The Essential Woodworker

Lost Arts Press has just reissued Robert Wearing's The Essential Woodworker, a book that might be described as a recent classic. First published in 1988, it's a great overview of how to get stuff done in woodworking. It highlights basic hand operations in a straightforward way that will motivate you to rush into your shop to put the ideas into practice. Chapter by chapter the basic operations of hand tool usage is examined and explained in a straightforward way that is easy to follow and understand. Then the same treatment is given for important woodworking operations as found in casework such as different types of joinery and drawer making, and hardware installation.

This is really one of the most important books on woodworking from the latter quarter of the 20th century, concise and well written it teaches what you need to know without a lot of wasted effort.

This reissued version of the book re-set the entire book, incorporated corrections and revisions from Robert Wearing and retook many photos. With more than 530 hand-drawn illustrations.

Hardcover. 6" x 9". 256 pages.

"Wearing can help you organize everything you know (and don't yet know) about handwork into a framework that makes sense and is the baseline for every skill you will acquire in the future." -- Christopher Schwarz