Editing “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th-century Joinery” has been an eye-opening experience. Sure, I’ve followed Peter Follansbee’s blog for a long time, listened to him at Woodworking in America and even read John (now Jennie) Alexander’s landmark book ”Make a Chair from a Tree.”
But following the construction of a joint stool from felling the tree to mixing your own paint has presented a surprise at almost every turn.
Take, for example, drawboring. I’ve been drawboring joints for years – I think I did my first one in 1999. But I’ve always added glue and clamps to the equation if possible. Not Peter and Jennie. They use robust offsets between the bores and make pins that have a long taper and are quite beefier than I typically make.
What else is interesting is that the techniques used by Peter and Jennie differ slightly at many times. Peter shaves his pegs at the bench with a chisel. Jennie uses a drawknife in a shave horse.
In the end, what is most enlightening is how much trust they put in the joint itself. After reading their experiences during the last two decades, I’m going to change my own drawboring methods.
So even if you don’t ever think you’ll build a joint stool, the book is filled with interesting techniques from two people who have devoted their lives to unearthing the techniques used for building this classic furniture form. Heck, I am even going to mix my own paint now that I know how Peter and Jennie do it.
In case you are wondering, we are closing in on getting this book to the printer. The layout is, with the exception of the index, substantially complete. Unlike previous Lost Art Press books, “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree” is going to be printed in an oversized format – the page size is 9” x 12”. The book will be full color throughout and features illustrations from Eleanor Underhill.
And much like other Lost Art Press Books, it will be hardcover, casebound, Smythe sewn and printed in the United States. We don’t have a price or an exact release date yet. But as soon as we do, we’ll announce it here.
So sharpen up that hatchet. The oak trees in your neighborhood are going to be very afraid after you read this book.
— Christopher Schwarz
Oh come on, will you just let us preorder these things? We understand it isn’t ready to ship, but it seems we’ll all be satisfied.
Stop teasing.
Seriously, I’ve been waiting for Peter to go to print for like a million years.
Next, talk him into a book on the chests he makes, please?
I learned something. I thought the purpose of a drawbore pin was to avoid using glue.
Haven’t done any yet myself outside of monster versions for some garden benches several years back.
My appetite is wetted!.
Are you saying that they don’t use glue for the pins or for BOTH the mortise and tenon joint and the pins?
PS Don’t forget to get some copies pronto to your OS distributors when it is released.
no glue. none needed.
Wow! Mild mannered (glue using) reporter Christopher Schwarz just became the bearded 17th-century joinery crusader Peter Follansbee (aka SuperGluelessMan). Wait till I tell Lois about this.
Peter F would of course know better than me, but it seems to me that at least part of the equation has to be the riven air dried pins. Kiln dried wonky grained commercial dowling cut to length just isn’t the same material.
That’s really cool. Especially given the modern mantra of “You can never have too many clamps,” and the fact that most of the inventories of historical shops that I’ve heard about don’t actually have too many clamps.
As we say up in these here parts… that’s wicked pissa, Chris.
Having done timber framing I’m familiar with draw boring. Often, not always, joints are shouldered, which adds significantly to the strength of the joint under load. If you rely one hundred percent on just the face shoulder being in contact against the post, as in the stool with only one shoulder tight and not even a very snug mortice and tenon fit, what keeps the joint from pulling apart under stress (horizontally, in the direction of the rail fibers) when you draw bore? It is the area called the relish, the section of the tenon beyond the drilled hole. The historical record shows it to be quite adequate in the joint stool and similar applications.When you analyze it, there’s actually very little wood holding the joints together, just a bit of end grain.
Three cheers for a Lost Art Press book in color!
Fear not the oversized book. Those of us willing to buy books are willing to pay for the size necessary to hold the information.
There’s a republisher of old technical material who’s wedded to 5-1/2 x 8. It makes the information much harder to extract from his publications.
I am very much looking forward to this book. I have recently been practicing spindle turning using some recently downed oak trees. I can see making a few of these for around the house. Just the techniques sound interesting and working with green wood (when I am surrounded by an oak forest) would cut down on my lumber yard trips.
Since this is a woodworking site I have to say the word is “whet”, not “wet”. As you were.
Thanks for the correction.
I just put the top on my Roubo workbench yesterday. Good thing that I haven’t put the drawbore pins in it yet. I will have to read the book to learn this revision to the process. Hopefully it is defined in enough detail for this semi-beginner to understand and carry it out.
Kim,
I had the pleasure of reading the manuscript, and the entire book is excellent and easy to follow — you’ll have no trouble extrapolating from the pins in the joint stool to the pins in your bench.
Megan,
Thanks for the additional information on the book. I will look forward to ordering my copy of it as I have the other books from Chris.
Kim