Joints: A Woodworker's Guide takes one of the most important and challenging aspects of woodworking and demystifies the all-important subject of choosing, designing and cutting woodworking joints. Strong, appropriate and well-fitting joints are one of the hallmarks of the skilled woodworker. Making them properly and accurately calls for good planning and marking out as well as a good degree of care in the cutting, fitting and final assembly. It is essential to approach making joints methodically, this book provides all the necessary information to ensure success. Aimed at both those new to woodworking as well as the experienced woodworker. Joints: A Woodworker's Guide is broken down into three main sections: planning and preparation, basic techniques of joint making and individual joints in detail. Areas covered include: planning the work and preparing the wood; measuring and marking; cutting and fitting, glues and assembly.

In Build Better Boxes, Matt Kenney distills and shares what he's learned in 20 years of box making using step-by-step photos that walk you through the process of creating 10 beautiful designs from scratch. You'll begin with a few simple, but elegant painted boxes that introduce fundamental concepts like cutting miter joints and fitting a lid. Then you'll progress through several stunning projects that include tea cabinets and jewelry boxes-designs that show just how much you can do with a box. Along the way, you'll learn smart techniques for joinery like rabbets and dovetails, how to create box sides with grain that flows seamlessly around all four corners, to make your own veneers, and to apply finishes like milk paint and shellac. Throughout all of the projects, Kenney emphasizes good design and demonstrates several unique design elements that he's developed, like pulls wrapped in thread, fabric lined bottoms, and grouping individual boxes to create a single piece of furniture. Build Better Boxes, is more than a set of instructions for 10 boxes: In the course of building these designs, you will gain a thorough understanding of key woodworking and design concepts-like wood movement, grain selection, and proportions-that will help you design and make your own boxes.

Mysterious ghost stations forgotten beneath the cities of Paris and London; desolate grand rail hubs in the Pyrenean mountains; metro stations in China that terminate in a wasteland; Abandoned Train Stations looks at some of the thousands of disused station buildings, platforms, lines, tunnels, and rail yards left behind by modernity. Organised by continent, this book takes the reader to every corner of the globe. Explore Canfranc International Railway Station, once a busy mountain hub of international travel between France and Spain; see the eerily empty platform at Kings Cross Thameslink, London, today a service tunnel following the station's closure in the early 2000s; examine the grandiose Michigan Central Train Station in Detroit, an historic Amtrak rail depot, and once the tallest rail station in the world; marvel at the dusty, overgrown shell of Abkhazia's once beautiful railway station in Psyrtskha, a physical legacy of the former Soviet era in the Caucasus; see the disused Tiwanaku train station, situated almost 4,000 metres above sea level in the Bolivian Andes; or learn about the fascinating Istvantelek Train Yard, in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, better known as the 'Red Star train graveyard' because of its many Soviet-era engine wrecks. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, Abandoned Train Stations provides a fascinating pictorial journey through the little-known remnants of rail transport infrastructure from every part of the world.

For woodturners at an advanced level, this book offers skills, projects, and inspiration. The 10 turning techniques here allow experts to expand their skills and also learn tips that make for better projects. Step-by-step instructions and a wealth of appealing and informative photographs give precise guidance for mastering each technique. Next, 18 projects are presented with complete photo instructions. Designed by the author and five expert colleagues, these projects also offer useful tool-fabrication and chucking solutions, and include contemporary as well as traditional and artistic turned objects. A gallery section features objects designed by today's top woodturners, and provides additional inspiration for the technical and design aspects of your own projects.

This title offers 25 step-by-step hand-crafted projects. It shows you how to master decorative wood techniques including carving, pyrography, marquetry and fretwork, as well as basic automata and construction. It offers 25 stunning projects that include a tomato box chest, a carved maple clock with carved numerals, a rodeo toy, mirror frame and a contemporary shelf. It offers step-by-step instructions for techniques and ideas with over 300 photographs. Simple materials and equipment are used to create a diverse range of wooden objects. It introduces an inspiring variety of contemporary work by leading craftspeople. Essential information for selecting and preparing wood is included, with details of the main hard- and softwoods, the tools and the basic techniques. For anyone who enjoys creative crafts, working with wood is a perfect medium for both practical and artistic purposes. This book introduces a variety of decorative wood techniques, that are used in 25 appealing projects, which range from a simple keepsake card in balsa wood requiring the minimum of equipment, a harlequin book end, and a sturdy five-piece bench constructed in hardwood parana pine. Other imaginative projects use found or dismantled wooden objects, such as the Mirror Frame with stair spindles or the Lamp Base made from orange boxes. Every project is designed to reveal the characteristic grain, natural shade and texture of the individual wood. Although to make a number of these projects you will need a drill and a jigsaw, many do not require elaborate power tools. Don't be put off by sophisticated techniques, but connect with this natural resource at the most basic level, enjoying its classic, natural simplicity.

