Make a Joint Stool from a Tree – An Introduction to 17th-Century Joinery

by Jennie Alexander & Peter Follansbee

Author of the 1978 text Make a Chair from a Tree – An Introduction to Working Green Wood, Alexander has teamed up with Follansbee to write this book on the joint stool.

Made from riven oak, this iconic piece of British and early American furniture is assembled without adhesives. From the woodlot to the workshop, the book guides you through every step of constructing a joint stool according to traditional methods that are now all but forgotten, providing rare insight into the drawbored mortise-and-tenon techniques used by 17th-century joiners.

The book covers choosing, splitting and processing the wood, using tools such as a riving froe and a froe mallet, as well as making moldings from scratch stocks, turning period-appropriate details on a pole lathe, building a riving brake and other jigs, and even making your own paint. Supplemented with hundreds of color photographs and illustrations throughout, it is an inspiring historical account of the joiner's craft.

Smyth-sewn hardcover, 9" × 12", 125 pages, 2012.