Issue No. 10 - Published May 25, 1889

Greetings Workateers! This week, I'm going to can the personal reflection in favor of raving about this issue. Don't worry, there's still plenty of subtext and contemplative theoretical musings. It's just that the projects are too good this week for me to care. Subtlety be damned. If you find yourself trying to explain Work to someone who hasn't seen it yet, show them this issue. It's got everything. It's just what I needed.

Woodcarvers will delight to not one, but two articles featuring ornamental carving. Metal fiends (yours truly included) will salivate at the first installment of what looks to be an exhaustive series on smithing and its origins. Furniture and cabinet makers beware: there is a design for a screen secretary so tempting I'm pretty sure Joel and I are going to wind up in a race of some kind to see who can build one first. Check it out:

I've been flying the Work-is-more-than-the-sum-of-its-projects flag for so long it took an issue like this to get me to refocus. I'm inclined to believe that's okay. This blog is a work in progress. Speaking of such, if you happen to have any Work projects in progress, feel free to link to photos in the comments. It's high time workateers started showing off in this manner. If you haven't tried anything yet, get out there and make yourself a dividing plate for your lathe.

–TIM

ARTICLES FOUND IN THIS ISSUE:
STUDIES IN WOODCARVING • SMITHS' WORK
ARTISTIC FURNITURE (PART 2) • A HANDY CASKET FOR COIN COLLECTORS
LATHES AND TURNING APPLIANCES
NOTES AT THE ARCHITECTURAL AND BUILDING TRADES' EXHIBITION 1889 (CONTINUED)
OUR GUIDE TO GOOD THINGS
SHOP: A CORNER FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TALK IT

• Click to Download Vol.1 - No. 10 •

Disclaimer: Articles in Work: The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Mechanics describe materials and methods that would not be considered safe or advisable today. We are not responsible for the content of these magazines, and cannot take any responsibility for anyone attempting projects or procedures described therein.

The first issue of Work was published on March 23rd, 1889. The goal of this project is to release digital copies of the individual issues starting on the same date in 2012, effectively republishing the materials 123 years to the day from their original release.

The original printing was on thin, inexpensive paper. There are many cases of uneven inking and bleed-through from the page behind. Our copies of Work come from bound library volumes of these issues and are subject to unfavorable trimming, missing covers, etc. To minimize harm to these fragile volumes, we've undertaken the task of scanning the books ourselves. We do considerable post processing of the scans to make them clear but please bear with us if a margin is clipped too close, or a few words are unreadable. We would like to thank James Vasile and Karl Fogel for their help in supplying us with a book scanner and generally enabling this project to get off the ground.

You are welcome to download, print, and pretty much do what you want with the scan for your own personal purposes. Feel free to post a link or a copy on your blog or website. All we ask is a link back to the original project and this blog. We are not answering requests for commercial downloads or reprinting at this time.