Learn the secrets to a collection of puzzling projects, designed to mystify and intrigue. There are 12 seemingly impossible woodturned puzzles to make - all with incredibly simple solutions, once you know how. Using old techniques in a new and fascinating way, David Springett shows how to create these tactile and entertaining works of art. With clear step-by-step instructions, photographs and illustrations to follow, plus a wealth of information and guidance on tools, materials and techniques, you'll be mastering the tricks in no time.

Analysis of a group of images of kingship and queenship from Anglo-Saxon England explores the implications of their focus on books, authorship and learning. Between the reign of Alfred in the late ninth century and the arrival of the Normans in 1066, a unique set of images of kingship and queenship was developed in Anglo-Saxon England, images of leadership that centred on books, authorship and learning rather than thrones, sword and sceptres. Focusing on the cultural and historical contexts in which these images were produced, this book explores the reasons for their development, and their meaning and functionwithin both England and early medieval Europe. It explains how and why they differ from their Byzantine and Continental counterparts, and what they reveal about Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards history and gender, as well as the qualities that were thought to constitute a good ruler. It is argued that this series of portraits, never before studied as a corpus, creates a visual genealogy equivalent to the textual genealogies and regnal lists that are so mucha feature of late Anglo-Saxon culture. As such they are an important part of the way in which the kings and queens of early medieval England created both their history and their kingdom. CATHERINE E. KARKOV is Professorof Art History at the University of Leeds.

Delight your children and grandchildren by making these fabulous vintage toys. Author Chris Reid takes you through the making process, giving clear advice and helpful tips to show how to make toys from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. There are 15 projects to choose from, including diabolo, yo-yo, skipping rope, spinning tops, quoits and skittles and more complicated toys such as a kaleidoscope, walking cow, dog and pig. This book includes basic techniques, such as making jigs and turning spheres and cylinders, as well as advice on wood and finishes that are safe for children's toys.

This book features seven unique hollow-form projects, presented in order of difficulty. It includes all the practical knowledge needed to get started; comprehensive chapters on tools, equipment and understanding wood. Form templates are included for people to scan, cut out and use on their own projects. For thousands of years mankind has created hollow forms to store either everyday objects or things of value - but functional objects can also be beautiful in their own right. This comprehensive book will guide the beginner through everything they need to know to get started with turning their own hollow forms. You will learn how to work with different types of wood, which tools to use and how to apply basic techniques with confidence. You can learn the basic principles of form, proportion and design and how to apply this knowledge to your own work. Seven striking projects are set out in a clear step-by-step format and progress in difficulty.

In 1934 Alcoa introduced a revolutionary new line of aluminum alloy giftware and domestic items designed by American pioneer industrial designer Lurelle Guild. Called Kensington Ware, these relatively expensive, slick, machine-age objects were in an unmistakenly Art Deco style with cast brass accents. They represent an important American contribution to modern design and decorative arts. The Kensington plant ceased production around 1970, and collectors have recently been scooping up these compelling objects in the antique and collectible markets. This is the first book to tell the Kensington story and identify, value, and illustrate the aluminum in 375 color, vintage, and black-and-white illustrations. It is a must for anyone interested in aluminum, Art Deco, and the machine-age in America.

The first major scholarly investigation into the rich history of the marked body in the early modern period, this interdisciplinary study examines multiple forms, uses, and meanings of corporeal inscription and impression in France and the French Atlantic from the late sixteenth through early eighteenth centuries. Placing into dialogue a broad range of textual and visual sources drawn from areas as diverse as demonology, jurisprudence, mysticism, medicine, pilgrimage, commerce, travel, and colonial conquest that have formerly been examined largely in isolation, Katherine Dauge-Roth demonstrates that emerging theories and practices of signing the body must be understood in relationship to each other and to the development of other material marking practices that rose to prominence in the early modern period. While each chapter brings to light the particular histories and meanings of a distinct set of cutaneous marks-devil's marks on witches, demon's marks upon the possessed, devotional wounds, Amerindian and Holy Land pilgrim tattoos, and criminal brands-each also reveals connections between these various types of stigmata, links that were obvious to the early modern thinkers who theorized and deployed them. Moreover, the five chapters bring to the fore ways in which corporeal marking of all kinds interacted dynamically with practices of writing on, imprinting, and engraving paper, parchment, fabric, and metal that flourished in the period, together signaling important changes taking place in early modern society. Examining the marked body as a material object replete with varied meanings and uses, Signing the Body: Marks on Skin in Early Modern France shows how the skin itself became the register of the profound cultural and social transformations that characterized this era.

