3 Pieces of Woodworking Media That Messed Me Up

So, we’ve been having bi-monthly builds along with the fun group of woodworkers on our Discord server (jump in, the water is fine!). For May/June, we asked folks to first share three pieces of woodworking media they love. And then to build something (anything) to hold some form of media—books, magazines, a thumb drive with PDFs, whatever. As I sat down to share my three favorite pieces of woodworking media, I thought I could use it as an excuse to share them with the greater FW audience, too.

So here are two books and one video that I have set my work (or life) on a new course. I doubt they will have the same effect on you, but maybe you’ll be just as lucky as I was.

Make A Chair From A Tree by Jennie Alexander

There’s likely more written about Jennie Alexander’s Make A Chair From A Tree than is in the book itself. I bought this book probably 15 years ago when I had more grit than financial resources.  At its core, Alexander’s treatise on making a beautiful ladder-back chair with a minimal amount of tools was mind-blowing for me.

Solid construction techniques built on a foundation of Alexander’s deep understanding of the materials and processes were a siren song for me. I probably read Make A Chair From A Tree half a dozen times while being a stay-at-home dad with an infant. Eventually, I bought the companion DVD from Alexander’s website (also available as a download at Lost Art Press) and watched it over and over in between episodes of Pocoyo with my kid.

I never made that chair, though—a regret.

After coming to work at the magazine, Taunton Press paid for me to take a Boggs ladder-back class with David Douyard and Jeff Lefkowitz. It was amazing, but I’ll always feel a calling to make an honest Chair From A Tree.

My copy was one of the early pressings from Taunton, and the prices have gotten pretty high due to the collectors’ market. Thankfully, before Alexander’s death, Lost Art Press started working with her on an updated version—with (I’m sure) copious amounts of help from Larry Barrett and Peter Follansbee.

Ironically, I sold both the book and DVD to help fund a CNC machine.

The Anarchist’s Toolchest by Christopher Schwarz

I’m sure there is a word for the phenomenon where a life-altering event is tied to a seemingly trivial thing, but reading The Anarchist’s Toolchest is a marker in my life. There is no way of knowing whether the changes and emotions I was going through were driven by reading a woodworking book, or if, more likely, I was going through some stuff and I used this woodworking book as a coping mechanism.

At first glance, The Anarchist’s Toolchest appears to be a book about building a tool chest, but in reality, it’s a book about craftsmanship, ideals, and drawing a line in the sand. Yes, there are a lot of woodworking tips and tricks scattered throughout the build. I’m also sure most woodworkers would finish this book and be able to put the woodworking techniques they learned to immediate use in their shop, but I can’t remember a dang one about building tool chests.

What I do remember is ATC bringing on a seismic shift in how I think about the craft of woodworking and, more importantly, how I want to practice that craft. This shift extended past woodworking and triggered a desire for more authenticity in my life, and if I’m honest, made it harder to palate the fakeness of the industry I was working in—the music business. I’m not blaming Chris for making me hate my surroundings, but he didn’t help.

I still have this book. You can’t have my copy. Lost Art Press is weeks away from releasing a revised edition of The Anarchist’s Toolchest. I can’t guarantee what is in it, but if I know Chris (I do), it’s got all the same mojo that I found so important the first time.

Stew Mac’s Watch a Master Luthier Build a Guitar (from scratch)

Full disclosure, I’ve done writing and design work for Stew Mac as well as podcast mixing work for Michael Bashkin. Please trust me when I tell you that this video would be on my top three list if neither of them ever paid me one silver dime or even knew I existed.

It is a rare thing to be able to watch a masterpiece built from beginning to end. As I understand it, Stew Mac sent a video crew over to Michael Bashkin’s shop for months to document the building of a guitar, worth more than (probably) both of the cars in my household. It’s a very difficult task to document something like that without affecting the outcome of the piece. I should know because that’s what we did with our new video workshop, Cabinet on Stand with Tim Coleman (ha! promo’d you when you least expected it!).

First off, no, this is not strictly a woodworking video. If you’re the type of woodworker who is narrow-minded enough to snub woodworking insight from a guitar maker, move along. This is also NOT a how-to video; instead, it’s a glimpse into the working process of one of the world’s most respected luthiers at the top of his game.

Yes, most of the tools Michael uses are very familiar to woodworkers, but the processes… oh, the smart processes. This is the work of someone who’s obsessed with processes to not only help him chase perfection, but make a living doing it. Michael’s jigs and clever use of CNCs sent my build path on a whole new trajectory. Since this video came out I too have been chasing efficiencies with jigs and CNCs, and while some might look at it as a rabbit hole, for me it’s part of what I enjoy doing most in my shop, and only a fool would argue it isn’t worthwhile (still, some will).

I have watched this video at least five times. Even so, while I write this blog, having it open in a tab is very tempting. I LOVE this video, and I think you will too.