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#1 ·
Paul Prybil, First Commerically Available Bandsaw

In June, I researched the history of Paul Prybil, who invented the first commerically available bandsaw. The video is posted at

Here was a man that made a lot of money in his lifetime. To see his story, see the video.

After I posted this video, I got a call from the great great grandson on Paul Prybil. He told him that his great grandfather lived in a wonderful life in Long Island, with many servants. After a dinner with J P MOrgan in the 1920s, the financier convinced him to invest everything in the stock market. The relative was convinced and sold all of the copywrights and the factory to others. In 1929, the family lost their ocean side manor. Mr Prybil remembers his grandfather telling him, "one day servants will call me to breakfast, and six months later, we would be lucky to have a breakfast.
 
#2 ·
Tom, Welcome to LumberJocks. Very interesting set of videos you have, I was able to watch a few and will plan to watch a few more later on.
Thanks for keeping the history alive.
CtL
 
#5 ·
George Nakashima, Modern Craftsman

In the grand scheme of woodworking, what is more important: the skills needed at a wood bench, the woodworking machinery, or the tree?

If you have any doubts, you need to look at the furniture and life path of George Nakashima, a Japanese-American woodworker (1905-1990). My historic woodworker tribute can be found at
 
#12 ·
Elias Atkins Saws

For vintage tool collectors, a short reminder that the second largest saw producer was the E.C. Atkins and Company in Indianapolis. The quality of the Atkins saws was equal to Philadelphia's Disston, with a Indiana leader of metal as true as the steel of which his famous saws are made.

To see my video tribute to this man and his company, click on the YouTube video at
 
#19 ·
This gentleman was an extremely talented person. There was a special on tv(don't remember if it was Roy Underhill or someone else) Very interesting. An inovator in not only production but also in design.
Good job on the slide show, a worthy endeavor.
 
#23 ·
Morton Converse, wooden toy manufacturer

To my fellow woodworkers, I wanted to look back at one of the first and largest toy manufacturers in America at the turn of the last century Morton Converse. The historic tribute video can be found at .

You can follow his tradition by making a toy for your child or donate your efforts to children in your community.
 
#24 ·
very kool video Tom. It's amazing how different things are now-a-days. I'm only 56, and a lot has changed in my lifetime. It will be "the Jetsons" for sure in the future I believe
 
#34 ·
Pear Wood - Woodworker's Delight

This video started with an examination of a musical recorder patterned after Phillippe Bolton; and a look back and back to the process of how one pear tree made the wood for this instrument. It is a tribute to the "wood" in the term: "woodworker".

This video can be found at
 
#39 ·
Orren Haskin, Shaker Woodworker

This month, the woodworker tribute video focuses on Orren Haskins as a carpenter and his role as a woodworker in Shaker society in the 19th Century. A purity of form, a doctrine of usefulness, a love of order, and a sense of spirituality permeate all aspects of his craftsmanship. The video can be found at
 
#41 ·
A Tear for the Cooper Trade

I have created another woodworking tribute video. This is a melodramatic tribute to the handcrafted wooden barrel-making trade in southern England; and a fictional story of its end with its lost skills to be replaced with manufacturing of steel containers. So shed a tear for this fading trade. It can be found at
 
#47 ·
Oshkosh Woodworker Strike

Because most of us work at a small studio shop -with one or two employees, we forget that most of modern equipment was first used in a factory.

I wanted to look back at the industrial revolution in 1898, when George Paine built a new factory to make internal wooden doors and lower prices; and woodworkers in Oshkosh Wisconsin who attempted to raise their wages

Mr. Paine's progress ensured the adoption of the power planner, and confirmed long term success depends on the workers wo use their tools every day.

The video can be found at
 
#52 ·
Tribute to Nora Hall

In 2011, woodworkers lost the master wood carver, Nora Hall. She brought honor back to the mallet and chisel and taught other traditional woodworking. The Tribute Video to her life and work in Europe and America is at

Happy Holidays to all.
 
#57 ·
John Townsend, Colonial Cabinets of Newport

With thanks to Doucette and Wolfe Furniture, I developed a tribute video to John Townsend, the Newport woodworker who refined the best of high-end colonial furniture in the 18th Century. The Video can be found on YouTube at
 
#60 ·
Antonio Stradivari and his woodworking skills

For one of my Illinois violin making friends, I completed a woodworking tribute to Antonio Stradivari, the great violin maker. Luthiers do not get enough credit for his skills. The YouTube video can be found at
 
#62 ·
Revenge of the Wood Spirit (animation) Deleted and lost

Am curious with all of the creativity of woodworkers, that no one since the 1940s has attempted to a comic book for chldren on wood-working. Hoping to have a grand child myself one day, I decided to make an attempt of forest folk tale and a story appropriate for children in an animation format

As a first attempt at animation, it is as crude as the lumberjacks it portrays. But it offers a hint why the forest survives the outslaught of greedy woodworkers clear cutting a forest.

Unfornately, I have pulled from YouTube for editing.
 
#63 ·
Nicely done Tom. Just curious is there a reprint of the comic you referred to available? I am always looking for story books and such that refer to woodworking for my daughter.

CtL
 
#66 ·
Thomas Molesworth, Father of Western Furniture

As a follow-up on Robby44 submission of his Molesworth's cabinet (with Norm Adams design), want to present my woodworking tribute to Tom Molesworth, the father of western furniture.
The focus is more on the furniture business and nostalgia than it is on woodworking. But, you got to admire his crew in finding fir burls across the west and incorporating them into his furniture.
Can find this video at
 
#68 ·
Video Tribute to Charles Eames

Pass thru any airport or modern apartment, and you will see the impact of plywood on the furniture industry. This video tribute is to Charles Eames, the postwar furniture designer. See his struggle with shaping the compound curves in plywood chairs in 1940s and the TV debut of the Eames Lounge Chair that Herman Miller still has in daily production.

The old YouTube was removed.

The video was reposted at
 
#79 ·
Showers Brothers Furniture Company

When I hear of a corporate mistreatment of a fellow woodworker, I searched historically for a company that treated tbeir employee well. I came across the name of Showers Brothers Furniture Company and created a video on the company and its first manager. If you like to view it on You Tube, it can be found at
 
#83 ·
Video Tribute to Edward Barnsley, Arts and Craft Furiture

This month I created a tribute video to Edward Barnseley, one of the last Arts and Craft English woodworkers who created furniture with only hand tools until 1951,. The video captures some iconic photos of woodworking that remind us why we got into woodworking. The video can be found at
 
#86 ·
Wharton Esherick's Woodcuts Re-posted

This video focuses on the early life-story of Wharton Esherick, the future designer, and his personal discovery that a woodcut will create a simple and bold image that is worth a thousand words If you would like to see it, please go to

Every woodworker should try to make a woodcut in their lifetime. There is great satisfaction in seeing how a little chisel work on boxwood can create a bold contrast of black ink on white paper.
 
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