Customer Reviews

The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I GOT SEVERAL OF THE ROY UNDERHILL BOOKS JUST BECAUSE I ENJOY READING THE "OLD" WAY OF WOODWORKING. I DO INTEND TO APPLY SOME OF THE IDEAS, BUT THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME I WILL NEVER USE. I ENJOY THE WAY HE WRITES AND HIS HUMOR, JUST LIKE THE PBS SHOW I HAVE BEEN WATCHING SINCE I WAS A KID.