Category Archives: Books
Make Your Own Ribbon Bookmark
Who doesn’t love a nice ribbon bookmark? Older bibliophiles will remember when many fine hardcover editions of literary classics came with a ribbon bookmark. I always loved them, though I’m afraid they aren’t as common as they used to be. … Continue reading
Building Peter Follansbee’s Book Stand (in Exotics)
Last Christmas I was given a few pieces of exotic wood, which have been sitting in my shop since then, waiting for me to make a special little project with them. After doing a lot of work with pine this … Continue reading
Building Bookcases for My Home Library. Or, 82 Dado Joints by Hand. With a Rolling Library Ladder!
Every few years, I remember that the whole reason I started woodworking was that I needed to build bookshelves for my family. Some things don’t change. When we moved into this house a year ago, we had big plans to … Continue reading
I Wrote a Book!
I spend a lot of time making three basic kinds of things: food, books, and woodwork. This blog was designed to showcase the last category, my woodworking. On the blog, I’ve tried to stay away from content that’s not somehow … Continue reading
Why Aren’t There More Novels about Woodworkers (or about Anyone in the Trades)?
I recently got an e-mail from a reader, Chris, asking if I knew of any good fiction or even poetry about woodworkers or woodworking. I hate to admit it, but even though this blog is The Literary Workshop, I was … Continue reading
Podcast Recommendation: Hand Tool Book Review
I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts. Yes, there are a lot of great podcasts out there, but the time I have available for listening is pretty limited, so I have to choose my podcasts with care. That said, … Continue reading
A Beginning Woodworker’s Toolkit
If you want to begin doing woodworking with hand tools, it’s hard to know where to begin. There are so many woodworking tools on the market. A beginner’s tool kit need not be large, and you can do good work … Continue reading
Ancient Crafts in the Modern World: Book Review
Cræft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts, by Alexander Langlands, Norton, 2017. $26.95 Amazon link You may have noticed that there’s a handicrafts revival going on. Every month there seems to be a new craft market … Continue reading
Four Decades on a Thumb: Old-Growth Page Holders
I was planing down a batch of thumb-ring page holders yesterday. That kind of repetitive work gives me time to reflect on the origins of the material I am using. In this case, I was making the page holders out … Continue reading
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