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The Anarchist's Design Book
Great book in excellent shape! If you know Christopher Schwarz, this is a must-have book for your library!
442 pages, Hardcover
Published March 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 27, 2018
I'm in two minds about this book because I did enjoy reading (most of) it, but I also don't want to recommend it to anyone.
First, the good: almost all of the projects in it are solid and I'll probably be replicating some of them at one point. Schwarz continues to have a good eye for furniture that is both functional and fun to make, if not necessarily very pretty.
The bad, though: a lot of his specific advice is exactly the wrong thing to say to almost everyone in his target audience. The main thesis—focus less on high-style furniture and more on vernacular furniture—is sound and healthy; a lot of the corollaries are not. Schwarz repeatedly fails to understand wood movement while also being utterly convinced he just understands it better than everyone else, and mostly gets away with it because his house and shop have modern climate control. That you can find old furniture that does the wrong thing but ``survived'' (never mind obvious cracks and an unspecified restoration history) doesn't mean it's not the wrong thing, and it definitely isn't down to the magical properties of nails.
Building a religion around nails consumes much of the book, so let's dispense with this now: it's not true that nails, unlike screws, can move with the wood. It wouldn't even be true in a universe where metal fatigue didn't exist. Where screws will snap nails will push out of the wood, though, and require regular resetting, which is one thing you get with old vernacular furniture that taking a flashlight to an antique store won't tell you.
It's also true that wood tends to move less than many people think, especially in air-conditioned homes, so you can often get away with more than good teachers would have you believe; knowing what you can away with requires more than just an attitude of contempt towards lies-to-children, though.
Either way, nailing a batten across a tabletop to keep it flat is a spectacularly dumb idea even if you did spend $2 on each artisanal forged nail.
The other bad: Schwarz is a garbage human being and feels the need to communicate that.
It's an unfortunate fact that a lot of the woodworking community, especially in North America, consists of reactionaries, and as a result there are a lot of right-wing assholes who think of themselves as ``liberals'' compared to those, or at least as people who are ``above politics''. Or, in Schwarz's words:
(People who think some of my alleged friends should be in camps? All good, I can call those people friends too. IKEA, on the other hand...)
I fully intended to overlook the ``anarchist'' in the title as just an empty word Schwarz picked because The Anarchist Cookbook sounds edgy, with no real meaning behind it. He makes it clear that that's not the case, though, but that he's just aggressively, self-righteously ignorant about what the word actually means:
(He keeps typing words after this, but they don't get better. They do include the expected ``You can't criticise me as I refuse to tell you what I really believe''. You can't have it both ways, dude.)
At some point being wrong starts being a choice. Apart from anything else, none of this needed to be in this book; if he was so keen on expressing bad opinions, he could have just expanded the tools appendix some more and at least kept on topic. (If you buy a Starrett combination square to do woodworking you're a fucking moron.)
Anyway, Schwarz probably isn't the worst person in woodworking today, and a lot of it is easily ignorable. For $50, though, I'd expect a book that's better than just a couple of blog posts.
First, the good: almost all of the projects in it are solid and I'll probably be replicating some of them at one point. Schwarz continues to have a good eye for furniture that is both functional and fun to make, if not necessarily very pretty.
The bad, though: a lot of his specific advice is exactly the wrong thing to say to almost everyone in his target audience. The main thesis—focus less on high-style furniture and more on vernacular furniture—is sound and healthy; a lot of the corollaries are not. Schwarz repeatedly fails to understand wood movement while also being utterly convinced he just understands it better than everyone else, and mostly gets away with it because his house and shop have modern climate control. That you can find old furniture that does the wrong thing but ``survived'' (never mind obvious cracks and an unspecified restoration history) doesn't mean it's not the wrong thing, and it definitely isn't down to the magical properties of nails.
