Country Woodcraft: Then & Now, Drew Langsner

In 1978 Drew Langsner released "Country Woodcraft", sparking a movement, still growing today, of hand-tool woodworkers who work mostly with green wood. The book showed how to split wood from the forest and shape it into anything you might need, from spoons and bowls to hay rakes, milking stools, pine whisks and dining tables.

After more than 40 years, Drew has revised and expanded the long out-of-print book with what he has learned since. The original text is intact, with the old photos in black and white, and Drew has added text in a slightly different font explaining what he does differently after 40 years of daily work on his North Carolina farm. The book becomes a conversation between the younger Drew, happy to fell trees with an axe, and the older Drew, who now uses an electric chainsaw and band saw. New illustrations and colour photos show how he works now.

Significant additions:
Making your own sloyd knife from a piece of steel and a block of wood, including heat-treating and the handle
Different forms of shaving horses and complete plans for Drew's preferred Z-Mule
A huge section on spoon carving, from the first spoon to steam-bending blanks with Curtis Buchanan
An almost-as-large section on carving bowls
Workbenches for country woodcraft, with plans for a simple, strong table with a laminated plywood top

The book also shows how much Drew absorbed from peers and instructors at his Country Workshops school, including Jennie Alexander, John Brown, Dave Fisher and the Swedish craftsmen Wille and Jögge Sundqvist. If you want to start green woodworking, this book is an ideal place to begin.

Facts:
Author Drew Langsner
404 pages
Landscape format, 10.5" × 8.5", like the 1978 original
Matte coated paper, sewn and taped, thick boards covered with cotton cloth
Made in the USA
Language English