Joiner And Cabinet Maker

by Anon, Chris Schwarz, and Joel Moskowitz

Of all the books we sell I think “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” is the single most important book available on hand tool usage. First published in 1839, this fictional tale follows Thomas, a boy of 13 or so, who is apprenticed to a rural woodworking shop that builds everything from built-ins to veneered mahogany casework. Unlike other books of the period, “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” focuses on how Thomas acquires the skills necessary to become a journeyman joiner. Thanks to this book, we can stop guessing at how some operations were traditionally performed, and read first-hand how joints were cut and casework was assembled.

Along with tons of information on gluing, sawing, running a hand tool shop, and using chisels and other tools Thomas is given step by step instruction on three projects: a Packing Box, a dovetailed Schoolbox and a Chest of Drawers.

Original copies of the book are extremely rare and Christopher Schwarz (editor of Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine) and I decided to reprint the book with a lot of added detail. We’ve reprinted “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker,” unabridged and unaltered. I have added footnotes on the original text to try to put the book into historical context and explain a little about a joiner’s life in 1839. Chris has built the three projects in the book and puts them into a modern context with complete construction drawings and cutting lists. Chris also discusses the hand-tool methods that have arisen since this book was originally published.

Overall I cannot imagine a better training course to help make you a better hand-tool woodworker. And it’s a real great read!

Download a preview of the text using the link below.

Hardbound, printed on quality acid-free paper and made in the United States.

Please indicate below if you want Joel to autograph your copy.

For those woodworkers who want even more detailed construction information, Chris has created free downloads that contain slideshows and detailed highly 3D construction drawings. Each narrated slideshow is a QuickTime movie (a .mov file) that walks you through the construction of the projects in “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker” – the Packing Box, the Schoolbox and the Chest of Drawers. The slideshows include color photos that were not included in the book (for space reasons). The slideshows are great for visual learners, they will give you a good overview of the whole process of building each project, and they help amplify the text in the book.

Below are links to complete SketchUp drawings for each of the projects. These drawings reflect how Chris built each project and should prove helpful to anyone who wants to become familiar with traditional construction or to those woodworkers who want to modify the existing drawings to suit their taste.

Pages: 364
Binding: HC
Publisher: Lost Art Press