Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Amateur Furniture Construction
by Vernon M. Albers
I confess, the area around my desk is a mess. Part of it is simple sloppiness. Part of it is an overabundance of computer junk. Well, I haven't taken many steps to improve the former, but a couple weeks ago I did have a hankering to tackle the latter. "What I need," I told myself, "is a nice, multi-shelved rack that could sit by my desk and reduce the amount of floor and/or desk space required by my computer equipment." (Yes, I'm also wordy when talking to myself.) I also figured that I could save money and build it myself. I've got the basic carpentry tools and skills. All I needed, I thought, was to get a book from the library that might show me some tips for designing and building my own furniture. In my eagerness, I flagged four books from the library. The first one I got was this small volume. It didn't really help me, save that it might have reminded me that I'm haven't done that much carpentry. But it was interesting to page through it. The book was written in 1970, by a physics professor who did woodworking for a hobby. It was really like a peek into a different time. I'm used to simply worded, heavily illustrated, do-it-yourself manuals. In comparison, this book is simply illustrated and heavily worded. It reads like a college textbook. Mr. Albers is not interested in simply giving you the steps to build, say, a table. Rather he wants you to soak up all sorts of information from his years of experience, from how to sharpen your tools to what kinds of glue there are out there. It's not for the faint of heart.
'Tis pretty much just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
I confess, the area around my desk is a mess. Part of it is simple sloppiness. Part of it is an overabundance of computer junk. Well, I haven't taken many steps to improve the former, but a couple weeks ago I did have a hankering to tackle the latter. "What I need," I told myself, "is a nice, multi-shelved rack that could sit by my desk and reduce the amount of floor and/or desk space required by my computer equipment." (Yes, I'm also wordy when talking to myself.) I also figured that I could save money and build it myself. I've got the basic carpentry tools and skills. All I needed, I thought, was to get a book from the library that might show me some tips for designing and building my own furniture. In my eagerness, I flagged four books from the library. The first one I got was this small volume. It didn't really help me, save that it might have reminded me that I'm haven't done that much carpentry. But it was interesting to page through it. The book was written in 1970, by a physics professor who did woodworking for a hobby. It was really like a peek into a different time. I'm used to simply worded, heavily illustrated, do-it-yourself manuals. In comparison, this book is simply illustrated and heavily worded. It reads like a college textbook. Mr. Albers is not interested in simply giving you the steps to build, say, a table. Rather he wants you to soak up all sorts of information from his years of experience, from how to sharpen your tools to what kinds of glue there are out there. It's not for the faint of heart.
'Tis pretty much just waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
// posted by John @ 5:14 PM 
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