A few customers have requested an excerpt from “The Anarchist’s Design Book” to help decide if it’s a book that would suit them.
So I’ve assembled this short pdf. It includes the table of contents, the preface, the introduction and about half of the chapter on making a sawbench. This will give you a taste of the writing style, the book’s core ideas and the level of instruction in the chapters.
You can download the pdf excerpt via this link:
— Christopher Schwarz
I have a bad feeling in my colon about the following idea. But as I’m listening to my spleen these days, let’s give it a try.
My sketchbook is filled with drawings – made in 45 seconds or less – of pieces of furniture that are at some early stage of development. Some have been revised a few times. Most are just raw thoughts.
But I’d like to use these sketches to encourage you to try your hand at a 45-second sketch.
So here’s the deal. I’ve posted this drawing in our forum here.
If you want to discuss the design, you have to post a 45-second sketch of a piece (in your own hand that shows some effort). Post a drawing and we can talk.
If I (or anyone else) wants to comment on your design, then we’ll have to also post a new drawing.
It could be fun. Or it could go nowhere. It’s up to you.
— Christopher Schwarz
For about the last year I’ve been filling my sketchbook with drawings of staked furniture – applying the idea to a variety of forms.
Some of these ideas made it into “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” such as the bed. Others were dead ends or needed some more noodling. During the last three months several of these designs have really started to take shape, including an ottoman with a curved top, a dropleaf table and a settee (shown above in its still-rough form).
These ideas have all developed using a series of sketches made in about 45 seconds. If you haven’t tried making brief and rough sketches of your ideas, I think it’s worth a try. It’s faster than making a cup of coffee.
Later this month I hope to show some of these sketches on our forum and encourage others to try applying the ideas of staked furniture to other furniture forms. In fact, some woodworkers are already at work on this; Cody Carse showed his staked bookcase sketches here.
— Christopher Schwarz
To prevent “The Anarchist’s Design Book” from rivaling “War and Peace” in word count, I hatcheted a lot photos and words during the editing process. Some of the photos that I removed, however, might be interesting to those considering building some of the projects.
The staked dining table and worktable are probably my two favorite projects in the book, and yet they are so unusual that I’m afraid people might dismiss them. So here are a few alternative views of these projects from the book that might give you a better feel for what they look like “in the round.”
Also, there’s a good shot of the dining table with a tablecloth – which is how the table would have been typically used for eating.
— Christopher Schwarz
Though it is painful, I try to read all of the reviews – good, bad and indifferent – of my work.
Reviews don’t really change what I write about in the future, but they do let me know if I am communicating my ideas. Sometimes what I think is obvious is not so obvious to a reader.
This week, I spotted two reviews of “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” which finally seems to be making its way into the hands of readers. You can check these out for yourself:
Greg Merritt of the blog “By My Own Hands” published this review.
And Norman Reid at “Wood News Online” published this one. In the interest of full disclosure, Wood News Online is published by Highland Woodworking, which carries our books. But Norm is nobody’s tool.
Note: Unlike many publishers, we do not send out free copies of our books to reviewers. We don’t ask for book reviews from magazines, blogs or anywhere else. Heck, we don’t even advertise our books. I know I’ve said all this before, but it bears repeating every now and then.
In other news concerning “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” we have had to go back to press for a second printing already. We corrected about a dozen typos (sorry about that) and two small factual errors (very sorry about those). I’ll put up an errata on those in the coming days. Right now, I have to make dinner, or Lucy will punish me.
— Christopher Schwarz