Woodworking Basics presents an approach to learning woodworking that has proven successful for hundreds of people who have taken the author's introductory course over the past 20 years. Peter Korn's method helps new woodworkers learn the right techniques from the beginning. More experienced woodworkers can use it to master the classic furniture-making skills key to fine craftsmanship. Korn includes two attractive and useful projects -- a small bench and a side table with a door and drawer -- providing you the opportunity to practice skills and develop confidence with tools.

This book provides a step-by-step introduction to all aspects of woodworking, including:

• Safe use of woodworking machinery
• Correct use of hand tools
• Milling a board four-square
• Cutting a mortise-and-tenon joint
• Cutting dovetails

About the author
Peter Korn is the Executive Director of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, which offers hands-on courses for novice, intermediate, and advanced woodworkers. He is also the author of Working With Wood (The Taunton Press, 1993), on which this revised edition is based, and The Woodworker's Guide to Hand Tools (The Taunton Press, 1998). He has more than 30 years of experience as a professional woodworker, and his award-winning furniture has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums.

Introduction

1. Wood
Physical Properties
Types of Wood
Buying Wood

2. Joinery
Coping with Wood Movement
Types of Joints

3. Introduction to Woodworking Machines
The Essential Tools
Shop Safety
The Table Saw
The Bandsaw
The Jointer
The Thickness Planer
The Drill Press
The Radial-Arm Saw
The Lathe
The Chopsaw
The Router
The Shaper
The Grinder
Sanders

4. Introduction to Hand Tools
The Workbench
Measuring Tools
Squares, Straightedges, and T-bevels
Marking Tools
Saws
Drills
Chisels
Mallets
Planes
Spokeshaves
Scrapers and Burnishers
Files and Rasps
Clamps
The Working Environment
Grinding and Sharpening

5. PROJECT 1: Milling a Board Four-Square
How to Mill Four-Square Stock

6. PROJECT 2: Cutting a Mortise and Tenon
Cutting a Mortise
Cutting a Tenon

7. PROJECT 3: Cutting Dovetails
Cutting Through Dovetails

8. PROJECT 4: Building a Small Bench
The Design Process
Making a Cutting List
Selecting the Lumber
Milling the Lumber
Cutting Half-Blind Dovetails
Cutting the Through-Wedged Mortise and Tenons
Edge Treatment
Gluing and Assembly
Applying the Finish

9. PROJECT 5: Building a Side Table
Building the Carcase
Building the Drawer
Building the Door
Completing the Table

Afterword

Index

This book evolved from the Basic Woodworking workshop that I began teaching in 1981 and still teach to this day. Class participants range from absolute beginners to experienced woodworkers who are competent with machinery but still need to master the hand skills so essential to fine craftsmanship. Like the course, this book presents indispensable information on wood characteristics, joinery, and tools, and then leads you through a series of projects that build upon one another sequentially. We begin by milling a piece of wood four-square and end with construction of a handsome side table that incorporates a drawer and a frame-and-panel door. These exercises have worked well for my students over the years. If you read this book and carefully work through the projects, you will establish a solid foundation in woodworking craftsmanship that will enable you to build beautiful furniture with confidence.

Although I have taught graduate and undergraduate furniture design at a university and still give courses for intermediate and advanced furniture makers, Basic Woodworking continues to be my favorite teaching experience. The excitement with which beginners approach the most mundane skills revitalizes my own sense of wonder. We begin with nothing more tangible than intent and end with a sensitive, sometimes beautiful object that will be an intimate part of daily life. What comes in between is craftsmanship.

To understand craftsmanship, we must ask not only "What has been made?" and "How has this been made?" but also "Who made this and why?" Craftsmanship is a relationship between the maker and the process of creation. It is not simply a set of skills one acquires, like the ability to read or drive a car. More than anything, craftsmanship is a matter of attitude: why we choose to devote time to such a demanding endeavor, why we choose to make a certain object of a certain appearance, and how we go about it.

In this context, craftsmanship is first and foremost an expression of the human spirit. I choose to work as a craftsman because the process answers a need of my spirit; the object I make is the physical expression of the interaction between spirit and matter. How is this different than the work of the artist?

The artist is not concerned with the utility of the created object; the craftsman is. I care that a chair be comfortable, sturdy, and durable, that it look inviting to sit in, that its presence in a room be neither overbearing nor withdrawn. This care is implicit in every step of making the chairin drawing up the plans, choosing the wood, maintaining my tools, milling the rough lumber to size, cutting the joinery, planing, scraping, sanding, and applying the finish.

Craftsmanship is both attitude and skills. This book offers a foundation in both. Individual character will determine the pace of your growth as a craftsman and the nature of your work. In return, the practice of craftsmanship will affect your character.

There is no one right way to do anything in woodworking. The right way is the way that works best for you, and what works best is a balance between the time something takes, the tools available, the pleasure you seek in the process, and the quality of result you are looking for. In my shop I prefer hand tools over machinery for joining and smoothing surfaces; I like the quiet, the control, and the communication between my hand and the work. Time is not as important to me as it is in a commercial shop. My personal concerns are quality and joy.

The methods and explanations offered in this book are understandings I have arrived at through 30 years of practice. I offer them not as the truth, but as one truth, as a starting point for your own journey into craftsmanship. As you continue learning, you may seek out teachers who will provide deeper insight into many areas of expertise, but always remember that the most valuable teacher you will encounter is yourself. Practice is the most essential component to mastering craftsmanship. Learn from your mistakes and successes, and, above all, learn from your hands.

Customer Reviews from Amazon

I bought this book as a supplement when I enrolled in an introductory woodworking course (at the recommendation of the tutor), I have since completed an intermediate woodworking course and this book has been an invaluable reference. Sure I knew in principle how to make a tenon and mortise joint- but this book give lots of helpful hints and practical guides/examples. It is very clearly written and easy to follow, with wonderful pictorial guides. If you only buy one woodworking book- this should be it!

Recently got back into woodworking after almost 25 years away from it and this was a good book to review the basics.

I have done small woodworking projects such as shelves but wanted to learn more so I could possibly complete larger projects. This book has been an invaluable tool. Gives you information on different types of wood and their qualities, gives good information on tools, how to use them, which ones to buy, etc. There are lots of pictures. I learn more visually than reading. This book has all the information you need to get started. It even has a small bench project to complete. I made the bench using the book. Turned out great.

This book is a must have for any novice or even experienced woodworker. I would highly recommend the book.

I need this book for a woodworking course that I am currently taking.This book arrived in good condition...and before it was available in the college bookstore.

First, I'd suggest you ignore the less than five star reviews; The authors don't seem to get the point.

This book is not about specific technique. It is about the thought process you go through in selecting and applying a technique. It is about approaching things from a self-conscious perspective of Craftsmanship in woodworking. That probably sounds like the mystical-babble that most practical craftsman hate, but I found myself in complete sync with the author's thought process in about the first four paragraphs of the introduction, and I am all about practicality.

As so many of the other reviewers have noted, I wish I had found this book years ago and started with it, but then I might not have understood it at that point.

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