The Woodwright's Apprentice

Book excerpt: For more than twenty years, Roy Underhill has taught the techniques of traditional woodcraft with muscle-powered tools. With his four previous books and his popular PBS series, The Woodwright's Shop, now in its sixteenth season, Roy has inspired millions to take up chisel and plane. The master woodwright returns here with instructions for handcrafting an appealing selection of projects from the American woodworking tradition. The Woodwright's Apprentice begins with directions for building a workbench. Each successive project builds new skills for the apprentice woodworker--from frame construction to dovetailing, turning, steam-bending, and carving. Among the twenty items featured are an African chair, a telescoping music stand, a walking-stick chair, a fireplace bellows, and a revolving Windsor chair. Designed both for woodworking novices and for more seasoned woodworkers looking for enjoyable projects, the book includes step-by-step directions, complete with easy-to-follow photographs and measured drawings, and an illustrated glossary of tools and terms. All of the pieces presented here are based on projects featured in past and upcoming seasons of The Woodwright's Shop television show.