Bob Lang’s Books Now in the Popular Woodworking Store

I came to work at Popular Woodworking Magazine in a roundabout way. I spent most of my adult life working with wood professionally, and along the way I read a lot of books and magazines. I was passionate about furniture of the Arts & Crafts period, and wished there was a book of measured drawings similar to books of drawings of other styles. After 20 years or so, I decided to write one. My first book, “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture,” was published in 2001 and was successful enough to enable a second book of furniture drawings, “More Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture,” a book on built-ins, trim and doors titled “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors” and a fourth book, “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Inlays & Hardware.” I stumbled on an online job posting by then-editor Christopher Schwarz who had built a piece from my second book for the magazine. To make a long story short, I landed here in Cincinnati almost nine years ago.

Last summer, my publisher decided to combine books one, two and four into a single volume and the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” was published. I’m not crazy about the title, but I liked the idea. I revised the introductory text for all three books, so background and building information that was scattered previously was combined for a better read and we added several new photos of original pieces and me at work building reproductions. After resolving issues with the initial print run, a second printing has been released and the “Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” is now available in the Popular Woodworking store. If you’re a fan of American Arts & Crafts furniture you’ll find useful these measured drawings for 57 pieces originally made by Gustav Stickley, L. & J.G. Stickley, Charles Limbert and Roycroft – along with text about how the originals were made and how to build reproductions in your own shop.

Also new in the store is my fifth book, “The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker.” This is a bit different than most books on the subject. What’s inside reflects the methods and materials I used when building custom cabinets. It’s a real-world take on both frameless and face frame cabinet construction, and in addition to showing how to put the boxes together it also tells you how to manage a complex project with a zillion parts, such as a typical kitchen project. Throughout the book, I talk about optional methods as well as my preferences.

The third book, “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors” is also available, as is a new compilation of project articles I’ve written for Popular Woodworking Magazine, “Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture: 14 Timeless Designs.” All of these books ship directly so there isn’t any way for me to sign books unless you catch up with me at Woodworking in America, in the aisle at the Maineville Kroger’s or some other appearance.

–Robert W. Lang