Style References

[Minnesota Steve]

I have that book my Tom Moser on Shaker furniture...   It's a really good book for ideas... there are measured drawings of a number of Shaker pieces, and it goes into some detail on design elements.

 

[Chestnut]

10 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Sorry OP for the change in direction. So Kev, whata ya think about a new category? It will probably get as much activity as the Digital Design or the CNC or more and everyone can benefit from it. 

This is why i'm updating the main post so that way we can be our usual selves and the information is still easy to find. So no worries and carry on.

[JohnG]

10 hours ago, K Cooper said:

So Kev, whata ya think about a new category?

In order to keep this thread a bit cleaner, I added a thread in the support section to suggest this. (LINK) If anyone is interested in adding a dedicated reference section, go show your support there and add thoughts about how it would be used.

29 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

This is why i'm updating the main post so that way we can be our usual selves and the information is still easy to find. So no worries and carry on.

Thanks for taking the time to maintain the thread, this is very helpful!

[Bmac]

Here's a favorite of mine, not well known but good:

"Building Fine Furniture From Solid Wood" by Ken Sadler

It is a little hard to find and it's a little dated. The designs are mainly Mid-Century, but I read this book earlier in my woodworking journey and it really teaches sound principles. I've possibly learned more from this book than all the others I've read, but I did not know a great deal when I read this so that very well could be the reason for that. Still, it's not a book for beginners, but rather for someone that wants to move up to the next level. There are a few nice projects (11 projects in total) in this book and he uses subtle curves in his pieces. It was this book that got me to start building chairs. He has a few simple chair designs that were perfect for someone with little or no experience in making chairs. I've ended up with a dining room full of his highback chairs. 

He uses a lot of bent lamination and gives great instruction on this from the technique to the forms. He goes over shop essentials, selecting hardwoods, solid shop jigs and covers lathe turning very well. A good addition to anyone's woodworking library in my humble opinion.

[Chestnut]

Updated with gallery i've found

purchased https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0442245513/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 will update once i read through it a bit.

[Tom King]

I bought all his books as soon as they were published.  I still go back, and read them about every 15 years.

Almost any time I'm matching smoothing plane texture, I think of him, and wish that he could see what I am doing.

[HC123]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to look for the Ken Sadler book. I'm always looking for new ways to challenge myself. 

[Bmac]

2 hours ago, HC123 said:

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to look for the Ken Sadler book. I'm always looking for new ways to challenge myself. 

If you find it I'd be interested in what you think. It is typically available on Amazon, also receives good reviews there.

[Bmac]

On 5/9/2019 at 10:45 AM, Chestnut said:

Updated with gallery i've found

purchased https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0442245513/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 will update once i read through it a bit.

I have this, didn't realize it when I looked at your link, I have the paperback and it doesn't have the same cover as the hardback. I enjoyed this book, less a how to but more an autobiography with a healthy dose of philosophy about his craft.

I'd be interested in what you think. The one I don't own of his is "The Impractical Cabinetmaker".

[Chestnut]

29 minutes ago, Bmac said:

I have this, didn't realize it when I looked at your link, I have the paperback and it doesn't have the same cover as the hardback. I enjoyed this book, less a how to but more an autobiography with a healthy dose of philosophy about his craft.

I'd be interested in what you think. The one I don't own of his is "The Impractical Cabinetmaker".

You guys are holding out on me..... It's hard to expand the reference when I buy stuff that you all already have . Philosophy isn't so bad.

Impractical Cabinetmaker is also covered under the alternate title the joy of cabinetmaking. I  bought it but i don't want to make cabinets. I realize I'm missing the point and i can get a lot of style cues form him and just not make it a cabinet. I guess these books are part of a trilogy.

Impratical Cabinet Make

Cabinetmakers Notebook

Fine art of cabinet making.

Might as well collect all 3.

[Chet]

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking

This is one of my all time favorites and I go back to it time and again, sometimes just to thumb through one of the three books that come in the box set.  Its not a "furniture style" set but more of a reference to all things woodworking.  Its old, I think it was first published in 1979 but to me its kind of where it all started.  Also the fact that it is dated shows you what you can do and how to do it with out all of the new fangled tools.  I think most of what is out there now on this book is used.

https://www.amazon.com/Tage-Teaches-Woodworking-Step-Step/dp/1561588261/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R8TS8D487DB7ME09CKJM

 

[Bmac]

2 hours ago, Chestnut said:

You guys are holding out on me..... It's hard to expand the reference when I buy stuff that you all already have . Philosophy isn't so bad.

