Upcoming in Issue Three… Book Review by Vic Tesolin: “A Field Guide to Identifying Woods in American Antiques & Collectibles” by R. Bruce Hoadley
I’m a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction and as you can imagine, most of my non-fiction reading is about woodworking. Currently you’ll find me in the Japanese hand plane rabbit hole and I’m not sure if I can find my way back out.
Joshua asked me if I could write a review of R. Bruce Hoadley’s latest book A Field Guide to Identifying Woods in American Antiques and Collectibles when he and I were at the Fine Woodworking Live event this year. Writing this review was an absolute pleasure for me because I have read almost everything Hoadley has printed. Although, to be fair, I wasn’t sure that I was going to pick this one up…but I’m glad I did.
Many woodworkers don’t understand how wood works. This is an odd thing because, for me, understanding the medium I work with helps me to understand how to work with it. Things like grain direction, porosity and hardness help my come up with a plan of attack for my tools. Take hand planing as an example. White pine practically glistens when you use a low cutting angle, however, try that in hard maple and see what happens. The more you know about wood, the better woodworker you will become.
This book is aimed at the antique market including conservators, collectors and traders, so what did I think of it as a maker? You’ll have to read the full review to see exactly what I thought.
- Vic Tesolin, The Minimalist Woodworker
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s announcement of the next article upcoming in M&T Issue Three...