Building a religion around nails consumes much of the book, so let's dispense with this now: it's not true that nails, unlike screws, can move with the wood. It wouldn't even be true in a universe where metal fatigue didn't exist. Where screws will snap nails will push out of the wood, though, and require regular resetting, which is one thing you get with old vernacular furniture that taking a flashlight to an antique store won't tell you.
It's also true that wood tends to move less than many people think, especially in air-conditioned homes, so you can often get away with more than good teachers would have you believe; knowing what you can away with requires more than just an attitude of contempt towards lies-to-children, though.
Either way, nailing a batten across a tabletop to keep it flat is a spectacularly dumb idea even if you did spend $2 on each artisanal forged nail.
The other bad: Schwarz is a garbage human being and feels the need to communicate that.
It's an unfortunate fact that a lot of the woodworking community, especially in North America, consists of reactionaries, and as a result there are a lot of right-wing assholes who think of themselves as ``liberals'' compared to those, or at least as people who are ``above politics''. Or, in Schwarz's words:
I'm easygoing for the most part. My friends are liberal, conservative, devout and agnostic. Homosexual and ammosexual.
But it annoys me when I see an IKEA Billy bookshelf in a woodworker's house.
(People who think some of my alleged friends should be in camps? All good, I can call those people friends too. IKEA, on the other hand...)
I fully intended to overlook the ``anarchist'' in the title as just an empty word Schwarz picked because The Anarchist Cookbook sounds edgy, with no real meaning behind it. He makes it clear that that's not the case, though, but that he's just aggressively, self-righteously ignorant about what the word actually means:
After writing "The Anarchist's Tool Chest" in 2011, a fair number of blowhards declared that I wasn't an anarchist. Anarchists, they explained, are explicitly anti-capitalist. They seek to overthrow the government. They embrace violence.
Saying that you have to be committed to violence to be an anarchist is like saying you have to oppress Africans to be Christian, or you have to own a gun to be an American. It's nonsensical.
(He keeps typing words after this, but they don't get better. They do include the expected ``You can't criticise me as I refuse to tell you what I really believe''. You can't have it both ways, dude.)
At some point being wrong starts being a choice. Apart from anything else, none of this needed to be in this book; if he was so keen on expressing bad opinions, he could have just expanded the tools appendix some more and at least kept on topic. (If you buy a Starrett combination square to do woodworking you're a fucking moron.)
Anyway, Schwarz probably isn't the worst person in woodworking today, and a lot of it is easily ignorable. For $50, though, I'd expect a book that's better than just a couple of blog posts.
January 21, 2020
Yet more updates for the second edition. Lost Art Press sent me a free updated PDF copy since I purchased the original, something that everyone who bought the first edition can do. The new chapter on chair comfort is especially nice, since what makes a decent chair is rarely discussed by most furniture makers or manufacturers.
Schwarz wants you to build your own furniture using traditional forms and tools. Most of the designs are folk designs dating back to the Middle Ages or earlier. In his opinion, why copy the furniture of your boss or the boss's boss? Some of these are one of a kind projects that almost no one has written about before, there's a lot of original material here. It's not another Shaker or Arts and Crafts book.
Tools can be fairly minimal, sometimes the author gets a bit crazy about using the best tools, but a small number of them. Construction is staked or boarded(nailed) for the most part. Finishes are milk paint, soap! shellac and oil. Paste on published teasers from the book I've already built a couple of small boarded chests, the only special tool is you need a way to cut rabbets, I used a plane but various power tools will work.
These are boarded chests.
http://roninengineer.com/images/stori...
http://roninengineer.com/images/stori...
It's an obscure title from a small company, more info here:
http://lostartpress.com/collections/b...
Another book along these lines with designs somewhat more mainstream: Furniture Making Plain & Simple.
Hopefully will do some chairs from this book soon. I did reread the first half on staked furniture in preparation for some attempts at chair and stool construction.
P.S. I finally have the physical book and the binding and paper are first rate, though a cheapy perfectbound book would make me just as happy.
