“Ebenezer,” continued John, ” I have come to ask you a question for my mother. I want her to buy me a chest of tools, and she says she will, if you think it is a good plan. And I knew you would think it was a good plan.”
“No,” said Ebenezer, “I don’t think any such thing.”
“Why not?” asked John, much surprised.
“Because boys can’t do anything with carpenter’s tools,” said Ebenezer.
“Why, yes,” said John, “I could make a great many things with them. Think how many things you can do with your tools.”
“What you need most,” said Ebenezer, “in making things is skill, not tools.”
“Skill!” repeated John, much surprised. “We could not do anything if we had ever so much skill, unless we had tools to work with.”
“That is possible,” said Ebenezer; “but still, if you have skill, you can do a great many things with very few tools, but without the skill you cannot do anything, if you have all the tools in the world. To give a chest of tools to a boy who does not know how to use them, is like giving a pair of spectacles and a telescope to a blind man.”
Jacob Abbot’s “Boy’s Own Workshop” is a fine little book about a boy named John Gay and his driving passion to build things from wood – everything from a workbench to a pond for his little brother, Benny. Though your 21st-century eyes might find the language stilted and the lessons a bit on the Victorian side, I urge you to give it a serious look. (Dude, it’s a free book.)
If you can look past the 1866-era mores, you will find that John Gay has the heart of a true craftsman. He wants to learn how to do things right – he is willing to sign on as an apprentice with a local carpenter. And he takes great pains to do his work neatly.
And while John Gay is someone we might all identify with, the real hero of the book is Ebenezer, the 18-year-old carpenter who guides John’s education as a woodworker. Despite his young age in the book, Ebenezer dispenses the kind of wisdom that 21st-century woodworkers need.
His patience for the craft rubs off on John. His maxims for workbench design are in line with mine, for the most part. Ebenezer doesn’t think John should build a tool chest – his reasons are interesting. And his lessons on layout are worth the price of the book (dude, it’s free).
If Google Books didn’t have such an excellent scan of this book, I’d would consider republishing it. But there is no need. Go and get this book for your computer or portable reader. It’s just the thing to read as the nights get colder.
Download “Boy’s Own Workshop” from Google Books.
— Christopher Schwarz
Chris – I dug this up and devoured it right after you started posting quotes from it. It is indeed superb. I probably have a predisposition for enjoying the Victorian language, as I also found some of the phrasing and descriptions in Joiner Etc beyond delightful. This book is more of the same. Perhaps it comes from my academic career in anthropology, but I loved the bizarre class system and mother figure who has a servant for every task but sitting in the shade (and I think even then she had a little help).
While not quite as thorough as Joiner in construction details, this book is great for gleaning hand tool wisdom – I especially enjoyed the section on building a brad awl from scratch. I feel anyone who enjoyed Joiner Etc would also love it, though it lacks your glorious build notes.
Maybe you will offer an appendix: building the pond-schooner, rocking box, and sewing notions till (complete with SketchUp models and cutlists).
Thanks for unearthing this for us!
What came to mind when I read the quote was that you can often make the tools you really need – if you have the skills to do so.
They even have a bit in the book where the uncle helps young sir build a brad awl from a large needle. Including tempering it.
As for printing the book, you can get a book printed for fairly in expensively through various print on demand services. I read it electronically on my Kindle, but had it printed anyway, just so I could have it in my library. Boy’s Own Workshop is a fantastic and fun read for hand tool workers.
Credit where Credit is due though, I did see this posted in Joel’s blog first:
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com//Merchant/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=a096adbeaf90e163c9dcb802aa1e05a3&Screen=NEXT&StoreCode=toolstore&nextpage=/extra/blogpage.html&BlogID=328&BG=1
Badger
I picked these books up right after you started quoting them. I have to say they are well worth the read.
If anything many of the projects in the books are good for little kids.
Thanks for the heads up Chris.
Work For Boys is also available for free download.
I started to read the free google version and decided it is worth owning a hard copy. It is now on my holiday wish list. http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Own-Workshop-Young-Carpenters/dp/1120731313
Thanks for making our community aware of the book.
Is the “Boy’s own workshop” equivalent to one of the books in the John Gay series of 4? Trying to figure out how they match up.
“Boy’s Own Workshop” contains the woodworking and carpentry parts from “John Gay; Or Work for Boys,” a four-volume series.
So if you want to read about woodworking, get “Boy’s Own Workshop.” If you want to also read about masonry, child rearing and animal husbandry, then get the four books.
“child rearing and animal husbandry,”
Truly a very different time.
Great recommendation. Really enjoying the book. Trying to get my 9 y.o. son as excited about it as I am, but he just says “whatever dad” and goes back to his Pokemon. Sigh…
As a new father, I really like the parts explaining to child reading that it is his moral duty to work for his parents until he is 21 years old. I will do my best to make sure my daughter reads this at an early age 🙂
Absolute Genius.