This book—the latest from Mortise and Tenon—is a blend of two distinct strands. The first makes the well-known argument expressing regret that industrialization displaced skilled handcraft. The second is an appeal to individuals to incorporate craft into their daily lives along with five projects that can be entry points into a daily practice of handcraft as well as a discussion of essential tools. Warning: This book prompted a strong reaction on my part so this review includes more personal opinion than have recent entries for Woodworkers’ Bookshelf.

I liked the book and found it an engaging read (though be prepared for some philosophy of craft and technology). At the same time, I had two more negative reactions to the book. First, I found that the two strands—regret about industrialization and the appeal to incorporate craft into one’s daily life—not that well connected. Both work well on their own merits, though I didn’t find the philosophical discussion to be a compelling setup for the argument for handcraft in daily life (said by a hybrid woodworker who enjoys using both hand and power tools). Put another way, the combination of the two strands felt forced.

My other big concern is with the argument about industrialization regret (veering a bit away from woodworking here). In particular, I found the discussion an unbalanced view of economic history. Without a doubt, the industrial revolution led to huge changes in daily living and the loss of much that was valuable, including pride in work and skill as tasks previously done by skilled artisans could now be done by less skilled workers operating a machine. The book provides many powerful and poignant examples of that and highlights the industrial drudgery and exploitation that ensued. However, the book completely neglects what was gained by industrialization. In the early 1800s—arguably the peak of British and American furniture craft—only the very wealthy could afford the type of handcrafted furniture we now see in museums (and that EMGW members make). Most people in that period had little furniture in their homes and what they had often was crudely made.

More generally, typical incomes and living standards were much lower in that earlier period. For example, in 1811 a fancy card table retailed for about $24.50. With average weekly compensation of a production worker of about $3.00 (assuming a 60-hour workweek), it would take that average worker more than eight weeks of work to afford the table. Not a purchase most such workers would make. Translating the cost of that 1811 table to 2025 dollars yields about $620. At today’s average weekly compensation (assuming just a 40-hour workweek), a typical worker could make that outlay with about two days of work. So, while it’s true that industrialization changed the world and important things were lost, there also were tremendous benefits. I, for one, would not choose to go back to the world of 1800.

All that said, the book’s highlighting of the benefits of incorporating more craft into their lives absolutely rings true to me and, I suspect, to most EMGW members. That’s why we do what we do. Perhaps we can agree that that makes sense on an individual level but not so much as a vision for organizing a national economy.

PS – happy to provide cites for calculations to anyone interested.

Two disparate items to highlight this month. 

First, I saw a notice in SAPFM's Pins and Tales that the John Brown House Museum in Providence opened an exhibition based on the book Mahogany: The Cost of Luxury in Early America by Jennifer Anderson, a history prof at SUNY Stony Brook. (The Brown of the house is the Brown of Brown University.) I haven't visited the house yet but it sounds great if you like house museums with period furniture and the associated history. I have read the book, which describes the historical and cultural context around the explosion in the use of mahogany in the 18th century as wealthy American colonists became enamored with the beauty of the wood and woodworkers with its workability. It is quite a sobering read, especially for a woodworker who has used mahogany in a number of builds. The 18th century surge in demand for mahogany led to extensive logging in the Caribbean, with slave labor in doing much of the work in brutal conditions. Moreover, because the trees were difficult to cultivate on a plantation and were scattered throughout tropical forests, the trees were "hunted," felled, dragged out, and shipped to high-end markets. That process devastated forest environments  and painfully disrupted the lives of the indigenous people who were there before. The damage persists to this day, with new world mahoganies threatened with extinction, with logging regulations and bans on mahoganies, and, accordingly, with ongoing concerns about the provenance of any board and what damage was done to obtain it. The book talks about all of that, weaving together social and political history, trading logistics, economics, and more. It's a good read. At the same time, the story is disturbing enough that this furniture maker plans to stay away from mahogany and stick to other hardwoods (though, admittedly, after finishing a current period piece of furniture -- bought the wood before reading the book).

Second, and something completely different, I came across a Ben Strano Fine Woodworking video on climb cutting with a router (routing in the direction in which the spinning bit would pull the router often thought of as very dangerous). It's one of the best descriptions of how to use a handheld router that I've seen -- although I've done plenty of work with a router, still learned a new trick from the video. Despite the title, the video doesn't say a lot about how to climb cut safely, but it does link to a very good Fine Woodworking article from July/August 2011 by Chris Gochnour that describes how/when that can be done safely.