Books

The Stripper's Guide to Woodworking: A Complete Guide to the Woodstrip & Epoxy Technique

by Michael W. Cline

It's all in the technique, as they say, and if you're hankering to dabble in some simple yet satisfying woodworking projects, or even toying with the idea of building your own small boat, I would encourage you to read on. Whether you're building a 20-foot, 6-passenger canoe, or a 20-inch, 6-petunia flower box, in all applications the woodstip and epoxy technique is a straight-forward matter of erecting simple frames and enclosing the space around them with narrow strips of wood. A little epoxy glues everything together. There is no heavy math, no power tool wizardry. Plus, artistically, you can mix different colors, grains and types of woodstrips to achieve all kinds of unique effects that are simply unattainable by any other method. Should you get bit by the boat building bug nothing but good will come of it. While not intended to be a how-to for any particular kind of boat, the last section of the book will walk you through all the basics of choosing a design and eventually building your own boat. Unlike any other hobby or trade in the world, boat building is a rich mixture of legend and lore, science and art, craft and cobble work, all drenched in its own brand of hard-knocks and humor. It's a family really and this book is meant to be an invitation to dinner.