Impractical Cabinetmaker is also covered under the alternate title the joy of cabinetmaking. I  bought it but i don't want to make cabinets. I realize I'm missing the point and i can get a lot of style cues form him and just not make it a cabinet. I guess these books are part of a trilogy.

Impratical Cabinet Make

Cabinetmakers Notebook

Fine art of cabinet making.

Might as well collect all 3.

You can't go wrong with that collection

[Tom King]

I don't know if this is a book anyone would be interested in, or not.  I saw one cheap for less than 10 bucks with free shipping, and saw that it was 494 pages, so I ordered it before I saw the other copies on there for over 100 dollars.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-England-Furniture-The-Colonial-Era-ExLibrary/273830345637?epid=1420900&hash=item3fc18f7ba5:g:V-QAAOSwJIxczB9l

I'm sure I bought at least ten more books tonight, all cheap, but do remember seeing another one of these for like 6 or 7 dollars.   I just didn't go back, and find it for you.

If you do searches different ways, it brings up different books, even though they may be on the same, broad subject.

Tonight, I was doing "colonial furniture book".   Last night, I did, "furniture measuring drawings book".  Pam says I will have to build another room for another stack of Barrister bookcases-also bought on ebay for my Colonial Virginia history books.

[Coop]

I ordered and received this today. Beautiful book. The details in the pics are phenomenal. The sad part is that there’s no way in hell that I can even think about trying to even come within miles of replicating his work. Thanks Nut! 

https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Maloof-Woodworker/dp/1568365098/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XP4MKFQBJGFG44XY0T9Q

[Byrdie]

27 minutes ago, K Cooper said:

The sad part is that there’s no way in hell that I can even think about trying to even come within miles of replicating his work. 

So don't try to replicate Maloof, just try to represent him.  I've got confidence in your skill.  I'm sure the more you try the closer you'll get and you're probably already closer to the look and feel than you think.

That's exactly what Maloof is, a feeling.  It's not a rigid style or set of steps in woodworking.  I watched a video of him working at the bandsaw during an interview he did.  He wasn't trying to match exactly what he'd done before.  He was working and shaping the wood until it had the right feel, until his eye found what it was looking for.

And maybe you're not meant to do Maloof.  You may love the way it looks, who couldn't.  But maybe you're meant to do Cooper.  That might just be what the next generation will be talking about!

[Coop]

You know Birdie, that’s exactly what Brock and Marc had to say and I heard but didn’t listen! Thanks bud! So from here on out, mine will a Coop Coopered Low Back Chair, an original! 

[Bmac]

5 hours ago, K Cooper said:

You know Birdie, that’s exactly what Brock and Marc had to say and I heard but didn’t listen! Thanks bud! So from here on out, mine will a Coop Coopered Low Back Chair, an original! 

Coop, that is a wonderful book, and very inspirational. I agree with Birdie, Maloof stuff is more a feeling, but it also is a completely different style than most woodworkers are used to attempting. I've found it's a lot like most of what we do, the more you do it the more natural it becomes, but none of us will match the original. 

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, K Cooper said:

I ordered and received this today. Beautiful book. The details in the pics are phenomenal. The sad part is that there’s no way in hell that I can even think about trying to even come within miles of replicating his work. Thanks Nut! 

https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Maloof-Woodworker/dp/1568365098/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XP4MKFQBJGFG44XY0T9Q

I received my copy of the book last night and did a flip through. It looks like there are a lot of good pictures. I need to dig in to read a bit. I was kind of hoping that it was going to be more pictures and less words....

[Coop]

We bought my wife a new Chevy Traverse last year and I washed and waxed it again this weekend. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the lines flowing together, not unlike Mr. Maloof’s lines In his chairs. Sometimes it just takes a palm to the forehead.

[Tom King]

My favorite book, that's come in so far, is this one.  It was published in 1931.  It came from the NYC Library in Manhatten, but no one had ever checked it out.  All the pieces of furniture in it are from a few museums, including the Met, and have pretty nice measured drawings.  About the first half of the book is all weird chairs, except for some nice Windsor arm chairs, but the other half is all furniture pieces.   

There are a few strange Flemish pieces, and some Louis IV, but many colonial American pieces, including some from the 17th Century that I had not seen the likes of before.  Being all museum pieces, there are some really nice ones, but still possible for building now.

I don't know if anyone else is interested in this sort of stuff, but it was well worth the 3.99, or whatever it was that I paid for it.  The listing says paperback, but it is a hardback that's never had the spine broken in even.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Masterpieces-of-Furniture-in-Photographs-and-Measured-Drawings-Verna-Cook-Salo/153264029117?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

[..Kev]

Apologies for missing this thread!  I've been on the road for work so, spending minimal time on the computer.

