The Intelligent Hand, David Savage

The Intelligent Hand by David Savage is a peek into a woodworking life at a level most of us can barely imagine: the customers are wealthy and eccentric, the designs have to leap off the page and the craftsmanship has to be utterly flawless. A lot of the hard labor involves unexpected skills: listening, seeing, drawing, and practicing the expression "And that will cost 20,000 pounds." On the day Savage began the manuscript he received a cancer diagnosis with a grim prognosis, but he attacked the work with the fervor of a younger man.

The book is the story of a boy with a stammer who became one of the leading furniture designers in the U.K., working for clients all over the world, and of bankruptcy and how he built a new life from the debris. It is also a practical and iconoclastic guide to getting started in woodwork, with detailed recommendations on tools, sharpening, cutting dovetails and building a proper workbench, and a primer on design, from keeping a mental record of ideas to smudging ink drawings with spit to create shadows.

Most of all, it is a window into his workshop in Devon, as he designs and builds a desk and chair for his wife, Carol. Beginners will see how to get started and how far one can go, intermediate woodworkers will devour the sections on design, and professionals will find advice on running a good business, and sometimes how not to. Funny, sometimes tragic and helpful, and filled with beautiful photos and drawings.

304 pages in full color, 8-1/2" x 11", printed on #80 matte coated paper, sewn, with cloth-covered hard covers and a dust jacket. Printed in the United States by Lost Art Press.