The Woodwright's Guide: Working Wood with Wedge and Edge [pdf]

For thirty years, Roy Underhill's PBS program, "The Woodwright's Shop," has brought classic hand-tool craftsmanship to viewers across America. Now, in his seventh book, Roy shows how to engage the mysteries of the splitting wedge and the cutting edge to shape wood from forest to furniture.

Beginning with the standing tree, each chapter of The Woodwright's Guide explores one of nine trades of woodcraft: faller, countryman and cleaver, hewer, log-builder, sawyer, carpenter, joiner, turner, and cabinetmaker. Each trade brings new tools and techniques each trade uses a different character of material but all are united by the grain in the wood and the enduring mastery of muscle and steel.

Hundreds of detailed drawings by Eleanor Underhill (Roy's daughter) illustrate the hand tools and processes for shaping and joining wood. A special concluding section contains detailed plans for making your own foot-powered lathes, workbenches, shaving horses, and taps and dies for wooden screws.

The Woodwright's Guide is informed by a lifetime of experience and study. A former master craftsman at Colonial Williamsburg, Roy has inspired millions to "just say no to power tools" through his continuing work as a historian, craftsman, activist, and teacher. In The Woodwright's Guide, he takes readers on a personal journey through a legacy of off-the-grid, self-reliant craftsmanship. It's a toolbox filled with insight and technique as well as wisdom and confidence for the artisan in all of us.



Summary: Roy Has Done It Again!
Rating: 5

Roy Underhill has done it again. Another great book expressing his depth of knowledge, love and respect for early woodworking. This book should be in every woodworkers libary.


Summary: Another great book
Rating: 5

This is another excellent book Roy has written. The plan for the Roubo workbench in the back is worth the price alone. It is a quick, enjoyable read where you can easily tab back to any page to review a certain woodworking technique. Excellent reference book.


Summary: great book
Rating: 5

Roy Underhill is very entertaining both on tv and in print and this book in no exception. Highly recommended.


Summary: Best book he has written yet I think......
Rating: 5

I have been watching The Woodwright Shop on TV for 30 years. I have purchased all of Roy's books as they came out. At first I thought this was just a selective reprint of the others but now that I have read it I truly believe this is his best one yet. It covers the topics of the other books and pulls out the true "liquor" of knowledge of the other books. Certainly it is because of this person I have been doing blacksmithing and traditional woodworking for decades now. He is a wonderful and steadfast inspiration.


Summary: Fascinating #6
Rating: 5

This, the sixth in Underhill's Woodwright series, is more tool and process oriented than the others. I really like this one for its practical teachings.

I do have an axe to grind, however. The Product Description above says "A special concluding section contains detailed plans for making your own foot-powered lathes, ...." Aah, I thought, I'll finally get plans for building that treadle lathe Underhill has been teasing me with for five books. If you, like me, think "detailed plans" will give you true shop drawings, lists of materials, and instructions that, if you follow them will give you a working lathe at the end then you, like me, will be very disappointed. He does give you more than in the past, but be prepared for much head scratching and trial and error. If I do go ahead and try to build one, I'm going to make sure I have at least three of everything on hand.

Over all, this is perhaps his best book yet. I just don't understand why he's so stingy with his plans.