With the Grain, Christian Becksvoort (book)

A little knowledge about trees goes a long way toward improving your woodworking. You don't need a degree in dendrology to build a desk. But you do need intimate knowledge of how our raw material grows and, more importantly, how it responds to its environment after it has been cut and dried. This knowledge allows you to tame the wood into the shapes that you have envisioned, and ensures that your furniture will endure the seasons and age with grace.

With the Grain: A Craftsman's Guide to Understanding Wood by Christian Becksvoort, here in its third revised edition, is above all succinct, easy to understand and perfectly suited for the furniture-maker. As important as what is in its 160 pages is what is not: it's not a detailed analysis of cell growth, not a heap of tables and equations for figuring truss loads, and decidedly not a scientist's approach to the material.

Instead, it contains the facts you need to know at the lumberyard, in the woodlot and in the shop. It gives you enough science to understand how trees grow, explains the handful of formulas you have to know as a furniture-maker, and gives you a hearty dose of specific information about North American species. You'll learn to identify the trees around you from their silhouette, leaves and shoots, and how these species work in the shop.

The heart of the book is a detailed discussion of how wood reacts to its environment. You'll learn how to calculate and accommodate wood movement with confidence, and how to design casework, drawers, doors and moulding so they will move with the seasons without cracking. There's also a chapter on managing a small forest and the basics of cutting, stacking and drying your own lumber.

This 8-1/2" x 11" book is printed and bound in the United States on acid-free paper, sewn and hardbound with a green cotton cover. Published by Lost Art Press. The third revised edition adds 10 North American trees: tamarack, white spruce, Douglas fir, true poplar, black willow, pecan, American hornbeam, live oak, mulberry and red maple.