Thanks to Chet for sending me a PM!  We'll work something out as this is a good list of references!

[Bmac]

1 hour ago, Tom King said:

My favorite book, that's come in so far, is this one.  It was published in 1931.  It came from the NYC Library in Manhatten, but no one had ever checked it out.  All the pieces of furniture in it are from a few museums, including the Met, and have pretty nice measured drawings.  About the first half of the book is all weird chairs, except for some nice Windsor arm chairs, but the other half is all furniture pieces.   

There are a few strange Flemish pieces, and some Louis IV, but many colonial American pieces, including some from the 17th Century that I had not seen the likes of before.  Being all museum pieces, there are some really nice ones, but still possible for building now.

I don't know if anyone else is interested in this sort of stuff, but it was well worth the 3.99, or whatever it was that I paid for it.  The listing says paperback, but it is a hardback that's never had the spine broken in even.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Masterpieces-of-Furniture-in-Photographs-and-Measured-Drawings-Verna-Cook-Salo/153264029117?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

This looks interesting, ordered it. This is outside my knowledge base and it will be interesting to see some of these pieces.

Also ordered a few Moser books, interested in reading about him. 

Just received this book on Wharton Esherick, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810995751/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hopefully will get some feedback out on this when I have a chance to jump in.

 

[Chestnut]

1 hour ago, Tom King said:

My favorite book, that's come in so far, is this one.  It was published in 1931.  It came from the NYC Library in Manhatten, but no one had ever checked it out.  All the pieces of furniture in it are from a few museums, including the Met, and have pretty nice measured drawings.  About the first half of the book is all weird chairs, except for some nice Windsor arm chairs, but the other half is all furniture pieces.   

There are a few strange Flemish pieces, and some Louis IV, but many colonial American pieces, including some from the 17th Century that I had not seen the likes of before.  Being all museum pieces, there are some really nice ones, but still possible for building now.

I don't know if anyone else is interested in this sort of stuff, but it was well worth the 3.99, or whatever it was that I paid for it.  The listing says paperback, but it is a hardback that's never had the spine broken in even.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Masterpieces-of-Furniture-in-Photographs-and-Measured-Drawings-Verna-Cook-Salo/153264029117?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

I bought it and it's included in the reference post. Check back on the first post in this thread that's where the references will be posted.

18 minutes ago, Bmac said:

This looks interesting, ordered it. This is outside my knowledge base and it will be interesting to see some of these pieces.

Also ordered a few Moser books, interested in reading about him. 

Just received this book on Wharton Esherick, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810995751/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hopefully will get some feedback out on this when I have a chance to jump in.

 

That one has be bouncing around my suggested panel a bit. Let me know how it goes. The other one that i've been eyeing is this one https://www.amazon.com/Esherick-Maloof-Nakashima-Master-Artisans/dp/0764332023/ref=pd_sim_14_4/147-6585434-4636760?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0764332023&pd_rd_r=a9149273-77e3-11e9-a045-19daa5a404f5&pd_rd_w=7xvMT&pd_rd_wg=fAbXI&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=VZE6DQTRCDR7K1JQ3XHH&psc=1&refRID=VZE6DQTRCDR7K1JQ3XHH

It covers Esherick Maloof and Nakashima.

It's hard to buy these guys when they are $35+ each.....

[Bmac]

53 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

 

That one has be bouncing around my suggested panel a bit. Let me know how it goes. The other one that i've been eyeing is this one https://www.amazon.com/Esherick-Maloof-Nakashima-Master-Artisans/dp/0764332023/ref=pd_sim_14_4/147-6585434-4636760?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0764332023&pd_rd_r=a9149273-77e3-11e9-a045-19daa5a404f5&pd_rd_w=7xvMT&pd_rd_wg=fAbXI&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=VZE6DQTRCDR7K1JQ3XHH&psc=1&refRID=VZE6DQTRCDR7K1JQ3XHH

It covers Esherick Maloof and Nakashima.

It's hard to buy these guys when they are $35+ each.....

Yes, not getting those guys at a cheap rate.

[Chestnut]

25 minutes ago, Bmac said:

Yes, not getting those guys at a cheap rate.

This book caught my eye as i was flipping through the suggested books on ebay. I've also been finding that amazon is often cheaper after shipping and tax than most of what is offered on ebay. I"m sure you can get lucky with some ebay listings but I've had better sucess with amazon prices.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565233670/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1