Country Woodcraft: Then & Now

by Drew Langsner

The original version of Country Woodcraft was published 42 years ago and inspired hand tool woodworkers to find a satisfying, sustainable and self-reliant way of life through handcraft. The book has long been out of print, but its author, Drew Langsner, has revised the book in a new Lost Arts Press edition.

Needless to say, much has happened in the intervening time. Drew and the rest of us are 42 years older, and perhaps less able to knock down a tree with youthful vigor. The world has grown more dependent upon technology. At the same time, the principles of self-reliance, self-expression and sustainability through craft – articulated through the slojd, green woodworking and maker movements – have also grown in popularity.

The original text is intact and the book’s old photos are in black and white. But Country Woodcraft: Then & Now has an additional 100 pages and has been updated throughout to reflect what Drew has learned – from his own woodworking experience, from the ideas of other of woodworking thinkers, and from the experiences of instructors and students at Drew’s Country Workshops school – over the years. The book has expanded sections on topics such as spoon carving, bowl carving and building shave horses and workbenches. The ethos of self-reliance is strong: you’ll learn how to make your own sloyd knife, with a discussion about shaping and heat-treating the steel. The exploration of spooncarving knives includes instruction for steam-bend blanks. The new, revised text is illustrated with color photos and new drawings.

The book’s comprehensiveness makes it a great gift for newbies and more experienced woodworkers alike. There are even delightful extras, like Drew’s ideas for making good use out of otherwise useless bits of wood, and his portfolio of his current art works.

Country Woodcraft: Then & Now is 10.5” wide and 8.5” tall and bound on the short side of the page (aka landscape binding) in tribute to the original 1978 edition, which was also landscape bound. The book is printed on #80 matte coated paper for superior image reproduction and wrapped by thick boards covered with cotton cloth, and the pages are sewn and taped for durability. Like all Lost Art Press books, Country Woodcraft: Then & Now is produced entirely in the United States.

Table of Contents

• Safety First!
• Understanding Then and Now
• Forward – Then
• Forward – Now
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction – Then
• Introduction – Now

Part I: THE FOUNDATION OF COUNTRY WOODCRAFT

• The Basic Tools
• Materials
• Felling
• The Woodshed
• Sawbucks

Part II: THE WORKSHOP

• Shaving Horses
• Clubs, Mauls and Mallets
• Frame Saws
• Tool Handles
• Wedges
• Workbenches
• A Spring-Pole Lathe

Part III: AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

• Hay Rakes
• Hay Forks
• Wheelbarrows
• Swiss Milking Stool
• A Shoulder Yoke
• Land Sleds
• Bull-Tongue Plow
• Spike-Tooth A-Harrow
• Field Drags
• Pokes

Part IV: HOUSEHOLD CRAFTS AND FURNISHINGS

• Brooms
• Bark Boxes – Louise Langsner
• White Oak Basketry – Louise Langsner
• Spreaders, Spoons and Ladles
• Half-Log Bowls
• Trestle Tables
• A Handy Bench
• Pine Whisks

Appendices

• Appendix 1. Mortise-and-Tenon Joinery
• Appendix 2. Oil Finishes
• Appendix 3. Riving Thirds
• Appendix 4. Axe Primer
• Appendix 5. Stumps with Legs
• Appendix 6. Uses of Usually Useless Wood
• Appendix 7. Annotated Bibliography
• Appendix 8. What I’m Doing Now

Pages: 404
Binding: Hard Cover
Publisher: Lost Art Press