The Table Maker: A Carpenter’s Guide to Life

The mindfulness of carpentry; sourcing and seasoning your timber; tongue and groove, lap and spleen; legs, aprons, stretchers and trestles; fox wedges and tenon joints: through his inimitable artistry, wit and individualism, Joel Bird passes on the skills of table making while also expressing the personal journey that accompanies the learning of these skills. Split into four parts – table beginnings, the table top, the table base and the table finishing – The Table Maker is part meditation and part guide book, and has within its pages the information needed to make a quality table of your own.

‘The tables I like are quiet. They sit patiently waiting for the day’s purpose to reveal itself. They offer themselves to a room, not attempting to grab attention or dominate, inconspicuous in their simplicity, saving their qualities for those who are interested. The table that I grew up with was one such example. A simple 5′ x 3′ pine table, four legs joined with mortise and tenon joints, a wide apron to support decent dimensions. It still sits as composed as ever in my parent’s dining room. It has participated in the raising of two generations that ate and grew and learned at its surface and there is no reason why it won’t participate in two more. Can an object such as this be described as having a soul?’

From the Publisher

From tree to table

Part meditation part guide book; through a journey from tree to table, The Table Maker explains how the philosophies and traditions of craft can help us reconnect to the world and understand a little more about what it means to be human.

The mindfulness in working with your hands

“The act of working with your hands to bring an object into existence is a special experience. The skills and techniques, the tools and materials involved are all interesting, but they do not tell the whole story.”

From the author of The Book of Shed

Joel Bird is an architect, artist, designer and shed builder, and has professionally designed and built small-scale timber sheds and extensions around South-East England for more than ten years.

A different kind of gift

The ideal Christmas gift for anyone who loves the outdoors or handiwork – this is a wonderful celebration of the simplicity of woodwork and design, and an inspirational meditation of the art of modern-day craft.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BLINK Publishing (20 Sept. 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1788700031
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788700030
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 2.54 x 25.4 cm