We are already in the second month into 2016 and had to come back to the material that the festive season brought to the shop.  One of these addition is the Minimalist Woodworker book by Vic Tesolin.

About the Author

You can find most the of the information on Vic's web page, but he currently works at Lee Valley as a technical advisor.  He also studied at Rosewood Studio in Perth, Ontario.

The forward

The forward of the book is done by Tom Fidgen from the Unplugged Woodshop in Toronto.  Tom offers a nice write up on what is a minimalist woodworker from his perspective.  Personally, I've always admired what Tom does and this forward is a pretty good one.  How can it be done differently, minimally without a whole lot.

About the Book

Quite frankly, as of this post, I have not fully read in details the book (actually, I'm half way done) but did go over the book to have a good impression on the material.

If you follow Vic's web site and blog, I believe that the book is a good manifestation of what Vic expresses on his web site.  The text is very concise, to the point and well illustrated.

The book is divided in somewhat 2 sections, where the first half discusses the location, some tools in the minimalist shop, sharpening and making/layout tools.  The second half ifs focused on some projects, shop projects that can benefit many people, regardless of the size of the shop.

Yes there is a heavy focus on hand tools to accomplish most of the tasks covered in the book.  I believe that many woodshed can benefit in integrated some hand tools.  But having the possibility to integrate some power tools can also be nice.  The choice of the tools can depend on many factors and this book helps to facilitate some of these choices.

I think that regardless of the size of the shop, some of the points that Vic covers are valid for any woodworker.  Regardless of the size of the shop, regardless of the tools and regardless of the experience of the person doing the work.

As on the cover, essential tools and smart shop ideas for building with less.  I think if we look closer, we can all take benefit at reading the book and asking ourselves if we can do with less.

Very nice book.  Thanks Vic for the book