I,ve been doing woodworking for a long time. I’ve read all the magazines and most of the books. I collect old Popular Mechanic’s and Mechanic’s Illustrated. I also collect 1950’s,60’s and 70’s, home improvement and woodworking encyclopedias. Of all the writers and authors I have read one man stands out and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank R.J. DeChristoforo. His articles which number in the thousands and books which number in the 50’s, have inspired and informed me over the years. H has written on too many subjects to count, but the short list includes, furniture building, masonry, home and cabin building, shop tool use, hand tool use, and jig making. I read many articles about the great Sam Maloof, but I never read anything about R.J.. This oversight has gone on too long. Seek him out and read ANYTHING he’s written and you too will be bowled over. I would also like to point out that many of todays author’s are standing on the shoulders of this giant. Thanks for it all R.J.. Woody Savage
Edited 10/25/2005 1:40 pm ET by woodrow372
Replies
It could be said that RJC actually inspired the home woodworker boom in the 50's and he was a huge influence on the home woodworkers of the time and deserves some recognition for sure. His plans and work may not have been fine furniture but they were good, and solid.
I have a number of his books in my library, but the one that I treasure the most, and it can be very difficult to find now, is The Complete Book of Power Tools. I got it in a lot at an auction, and it is huge and a fantastic resource. No longer in print but available sporadically used. There are a few on Amazon right now, and if there are any newbies reading this, go for it!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1579120261/002-1448987-5541667?v=glance
and here:
http://biblioworks.com/display.asp?id=4362
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Forest girl; Have you seen "Fun With The Radial Armsaw" ? It shows you how to eliptically dish out a work piece. If you can find "The Tablesaw Book" , buy it! Woody
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