The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft [Paperback]

Roy Underhill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1981

With The Woodwright's Companinon, Roy Underhill continues to demonstrate 'how to start with a tree and an axe and make one thing after another until you have a house and everything in it.' Underhill's latest book features chapters on helves and handles, saws, the search for the whetstone quarry, crow chasers and turkey calls, hurdles, whimmy diddles, snaplines and marking gauges, candle stands, planes, window sash, riven shingles, and pit sawing. The final chapter offers a glimpse of traditonal woodworking techniques still used by the Colonial Williamsburg housewrights. More than 260 photographs complement the text.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Underhill's second book features chapters on helves and handles, saws, the search for the whetstone quarry, crow chasers and turkey calls, hurdles, whimmy diddles, snaplines and marking gauges, candle stands, planes, window sashes, riven shingles, and pit sawing. The final chapter focuses on traditional woodworking techniques still used by the Colonial Williamsburg housewrights.

About the Author

The longtime master housewright at Colonial Williamsburg, Roy Underhill is the leading authority on old-time woodworking techniques. He created The Woodwright's Shop for public television in 1979. The series, produced by the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television, has aired nationally since 1981, with thirteen new programs introduced each year. Roy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a master's degree from Duke University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 203 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (October 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807840955
• ISBN-13: 978-0807840955
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #505,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating #2, November 2, 2008

By 

Dick Johnson (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft (Paperback)

The second of Underhill's Woodwright books has some more practical information than #1 (Woodwright's Shop). If you have never read any of the series (there are 6 now) you need to know that he is stingy when it comes to actually describing how to make the tools.

From a day-to-day standpoint, you will use very little of what is contained in here. This is more of an armchair woodworking book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St Roy, September 21, 2008

By 

Michael Flaim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft (Paperback)

The Woodwright's Companion is chop full of valuable information about traditional woodcraft. While some may skim the pages and see the sections about building hurdles or riving a roof, and feel the book is out of touch with today's woodcraft. That is far from the truth. Inside there are tons of information about saw sharpening, tree felling and using hand planes that any woodworker can use in today's woodcraft.

The section on tuning up and using modern and wooden hand planes is worth the price alone. There have been a lot woodworking books written about the emergence and use of hand planes within the past few years but Roy originally wrote that chapter 26 years ago when he wrote The Woodwright's Companion.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Companion, January 23, 2012

By 

Melolivia Marie - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft (Paperback)

This is an excellent book on woodcraft for anyone interested in how to do woodworking the old fashioned way without all the new electric tools. Roy Underhill knows what he is doing and explains everything in detail for the novice. He makes doing anything with wood a fun and enjoyable project while using primitive tools.