““The Naked Woodworker” DVD seeks to answer the simple question: How do you get started in woodworking when you have nothing? No tools. No bench. No skills. And no knowledge of where to begin.

Veteran woodworker and teacher Mike Siemsen helps you take your first steps into the craft without spending a lot of money or spending years setting up shop. In fact, Mike shows you how to acquire a decent set of tools and build a workbench and sawbench for about $600 or $700 – something you can accomplish during a few weekends of work.”

http://lostartpress.com/collections/dvds/products/the-naked-woodworker

I’ll be posting pictures of the various projects I’ll be starting this fall. Quite a few of them have to do with woodworking. Since my skills in that area are uneven at best and I’ve realized that I enjoy working with hand tools more than power tools, I’ll need to learn quite a few “old time” skills along with acquiring some tools like hand planes and braces. It just made sense to start “naked” and pick up this beginner’s guide.

In addition to this DVD/download, Lost Arts Press offers a number of books that look right up my alley. I found out about them via an article about building a rather sharp-looking, portable bookcase in the October 2014 Popular Woodworking magazine. Its a design in a series of books they’re producing called Campaign Furniture, which includes plans for the bookcase, stackable chests, and some very nice-looking chairs called Roorkees.

If you’re into historical reenacting, car camping, steampunk, or British colonial furniture, like my wife and I are, you’ll love the look of this stuff!