The Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft

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Summary: Rod Underhill, the very talented and busy writer
Review: It's amazing how many books Rod Underhill has written. Woodcarving! Internet business! Music! He seems to be today's version of Issac Asimov, tackling books on every known subject. All of his books, especially this one, are very well written. Maybe he should stop writing books with his brother Roy, and move out on his own.

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Summary: What??? Only two reviews???
Review: This is one of the finest things ever written! I sincerely hope that a copy of this book lives on the shelf of everyone who has a love for tools and wood and what happens when the two come together. Underhill gives us a look into the world of real hand tool woodworking - no electricity, please. "Start with an axe and a tree and make first one thing and then another until you have a house and everything in it." It can be (almost) that simple, but you have to restore a fractured culture first, and also learn to speak the language of trees and wood and steel. This book will accomplish both those aims.

Underhill, former Master Housewright at Colonial Williamsburg, did the amazing hat trick of turning something as offbeat and esoteric as pre-industrial woodworking into a highly successful career, and became a beloved personality and celebrity in the process. When you read his books, you'll know how he did it. Instantly, you get the sense that his deep affection for his trade, and the trades that support it, illuminates his life. He "sees" things, he doesn't just look. Like ripples in a stream allude to rocks below the surface, he looks at the bark of a tree and understands what lies within - twisted firewood or beautiful furniture? Dissecting an old piece of furniture or part of a house tells you about the tools that made it, and the men who used the tools, and the community they lived in, and what their lives were like. But all of this could be ponderous and self absorbed if it weren't infused front to back with an infectious sense of humor and a Tom Sawyer/Peter Pan view of the world, where if we're lucky we'll all get to run away and be pirates together.

Poetic, lyrical, sad, happy, this book has it all. A true classic from an amazingly talented person. Maybe the 60's hippy culture did ONE thing right - it gave us Roy Underhill, boy genius, and set him loose upon a (hopefully) grateful world. His books, and the first two particularly, make a perfect gift for that tired, world weary person in your life who is thinking that there is something missing in his or her work, that their long days are filled with meaningless seeking, and who might like to turn their hands to something slower, calmer, more beautiful, and decidedly valuable for a change.

Rating:
Summary: Rod Underhill, the very talented and busy writer
Review: This remarkable book by the even more remarkable Roy Underhill will inspire you to forget the breathing and ear protection apparatus and get out your hand tools! It has to be the singularily most inspiring woodworking book available. Enjoy the soft smells and quiet sounds of real craftmanship. The rest of the series is indispensible also. And if you enjoy this book you'll also love the book "Restoring Tuning & Using Classic Woodworking Tools" by Michael Dunbar. A MUST for any true craftsman at heart.

Rating:
Summary: If you only buy one book on the subject make it this!
Review: This remarkable book by the even more remarkable Roy Underhill will inspire you to forget the breathing and ear protection apparatus and get out your hand tools! It has to be the singularily most inspiring woodworking book available. Enjoy the soft smells and quiet sounds of real craftmanship. The rest of the series is indispensible also. And if you enjoy this book you'll also love the book "Restoring Tuning & Using Classic Woodworking Tools" by Michael Dunbar. A MUST for any true craftsman at heart.