The ultimate beginner-friendly guide to pyrography, Woodburning Projects and Patterns for Beginners is the perfect place to start your new favorite hobby! Featuring a complete overview and introduction to woodburning, you'll understand the tools, supplies, and safety precautions involved in this unique art. Learn basic techniques - from burning even lines, shading, stippling, and more - to then complete step-by-step projects for frames, boxes, ornaments, coasters, and more. Also provided are full-size patterns, helpful information on how to avoid and fix mistakes, as well as how to seal and finish your projects. Author of the popular Woodburning Realistic Animals, Minisa Robinson is an extremely talented pyrography artist and has contributed to Woodcarving Illustrated and Pyrography Magazine.

Plywood is an astonishingly versatile material, made by gluing together layers of cross-grained veneers, creating a pliable board that can be stronger than solid wood. Stylish and practical, plywood offers huge possibilities for experimental design, and it has been used to make a wide range of products, from aeroplanes, boats and automobiles to architecture and furniture. This book traces the history of plywood from its use in 18th-century furniture, through its emergence as an industrial product in the 19th century, to a material celebrated by 20th-century modernists such as Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames. An ideal material for the digital age, plywood has become popular again in recent years and is widely used in contemporary design and manufacture. Produced to accompany an exhibition at the V&A, this book is the first comprehensive study of the history of plywood and its myriad applications throughout the ages, unveiling the stories behind objects that surround us and that we often take for granted.

Many designers, from jewellers to architects, use folding techniques to make three-dimensional forms from two-dimensional sheets of fabric, cardboard, plastic, metal and other materials. This unique handbook explains key folding techniques, such as pleated surfaces, curved folding and crumpling. It has been updated with a new chapter covering some lesser-known techniques, suggesting yet more creative possibilities. The techniques are accompanied by clear step-by-step drawings, specially commissioned photography and ten new instructional videos.

Illuminating three centuries of European artistry and ingenuity, this volume in The Met’s acclaimed How to Read series provides a wide-ranging exploration of decorative arts from British writing tables to Russian snuffboxes Spanning three centuries of creativity, from the High Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, this volume in The Met’s How to Read series provides a peek into daily lives across Europe—from England, Spain, and France to Germany, Denmark, and Russia. Featuring 40 exemplary objects, including furniture, tableware, utilitarian items, articles of personal adornment, devotional objects, and display pieces, this publication covers many aspects of European society and lifestyles, from the modest to the fabulously wealthy. The book considers the contributions of renowned masters, such as the Dutch cabinetmaker Jan van Mekeren and the Italian goldsmith Andrea Boucheron, as well as talented amateurs, among them the anonymous young Englishwoman who embroidered an enchanting chest with scenes from the Story of Esther. The works selected include both masterpieces and less familiar examples, some of them previously unpublished, and are discussed not only in light of their art-historical importance but also with regard to the social issues relevant to each, such as the impact of colonial slavery or the changing status of women artists. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Being on the migrational flyway for ducks and geese, the upper Chesapeake Bay has long been a center for waterfowl hunting. Where there is hunting, there are, of course, decoys. The area around Havre de Grace, Maryland has produced some of the most prolific decoy makers in America. Usually born of the necessity of the hunt, their decoys have become highly collectable. In Upper Chesapeake Bay Decoys and Their Makers, David and Joan Hagan share their talent for photography with the reader. They illustrate the art of the decoy makers in this area with beautiful images of the birds they have formed. Usually their decoys are accompanied by the portraits of the artists and recollections and reflections on their art and experiences. Over eighty decoy makers are represented in Upper Chesapeake Bay Decoys and Their Makers. Many of them are still alive and active in their work. The decoys illustrated range from early decoys, faded and worn smooth with use, to recent decoys which go directly from the artist to the collector without ever touching the water. All of them show the skill of the artist and evoke the appreciation that has made the decoy a central theme in American folk art.

When the stresses of modern life get too much, what could be better than gathering a few simple tools, heading into the woods and literally whittling away a few hours? The gentle art of whittling is a relaxing and absorbing hobby that can be enjoyed almost anywhere from round the campfire to in a cozy armchair at home. All you need is a good pocket knife, a piece of wood and your imagination. Projects can range from the delightfully simple to impressively intricate--it's up to you. Woodland Whittling guides you through the basics explaining what equipment you need, how to hold the knife, and what timber to use. The projects are then all described in detail with clear step-by-step photographs. Projects include: letter opener, thumb stick, ring tree and egg cup.