The Rebate Plane Series and More of My Work

Essential Woodworking Hand Tools by Paul Sellers

Writing my book and indeed seeing it published a few short weeks ago stirred many deep feelings in me. More than almost anything I've done in any literature work to date at least. In fact, it impacted me so much I recently went on to complete a companion manuscript I started alongside the Essential Woodworking Hand Tools book and I completed all of the photography and drawings last week. This is yet another skills building workbook designed to provide the essentials and further solidify the foundational work I believe was instrumental to my finding fulfilment as a working craftsman. Spurred on all the more, as well as my next book being prepared for publishing, I have two more books in progress right now and these of course enhance the work we do as filmmakers and educators for the new genre woodworker I chose two decades ago to invest the remainder of my life in.  It seems to me from the number of emails and comments I've received (and a big thank you for that too) that everyone who bought the book was stunned by the quality, size and content including the "amazing photography and graphic work." It seems it was way more than anyone expected and this is what happens when you keep your finger on the pulse to make certain no one dumbs down the content by poor editing, poor print quality and low-grade publishing work. I think the fact that there is no padding, no fluff and stuff and then no fanciful imaginations from unqualified inputters made the real difference. We picked the best and the most highly skilled and then the most knowledgeable in their field. For me it did do exactly what we wanted to achieve no matter what aspect of training it brought to our now worldwide audience. I hoped to convey how my hand tools had served me for 50 years and more, I tried not to be too philosophical without good reason. With almost 500 pages and the 3 DVD package as support, we are doing the same to our future books too.

Tools for Honourable Mention

In a book like Essential Woodworking Hand Tools there are limits as to how much you can put into it without making the book massive and content overwhelming. There are many tools that I love hanging around that didn't quite make it into the pages. These tools are not lesser tools at all. In fact used in the context of a particular task they can indeed be indispensable but if you use them only once every two years it might be hard to qualify them as essential. A compass plane might be such a tool, or a compass saw. It might be better to consider a tool's value according to how much you rely on the tool and how often you reach for it in a given day, week or year. That was where I drew the line in the sand for some of the tools. naturally this can leave gaps in a persons education so this current series and some I plan on releasing here via my blog will fill in those gaps over the upcoming months. Of course it's not the same as having a real book in your library, but who knows, we may find a block of time to add another volume when the current works I am completing are published in the upcoming months and years. I have no plans to stop writing books, blogging and making films content. In some ways, although I still work 12 hours in any given day, these are indeed my retiring years. What does that mean? I retired from working for a living in my mid 20s. I decided then that doing what you love is retiring from the monotony of working for a living. I still love working with my hands. making and making videos for teaching and training others. I have no plans to stop.

The book has indeed gone beyond my imagination and of course you can now buy it just about anywhere in the world directly from us at Rokesmith and via Amazon. In North America Lee Valley Veritas now has it in stock though I understand it is yet to go into its catalog and so too Highland Woodworking has the book on its shelves and online.

The Current Series on Rebate Planes

Having just started the rebate plane series with the initial ones published I will be working through the ten or so plane types to bring you the working knowledge i have gained through the years.This will take a few weeks as the category is quite massive. We just completed the Stanley #78 series and we discussed other makers in that range too. The bullnose plane went up yesterday and I think you will enjoy that one also. This is where the blog is ideal. I can post information and even update it or edit it later to keep things current. That means clipping of years on your learning curve as you put into practice in expanding your knowledge and vision by the physical using of them.