The Rustic Stuff Way

About the Book

The Rustic Stuff® Way was written at the culmination of lots of experiences working with wood in the form of trees, logs, branches, lumber, and plywood. It was a long time in coming, probably starting in the mid '50s with work as a tree surgeon and now today with the building of fine (?) cabin furniture. The book starts with a standing tree and processes it to completion in the form of rough sawn dimensional lumber. A lot of wood went through the shop before the system of milling with a chain saw was perfected (?) and put in use to create the combination of rough sawn and dimensional that separates fine rustic furniture from just average. There are lots of out door decorative and functional projects to do for those whose interests don't tend towards furniture. For those who want to go on to furniture there are plenty of sketches and pictures to satisfy their needs. And for the seriously ambitious, and probably single by now, this book will coach you on pricing and marketing the wonderful stuff described, should you ever want to go off and try to sell it. The book is full of disclaimers about property destruction and serious personal injury to self and others but in the author's experience this has never slowed anybody down from plunging right in and doing these kinds of projects.

About the Author

The author was born and raised in the back woods of central Vermont. Times were hard in the 40's but entertainment was easy. There was always something happening on a trail, or by a river, or in the woods. Making ones own entertainment in that manner almost forced a bond with nature. That and a probable genetic pre-disposition towards woodworking always seemed to drive the author back to things involving wood. Woodworking ran in the family with grandfathers being sawyers and uncles working in the woods as lumberjacks and others as carpenters seemed to put working with all things wood in the blood stream. The author started his woodworking vocation as a tree surgeon in 1954 but soon became sidetracked to a more lucrative profession in aerospace that lasted three and one half decades. But there were always "projects" involving wood during those hectic and stress filled years in aerospace. Home construction, campers, finish carpentry, furniture and kitchen cabinets were all fitted in and completed with great satisfaction. And finally in 1998 with "retirement" and construction of a composting privy on the Appalachian Trail the author had come home to the mountains and woodworking. A line of decorative privies and storage sheds was developed and marketed. The catastrophic southern pine beetle infestation soon followed with the resultant abundance of beautiful lumber to salvage. And that most recent adventure is what you will read about in The Rustic Stuff® Way.

Visit the author's website:
www.rusticstufffurniture.com