You can download a free pdf excerpt of our newest book, “Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown” by Christopher Williams to get a taste for the writing and layout. You don’t have to register or give us a skin sample or anything. Just click this link:
…and the pdf will arrive in your computer’s downloads folder. The excerpt contains the Preface by Nick Gibbs, which is probably the best explanation I’ve read of who John Brown was. It also contains a section of the book on building the chair so you can get a feel for the sort of instruction that Chris provides.
It was difficult to pick the parts of the book to excerpt because it covers so much ground and contains so many interesting voices. There’s the history of Wales, philosophy from John Brown, details on the tools he used, and stories of his fascinating life.
Also a gentle reminder that if you order the book before it ships in March 2020 then you will receive a complete download of the book at checkout. After the book ships, the pdf will cost $12.25 extra.
— Christopher Schwarz
Thank you! It is much appreciated.
Thank you Chris for your generosity. Will the Canadian Lee Valley be carrying this book? Knowing will help me decide if I should wait for them to get it in stock or order now and factor in the extra fees that come with ordering from the States.
I hope so. It’s their call, and I don’t know if they have placed a wholesale order or not.
I keep looking at photos of John Brown and thinking “Golly, we need a biopic of John Brown starring Anthony Hopkins”
Good idea! He was excellent in playing Burt Monro in “The World’s Fastest Indian”
Hope this doesn’t offend, but the only way to find out is to ask…Some small presses will let folks buying a sufficiently large number of volumes do so
Not sure what the question/comment is here. Sorry for my stupidity, but if you could rephrase it maybe I can give you an answer.
I’ve never really understood the fascination with these chairs. Now I get it. It’s not just about the chair, but a way of living the craft. Thanks for sharing Chris.
Interesting vise in a vise. I’ve seen Paul Sellers use a clamp-in-a-vise for workholding, but this looks pretty cool. I can see this being useful for more than just chairs, even light metalwork etc.
Here is a variation that leaves your main vise free:
https://www.benchcrafted.com/hivise
Not as economical, but it holds like Scrooge to a nickle.