Tangible Assets

Like most woodworkers, I got interested in the craft because I like producing real things – tangible additions to my environment. That’s also why I got into the book and magazine world. I like the feel of a room that contains books and magazines, and the visible effect printed words have on people’s behaviors and attitudes.

So you might ask: What does a blog post have to do with any of that? The digital world is not the same as the print world – and neither of them (according to many shop-trained woodworkers) has much to do with building furniture or shaping bowls.

Here’s your answer: Read a digital copy of issue 91 of Woodwork magazine. I uploaded a copy to our server. It’s free.

What do you think?

This must be the measure of a really good addition to our community and our craft. Somehow, the editors of Woodwork were able to transfer the feel – the tangibility – of woodworking to the printed page. They did it for a few decades, and they did such a good job of it that today’s PDF still re-creates the effect.

I particularly like the profile of Michelle Holzapfel, and the amazing pictures of her work. The Kenneth Fisher article is also really terrific, in my opinion.

I’m fairly sure we’ll see some comments on this blog post stating that “there is nothing like the real thing.” Maybe that’s true. But I also believe that when you do something really well, most of its quality will come across through different media and through time.

Buy 25 years of that tangibility in our store – the newly released Woodwork magazine collection. I think you’ll find it inspires your real-life woodworking for many years to come.

Please tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

–Dan Farnbach