Books to Have

BOOKSS~1The following list is what I think would form a good library for a hand tool woodworker.  I have quite a few more books than this but these are the ones I would not want to do without.

Encyclopedia of Furniture Making, Ernest Joyce, 1970

Get the unrevised edition from a used bookstore.  The new version is not very well done.  All they did to revise this classic was to change the order of the chapters and add some color pictures and in doing so they made it rather confusing to read

 

Modem Practical Joinery, George Ellis, Reprint of 1908 edition

Available from many catalogs or direct from Linden Publishing

 

The Practical Woodworker and The Complete Woodworker

Reprints from Ten Speed Press.  Two nice books from the turn of the century well worth having.

 

Adventures in Wood Finishing, George Frank, 1981

The Taunton Press .  Just a fun read.

 

Dictionary of Woodworking Tools, R.A. Salaman, 1975

Reprint available from The Astragal Press.  Covers just about every woodworking tool ever made or thought of, even a neat way to make a hat.

 

The Workbench Book, Scott Landis, 1987

The Taunton Press, worth every penny.

 

The Unknown Craftsman, Soetsu Yanagi, 1972

Kodansha International,  A sometimes hard to read book, but it should be on your shelf.

 

Welsh Stick Chairs, John Brown, 1990

The author’s attitude and approach to chairs makes this worth having.

 

The Making of Tools, Alexander G. Weygers, 1973

You will probably have to find this one at a used bookstore.  I have also heard that Ten Speed Press has a reprint.

 

Planecraft, Hand Planing by Modem Methods, C. W. Hampton and E. Clifford, 1934

Try Woodcraft Supply to find this one.  I believe they are the publishers of the reprints.

 

Keeping the Cutting Edge, Harold H. Payson, 1983

Woodenboat Publications, You need this book to learn how to sharpen saws.

 

The Woodwrights Eclectic Workshop, Roy Underhill, 1991

University of North Carolina Press.  I like all of Roy Underhill’s books, but this one is worth having if for nothing more than the introduction.

 

All of Jim Krenov’s books