bible for my four years of cabinetmaking apprenticeship.
Have a great end of the week.

---

Thanks!

It is without a doubt the largest "repository" of descriptions of joints I have ever seen, young or old. Mostly a powertool book, but the handtool section is very good.

[DJChurn]

Amen.