Roubo on Furniture

[bugbear]

A quick search on OLDTOOLS shows people people referencing Roubo long before 2008, and not just on bench design.

BugBear

Could be.

"Could be"?

It's a simple, provable, fact. Links available if you insist on making a big deal of it.

BugBear

 

[MarkDennehy]

...and hunt down the Hayward books later this year.

Perhaps AndyT can advise on which Hayward books to get. Hayward is (truly)
great, but his various books don't 'alf lift from each other.

Does he not mean the set of four from LAP?

Been looking at the Roubo on Furniture one, it looks interesting. Maybe when I finish The Joiner and Cabinetmaker (which is quite interesting from the history point of view, and kindof interesting from the woodworking point of view - the approach to work it describes is very different to a lot of the instructional stuff out there today. Except maybe for Richard Maguire's stuff, which is of a very similar tone in some ways - ie. doing things expediently with hand tools, as opposed to the porn that doucette and wolfe produce).

'course then there's a Krenov book to finish, and the Anarchists Design Book is sitting on the nightstand as well, and there's that coffeetable book on japanese joinery, and at some point it'd be nice to actually get out to the shed to actually do some of this stuff


BTW, how long is Roubo going to be the name de jour now that Schwartz has moved on to ancient Rome?

 

[cowfoot]

The historical texts from LAP (Joiner & Cabinet Maker, Roubo on Marquetry etc) are very interesting to read, but if you're looking for future reference/learning aids then the Hayward series are unbeatable. I've just started out making solid wood furniture and I find myself referring to Vol.2 (Techniques) on an almost daily basis.
Quick shout out for the Lie Nielsen DVDs, too. You won't find many decent complete projects done step by step on Youtube, and I learned a great deal by following the Shaker Table DVD.

 

[Petey83]

After doing some more research I think I'm going to try and find second Hayword books from the woodworker series. Probably get the whole set for about the same as the Roubo book costs and everything I have read about them says they are unbeatable. I also discovered that Robert Wearing was a correspondent for Hayward on the Woodworker magazine. I've found researching this really interesting and learnt a lot more about Hayward (not hard considering I knew very little previously to my shame)

 

[Cheshirechappie]

On the Landis book, there's a chapter on the Roubo bench built and used by Rob Tarule, complete with full page photograph of the bench in active use, and a photograph of Roubo Vol. 1 Plate 11, showing the bench and it's accoutrements. My copy of Landis is the fifth reprint (August '92) of the '87 edition.

On woodworking books more generally, I think there can be a fine line between 'Knowledge is Power' and 'Information Overload'. I think I found a lot of my early reading matter to be daunting rather than directly informative in the early stages. Reading Landis rather led me to assume that a large, posh bench with a lot of features was pretty well essential. It was only later that I realised that it's basically just woodworking porn. Thus, when reading a lot of woody literature, it's best to have it firmly in mind that it's for background interest, not for directly relevant basic instruction.

When looking for instruction when just starting out, stick with Wearing, perhaps supplemented by Hayward. Once the basics are mastered, there are quite a few 'intermediate to advanced' texts (Joyce, Hooper and Wells, Ellis etc) and lots of good background on woodworking history, tools, timber technology, techniques both Western and worldwide, finishing, restoration, upholstery, decorative techniques.....

 

[Jacob]

...... Reading Landis rather led me to assume that a large, posh bench with a lot of features was pretty well essential. It was only later that I realised that it's basically just woodworking porn. Thus, when reading a lot of woody literature, it's best to have it firmly in mind that it's for background interest, not for directly relevant basic instruction. ........

Agree. The Landis book is particularly bad in this respect. Parts of it are interesting (that's porn for you!) but it has glaring omissions - most egregious being the complete absence of any reference to the standard British design of bench featured in schools, colleges, workshops everywhere.
He even has a whole chapter on the workmate but fails to mention what a useless bit of kit that is - just a highly successful marketing exercise. Even his 'basic' Kirkby bench is very fussy, not practical and not basic.

A version of the common basic british bench, other version also available in Sellers' book:

 

[MarkDennehy]

Okay, I'll be the sacrificial newbie and ask - what the pineapple is that thing sticking out of the middle of the front apron (marked 'f' in that diagram)???

 

[Bm101]

That's a new fangled drawer Mark.

 

[MarkDennehy]

Who puts a drawer in the apron of a bench like that? You know it's going to be the place you have the one tool you need just as soon as you get a board clamped over it...

 

[MarkDennehy]

Also, that's a terrible drawing of a drawer

 

[Bm101]

Interestingly, that specific type of drawer used to be called a 'pirate drawer' in the trade back in the day Mark. 5 smug-git-kudos points to anyone who knows why...

 

[MarkDennehy]

Is it because you get rid of all the arrrrrrrrrrrrrrises when making it?
Or is there a parrot in it?

 

[Jacob]

Okay, I'll be the sacrificial newbie and ask - what the pineapple is that thing sticking out of the middle of the front apron (marked 'f' in that diagram)???

Yep. It's f for f'ckin drawer.

 

[Bm101]

Jacob's nearly got it....
Look at the drawing. It's going "R".
8-[

 

[G S Haydon]

Anyway, Pineapples!

If you want to read up on Bob Tarule's Roubo https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cjA ... is&f=false you can find it all here. He seems to of gone for the authentic version straight away.

 

[D_W]

if you insist on making a big deal of it.

BugBear

I think that would be you. It's not that big of a blip on my radar.

 

[bugbear]

if you insist on making a big deal of it.

BugBear

I think that would be you. It's not that big of a blip on my radar.

I don't take kindly to Americans ignoring facts. Too much of that going around, these days.

BugBear

 

[G S Haydon]

How amusing, one wonders why you don't like just Americans doing that? Where did that prejudice come from? What's even more funny is that you want to use a few links on an old forum to prove that Schwarz was not responsible as a catalyst for the Roubo explosion. I don't take kindly to that, to much of that going on by people who use keyboards these days.

Sure people were interested in Roubo's work before Schwarz but he really did bring it to the fore. His ability to take what had become a relatively unpopular bench design (aside from a few woodworking forums and one relatively recent book "landis 1987") and use DIY shop wood, table saw, drill press surface planer and a few hand tools to make a bench. His blue book on benches is very well put together. In addition he was editor of a magazine, had/has two popular blogs and started to develop a business based around his perspective that also became successful. Since then he keeps making more of them, and writing more books on the subject.

As you like facts, perhaps you could provide some evidence of the popularity of Roubo for amateurs pre and post Schwarz, aside from a links to an obscure forum.

You can see a similar effect with certain things Sellers promotes.

 

[Jacob]

I think BB has Trump and the 'science sceptics' in mind- a deplorable gang of dangerous morons.
Not sure what the Roubo argument is about I haven't been following it. Never too late :lol:

 

[bugbear]

What's even more funny is that you want to use a few links on an old forum to prove that Schwarz was not responsible as a catalyst for the Roubo explosion.

Good $DEITY, No! That was indeed Schwarz, no question.

I was attempting to address D_W's statement that he only knew of two people who had read or quoted Roubo before the 2008 reprint.

BugBear