Schwarz wants you to build your own furniture using traditional forms and tools. Most of the designs are folk designs dating back to the Middle Ages or earlier. In his opinion, why copy the furniture of your boss or the boss's boss? Some of these are one of a kind projects that almost no one has written about before, there's a lot of original material here. It's not another Shaker or Arts and Crafts book.
Tools can be fairly minimal, sometimes the author gets a bit crazy about using the best tools, but a small number of them. Construction is staked or boarded(nailed) for the most part. Finishes are milk paint, soap! shellac and oil. Paste on published teasers from the book I've already built a couple of small boarded chests, the only special tool is you need a way to cut rabbets, I used a plane but various power tools will work.
These are boarded chests.
http://roninengineer.com/images/stori...
http://roninengineer.com/images/stori...
It's an obscure title from a small company, more info here:
http://lostartpress.com/collections/b...
Another book along these lines with designs somewhat more mainstream: Furniture Making Plain & Simple.
Hopefully will do some chairs from this book soon. I did reread the first half on staked furniture in preparation for some attempts at chair and stool construction.
P.S. I finally have the physical book and the binding and paper are first rate, though a cheapy perfectbound book would make me just as happy.
December 29, 2017
Well, Christopher Schwartz has accomplished what he set out to do - inspire me to get into my shop and build something. I want to work through every sawhorse, stool, table, tool box, shelf, and cabinet. Not sure where I'd put the coffin though. I already have a place for my liquor, books, and records, but I'm sure I'd be able to figure it out with a bit of scotch, research, and music....
August 25, 2022
Like his other "Anarchist" books, I enjoyed the read quite a lot. This extended addition has about 600 pages but I flew through it. This is partly because I love reading his books, but also because a lot of the projects repeat directions. For example, in one chapter he discusses how to cut out the dados for the piece, and in the next chapter/project he will describe those steps again in a slightly different way. Some people may hate this, but I rather appreciated it because it allows you to jump around without trying to remember where you read the other part. Another thing I appreciate, though also find frustrating at times, is that he skips over a lot of the details that could be surmised or customized by the builder. He doesn't really talk about attaching hardware that much, or things like that, and just assumes the reader can figure stuff out.
Overall I'm very interested in building a few of the projects myself, but I do have some qualms with what seems like a bit of a contradiction on behalf of the author. He has his boarded toolchest project, which is all well and good. I'm considering building one myself as it seems relatively quick. However, he put this out after writing a very detailed book about building the ultimate toolchest, and in that book, he goes on about all the reasons why the lid should be done a certain way, and why dust covers are needed, and why it should be dovetailed. He basically said any other way is inferior and you shouldn't waste your time. He then proceeds to publish a book with a simpler toolchest missing all of the features that he considered essential. I love both designs, but I also didn't write such a strongly-opinioned book about one of them, so I don't see a contradiction on my own part. Outside of that, and the book filler that is his coffin build, I really like his designs.
Overall I'm very interested in building a few of the projects myself, but I do have some qualms with what seems like a bit of a contradiction on behalf of the author. He has his boarded toolchest project, which is all well and good. I'm considering building one myself as it seems relatively quick. However, he put this out after writing a very detailed book about building the ultimate toolchest, and in that book, he goes on about all the reasons why the lid should be done a certain way, and why dust covers are needed, and why it should be dovetailed. He basically said any other way is inferior and you shouldn't waste your time. He then proceeds to publish a book with a simpler toolchest missing all of the features that he considered essential. I love both designs, but I also didn't write such a strongly-opinioned book about one of them, so I don't see a contradiction on my own part. Outside of that, and the book filler that is his coffin build, I really like his designs.
December 22, 2021
I have more time in the week to think about woodworking than I have time to spend woodworking. Reading books like this help put more woodworking into my brain, which eventually trickles down to my hands. Schwarz is at times completely unpretentious and at times the complete opposite, but I can’t fault him for either because he is succeeding at his aim to encourage the reader to think more about furniture design and longevity, and, evidently, use nails.
