www.lostartpress.com

By Jennie Alexander & Peter Follansbee

When it comes to exploring the shadowy history of how 17th-century furniture was built, few people have been as dogged and persistent as Jennie Alexander and Peter Follansbee.

For more than two decades, this unlikely pair – an attorney in Baltimore and a joiner at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts – have pieced together how this early furniture was constructed using a handful of written sources, the tool marks on surviving examples and endless experimentation in their workshops.

The result of their labor is the new Lost Art Press book “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th-century Joinery.” This book starts in the woodlot, wedging open a piece of green oak, and it ends in the shop with mixing your own paint using pigment and linseed oil. It’s an almost-breathtaking journey because it covers aspects of the craft that most modern woodworkers would never consider. And yet Alexander and Follansbee cover every detail of construction with such clarity that even beginning woodworkers will have the confidence to build a joint stool, an iconic piece of furniture from the 17th century.

For the Epub version click here. This is the corrected second edition of the book – same words, photos and drawings – we have been offering since June 2011. For the hard copy of the book click here. But with the Kindle version you will be able to search the entire book, write electronic notes in the margins, change the font size and (of course) carry it with you anywhere on any Kindle or Kindle app.

There is no woodworking tool that's more satisfying, quick and precise to use as a handplane. Planes can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools.

Yet many woodworkers – both beginners and professionals – are intimidated by choosing the right tool, sharpening its cutter and putting it to use. And that's why Christopher Schwarz, the editor of Woodworking Magazine, wrote this book. "Handplane Essentials" contains everything you need to choose the right tool for your budget and project, take it out of the box, sharpen it and use it successfully.

This book is the 2010 follow-up to "Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use." It offers nine additional workbench plans, plus it delves deeper into the rules of bench building, new developments in workholding, knockdown workbench hardware and a section that details how you can improve any bench design. We also filmed a Workbench DVD with Lie-Nielsen.  Click here for details.

Why did I write another workbench book? Do you need both? Read on and I'll explain.