Euclid's Door: Building the Tools of ‘By Hand & Eye’

By Geo. R Walker & Jim Tolpin

Illustrations by R. Keith Mitchell & Barb Walker

“Euclid's Door: Building the Tools of ‘By Hand & Eye’” is an illustrated how-to journey through building the ancient tools that still help us to build, well, everything today. 

You’ll learn how to use basic, easy-to-follow artisan geometry to make eight indispensable wooden layout tools – tools found in every cabinetmaker’s tool chest – that you can then use to build furniture (or houses). Plus, you'll learn how to tune them up to an incredibly high level – techniques you can use in all your work. 

You’ll discover the truths of geometry in three dimensions on your workbench – a much better way to grasp the secrets of our craft than words alone can convey. The process of making these tools results in much more than the tools themselves (which are in themselves quite amazing). The tools are teachers that take you on a journey into the secrets of artisan geometry. They develop skills important to the craft. These builds equip both the imagination and the hands. 

The cloth-covered hardbound 115-page book has a sewn and glued binding for durability. Like all our products, "Euclid's Door" is printed in the United States.

Table of Contents

Foreword........................................................................... VII
Introduction.........................................................................IX
1. Laying a Foundation....................................................... 1
2. The Builder’s Bootstrap.................................................11
3. Build a Set of Winding Sticks....................................... 23
4. Make a Try Square...................................................... 35
5. Tools for Layout: Marking Squares.............................. 55
6. Beyond Right Angles: Some Handy Triangles.............67
7. Build Miter Squares.......................................................81
8. Build a Panel Gauge..................................................... 93