If you’ve been around period woodworking for any length of time, the name Peter Follansbee will keep cropping up. He’s an historical joiner that works with Plimoth Plantation and is the author of numerous articles on the history of woodworking, including the recent book (with greenwoodworking guru Jennie Alexander) “Make a Joint Stool from a Tree: An Introduction to 17th Century Joinery” which is near the top of my Christmas list.

Recently, Peter dropped by the Old Woodwright’s Shop and discussed the ins and outs of period joinery with Roy Underhill. The result was woodworking magic and valuable research for this project.  I plan to order his book soon and I follow Peter’s blog: http://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/ which is well worth following if you’ve even a passing interest in either history or turning wood into furniture.

Not sure if I’ll make a joint stool since that’s obviously been “done” by just about everyone at this point, but there’s loads to learn from this book and this video about period joinery.

 

PBS has several seasons of Woodwright’s Shop available to watch online at PBS.org.

Watch Elizabethan Joint Stool with Peter Follansbee on PBS. See more from pbs.