December 7, 2022
I love Schwarz's books for (a) his light-hearted writing style, (b) his clarity of description, (c) the quality photographs. I especially appreciate (c) because I've seen so many books for craftspeople that contain crappy, incomprehensible photos. And in this book, I also appreciate the designs themselves. Their simplicity appeals to me on an aesthetic level and as non-intimidating exemplars to try.
August 9, 2019
Paper - Great follow up to Anarchist's Tool Chest. Just as fun to read, because he breaks his own rules and boils it all down.
April 21, 2020
Excellent book on woodworking.
February 13, 2021
Half way through reading, I've already started on some of the projects and am planning on doing even more.
February 13, 2022
Beautiful tome. Lots of inspiration here. Another great reference tool from Schwarz.
October 17, 2024
Discrete projects in a tidy progression. I wasn't planning to build a coffin before, but it now seems approachable.
January 2, 2025
So many things to learn and try.
August 4, 2016
This book is the brother to The Anarchist's Toolchest. While there are plans for pieces in it (some of which I'd like to build, others that I don't find appealing) the focus isn't on the plans themselves but the simple design process (prototyping) and techniques (board, staked) that were used to arrive at the finished piece.
This book is about creating practical and (sometimes) attractive furniture with a simple kit. This book is about avoiding the upgrade cycle intrinsic to the disposable furniture available to us to purchase. This book is about not taking the "rules" of woodworking at face value and getting stuck in to give new, or old as the case may be, techniques a try.
I can't say that every piece in this book appeals to me aesthetically but the philosophy embodied in them does. I will be building pieces from this book. It's not quite the inspiration that The Anarchist's Toolchest was, but that book was a jumpstart, this one is another stone in the path.
This book is about creating practical and (sometimes) attractive furniture with a simple kit. This book is about avoiding the upgrade cycle intrinsic to the disposable furniture available to us to purchase. This book is about not taking the "rules" of woodworking at face value and getting stuck in to give new, or old as the case may be, techniques a try.
I can't say that every piece in this book appeals to me aesthetically but the philosophy embodied in them does. I will be building pieces from this book. It's not quite the inspiration that The Anarchist's Toolchest was, but that book was a jumpstart, this one is another stone in the path.
April 6, 2016
Chris Schwarz is that rare breed whose voice comes right off the page even, or maybe especially, when describing the relatively dusty process of reaming out your tenon holes. His books have been vastly influential amongst woodworkers, and deserve more still. The premise of this book is an exploration of the furniture of necessity, the real stuff 99% of the population has lived with through the centuries. As he did with campaign furniture, Schwarz brings these to life and shows you the links to modern forms usually not nearly so well constructed. Somewhat of a sequel to his The Anarchist's Toolchest, worth reading to incorporate as a woodworker, and as a consumer of diminishing value to the purveyors of furniture shaped objects.
March 28, 2016
This book is pretty good so far. I am eager to finish it up and build a couple of the project contained in it. One of the first 1,000 1st Edition books and it is signed by Christoper Schwarz.
April 1, 2017
Christopher Schwarz writes books and articles about woodworking topics and I can recommend all of them. With this book and it's companion, "The Anarchist's Tool Chest," Chris defines himself as an "anarchist" because he insists on building furniture that will last for generations rather than furnish his home with the poorly built and badly designed junk that is sold in furniture stores and falls apart after a few years of use. He often builds that furniture with hand tools that are also not crap and will be passed on to future generations along with his furniture.
I have met Chris. He is a gentle soul who just wants to build furniture and write about it: not the bomb throwing variety of anarchist at all. Chris is a writer who happens to build furniture so his books are all well written, witty and packed with information. And all of Christopher Schwarz's books are five star affairs.
I have met Chris. He is a gentle soul who just wants to build furniture and write about it: not the bomb throwing variety of anarchist at all. Chris is a writer who happens to build furniture so his books are all well written, witty and packed with information. And all of Christopher Schwarz's books are five star affairs.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews