Woodwork is my favourite magazine by far. The content goes well beyond the how-to and tool reviews on which most magazines like to focus. You can read more of my thoughts on Woodwork in THIS POST.
As I read through my collection of Woodwork, I am compiling a list of quotes that I like. Some are good advice, others humourous, and others thought-provoking. I do not necessarily agree with them, but found them interesting. I hope you find them interesting as well. As I make my way though the back issues, I will continue to add quotes, so check back here periodically.
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“‘… It’s not that there’s not a demand for fine woodworking – it’s that there’s a demand for fine woodworking with imagination. The things that are considered classic now weren’t classic when they were conceived, they were innovative and imaginative. The first Windsor chair was a work of art. The 2,000th was just a copy.'” – Victor Di Novi
Victor Di Novi, Outlaw Woodworkers: A Compendium of Unorthodox Ideas by Robert Bruce Duncan in Woodwork #3, p. 37, ¶2
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“‘Often I’ll conceive and execute a project just because it’s something I want to do, not necessarily because I think it will sell. Most woodworkers don’t allow themselves this freedom.'” – Victor Di Novi
Victor Di Novi, Outlaw Woodworkers: A Compendium of Unorthodox Ideas by Robert Bruce Duncan in Woodwork #3, p. 37, ¶14
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“Things like patternmaking, efficient use of materials and adapting machinery are all factors in the process of making a better product at a lower price.” – Tom Toldrian
From Alligators To Ergonomics: A Creative Woodworker by Tom Toldrian in Woodwork #6, p. 40, ¶10
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“If you remain insensitive to the individual characteristics of the material you are working with and cut regardless to a predetermined, exact measurement, then the finished piece will lack a certain wholeness and be little better than something you could have bought from a factory.” – Graham Blackburn
A Glazed Credenza by Graham Blackburn in Woodwork #6, p. 65, ¶1
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“Ultimately, if the market becomes the primary incentive for creative energy and the development of these objects [turnings], the actual aesthetic development will most likely not develop or progress in pure form.” – David Ellsworth
The State Of Turning: Reflections On Last Year’s AAW Symposium by Dick and Nancy Gerald, p. 79, ¶4
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“in craft ‘design, function and technique come first; in art, form and content come first.'” – Stephen Whittlesey
Stephen Whitlesey Makes Art From Debris by Marc Sawn in Woodwork #9, p. 33, ¶7
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“He builds with the reverence for technical perfection that one could expect in someone who uses two belt sanders, loaded with 60-grit, cross-grain, at once.” – Terrie Noll on Art Carpenter
Art Carpenter: Building On A Lifestyle, A Master and His Influences by Terrie Noll in Woodwork #12, p.39, ¶3
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“If it bothers you that the chair is askew, just go to your local furniture store and look at chairs until you feel better.” – Brian Boggs
A Ladderback Rocker by Brian Boggs in Woodwork #12, p. 48, ¶8
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“‘Of course I would like the business to make money so that my family lives comfortably, but I think the most important measure of success is making sure that the daily process of my life has meaning, and that it feels worthwhile.'” – Gene Agress
Berkeley Mill Work Furniture Co.: An eclectic mix of talent producing a result greater than the sum of its parts by Tom Toldrian in Woodwork #13, p. 38, ¶5
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“‘Too many times woodworkers make something and think it’s nice, but it doesn’t solve problems for people.” – Rich Robertson
Wooden Kitchen Utensils: Rich Robertson’s Reproductions From The Bishop Hill Colony – a Swedish communal society of the mid-nineteenth century by Dianne Beetler in Woodwork #15, p. 58, ¶4
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“Sometimes very unorthodox procedures result in outstanding results” – Tom Wisshack
Creating a Patina with Milk-Based Paints: Experimentation is the key to authentic effects by Tom Wisshack in Woodwork #24, p. 61, ¶9
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“Krenov had asked his students for complete emotional and personal involvement in every aspect of their work, in every detail.” – Tom Mcfadden
Ejler Hjorth-Westh by Tom Mcfadden in Woodwork #33, p. 37, ¶3
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“Furniture is nothing but practical sculpture.” – Michael Cullen
Where Engineering, Art, and Woodworking; Meet: Michael Cullen by Tom Mcfadden in Woodwork #35, p. 34, ¶3
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“The reason so much old furniture has survived can be attributed to the fact that hide glue was the only glue available until recently. Furniture repair had to be done with it. Considerable damage has been done to old furniture since the introduction of modern glues, because repairmen can (and usually do) chose to use another glue.” – Bob Flexner
Animal Hide Glue by Bob Flexner in Woodwork #35, p. 46, ¶8
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“The Vaufrey sanding system is essentially simple. But in practiced hands, it yields results that defy comparison.
Vaufrey’s sanding methods works beautifully because it puts the operator not the machine, in control of the process.” – David and Abram Loft
Georges Vaufrey’s Wizardly Woodshop by David and Abram Loft in Woodwork #35, p. 58, ¶1-2
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“Work which leads to discovery is the highest kind of work. Its reward of inner renewal and the generation of energy is of the purest kind.” – Brian Mills
Traveling Woodcrafter by Brian Mills in Woodwork #38, p. 75, ¶24
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“The machinery is important for sizing and rough shaping, but much of the work in the shop is done with hand planes, chisels and carving gouges. It is not a production shop; handwork is often faster than setting up jigs and machinery for an operation that will only be done once or twice.” – Kristian Eshelman
Master Craftsman Robert Whitley by Brian Mills, in Woodwork #41, p. 34, ¶4
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“In you can appreciate what it is about the original that is so proportionally appealing, by all means change things according to your circumstances and rely on your own eye to preserve the spirit of the original.” – Graham Blackburn
A Pepysian Bookcase: A handmade case-on-stand by Graham Blackburn in Woodwork #42, p. 46, ¶3
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“Stephen Jay Gould, the archaeologist and teacher… discussed a popular misconception about the work of archaeology and physical anthropology: the idea that you can take one bone and from that you can postulate the whole creature… an interesting idea with application in my work. Sometimes, I’ll start with the foot of the bowl. Maybe I’ll start with a curved foot, and it’s like that mythical one bone from which the archaeologist postulates everything. Once you’ve turned that foot, the entire bowl has been decided.” – Judy Ditmer
Judy Ditmer: The Power of Acceptance by Kerry Pierce in Woodwork #45, p. 26, ¶14-15
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What I enjoy about my work is that because there’s no sketch, you feel much freer about experimenting with where something might go, or how the thing might look. – Michael Cooper
Hardly Davidson by David Colman in Woodwork #49, page 75, ¶2
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“My work is a reflection of what is going on in my life. You take a pathway that leads to consequences, both good and bad. Work will reflect that if you trust your intuition.” – Todd Hoyer
Todd Hoyer: Pathways and Choices by Terry Martin in Woodwork #118, p. 30, ¶6
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“If a woodworker is going to break from traditional construction, it behooves him to understand it and think through the consequences of any novel approaches.” – Rob Porcaro
The Design Journey: How to Turn an Idea into a Finished Piece by Rob Porcaro in Woodwork #118, p. 36, ¶6
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“Obstructions lead to creativity.” – Stephen Gleasner
Visions in Plywood: The Plyscapes of Stephen Gleasner by Patrick Downes in Woodwork #118, p. 48, ¶10
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“From the time he started his own workshop in the 1960s, Alan [Peters] worked long and hard to prove that one could still earn a living in the contemporary world by building useful, beautiful furniture with integrity, one piece at a time, and he prided himself on making furniture that was priced within reach of working people like himself.” – Peter Korn
Thinking With Things: Design as Discovery by Peter Korn in Woodwork #118, p. 63, ¶7
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“At the outset, I ‘invented’ the craft as I went along, completely oblivious to tradition.” – Glenn Gordon
What I Thought I Was Doing at the Time by Glenn Gordon in Woodwork #119, p. 42, ¶3
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“[Furnituremaking is] making a living through design, which is art, and practicing a craft.” – Reed Hansuld
Reed Hansuld: Ascending by Patrick Downes in Woodwork #120, p. 17, ¶2
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 
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