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Thread: Who are your favorite woodworkers of all time?

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  1. 09-08-2023, 3:59 PM #1
    Mike Mason
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    Who are your favorite woodworkers of all time?

    Who are some of your favorite woodworkers, past or present, and why?

    This might include practitioners of several different styles of woodworking. For instance, one might admire what Roy Underhill has done for woodworking awareness in general, especially green woodworking, but also appreciate the style of Sam Maloof, Tage Frid, George Nakashima, James Krenov or even Chippendale, Phyfe, etc., even though their end products are nothing like each other.

    I'll keep my opinions to myself, I'm just curious as to what others think. I do have a specific reason for asking, but I don't want to color anyone's responses by saying what it is.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 09-10-2023 at 7:49 AM. Reason: fixed the title
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  3. 09-08-2023, 4:03 PM #2
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    Mike Henderson
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    I've always liked Sam Maloof. But that's because I had a chance to spend some time with him twice. He was a wonderful story teller.

    Sam was an extremely likable guy - to meet him was to like him. I think that was a big part of his success.

    Mike

    [I never cared for Nakashima's work. All that mumbo-jumbo about "the soul of the tree" and his slab furniture just turned me off.]
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 09-08-2023 at 4:05 PM.
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  4. 09-08-2023, 6:19 PM #3
    Frederick Skelly
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    I've always liked Sam Maloof.

    [I never cared for Nakashima's work. All that mumbo-jumbo about "the soul of the tree" and his slab furniture just turned me off.]
    +1 to both.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
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  5. 09-08-2023, 8:53 PM #4
    David Stone (CT)
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    Tage Frid, for me. First and foremost as a teacher/author: Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking is, IMO, the greatest woodworking how-to book(s) ever published. And I like many of his designs. Another one is Edward Barnsley, who, like others in the middle twentieth century, took traditional forms and design language and made something fresh with them.
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  6. 09-08-2023, 9:32 PM #5
    Christopher Herzog
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    Charles Percier, google Napoleon Egyptian Cabinet. Some day i will give one a go, minus the silver inlays.

    Chris
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  7. 09-08-2023, 10:47 PM #6
    Rob Sack
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    Definitely Sam Maloof. I was always amazed at the quality of his design and workmanship. I had the good fortune of attending 8 or 9 of his all day workshops and home tour over the years I always left inspired. I also had the good fortune of ordering one of his chairs. When it was ready, we drove out to pick it up and he spent over half a day with us showing us around his house and shop. The other thing that always impressed me was that he was an "open book", willing to share everything woodworking.
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  8. 09-08-2023, 11:48 PM #7
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    andrew whicker
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    I don't really know all the big names that well. I tend to buy books that have a collection of fine furniture and gloss over them from time to time.

    A few standouts for me: Wendell's Ghost Clock. Has to be one of the most amazing feats in woodworking ever, in my opinion. Just awesome.

    Judy Kensley McKie's Monkey Settee . Super cool bench. Insanely well done. (https://americanart.si.edu/artist/ju...ley-mckie-6870)

    Kristina Madsen's Dining Chair. Perfection. (https://www.kristinamadsen.com/)

    People will probably disagree with me, but John Cederquist is a lot of fun. I really want to see one of his pieces in person in order to understand it. (http://www.johncederquist.com/)

    To be fair, when I day dream about building my ideal furniture projects they are usually a mixture of materials and I'm not super into woodworking perfection or tricked out joinery. I think Maloof was an obviously excellent woodworker, but I don't find his designs high on my inspiration list.
    Last edited by andrew whicker; 09-09-2023 at 12:00 AM.
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  9. 09-09-2023, 12:03 AM #8
    Warren Lake
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    gepetto did nice work
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  10. 09-09-2023, 9:14 AM #9
    Mel Fulks
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    gepetto did nice work
    Especially when the DON said , “ I want ‘ya to use all your powuz an all ya’ skillz”.
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  11. 09-13-2023, 5:35 PM #10
    Ted Diehl
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    That's funny!
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  12. 09-14-2023, 5:19 PM #11
    Derek Meyer
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    I remember when I was watching PBS, they would show The New Yankee Workshop, and right after it they would show The Woodwright's Shop. It was such a jarring contrast, seeing one guy who was all about power tools, and then the guy who was all hand tools and old time machinery that was human-powered. I liked them both a lot. Norm made me feel liek woodworking was something that I could do, and demonstrated tools that I was interested in. Roy was a master craftsman and showed what you could do with technique and patience. Such a contrast of styles, but both great in their own ways.
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  13. 12-24-2023, 6:21 PM #12
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    Maurice Mcmurry
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    gepetto did nice work
    +1 for Gepetto! he knew a good piece of wood when he came across one.

    I forgot how cute and clever the Adventures Of Pinocchio book is. My memory is mostly of the the Disney movie. It might be time to read Pinocchio again.

    IMG_1788.jpg
    Last edited by Maurice Mcmurry; 12-24-2023 at 7:22 PM.
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  14. 09-09-2023, 12:09 AM #13
    Howard Rosenberg
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    Woodworkers -
    Wharton Esherick.
    Greene and Greene.
    Frank Pollaro (heart-stoppingly beautiful art deco)

    Designers, not woodworkers -
    Frank Lloyd Wright
    Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann
    Howard Rosenberg
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  15. 09-09-2023, 1:33 PM #14
    Richard Coers
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    Quote Originally Posted by Howard Rosenberg View Post
    Woodworkers -
    Wharton Esherick.
    Greene and Greene.
    Frank Pollaro (heart-stoppingly beautiful art deco)

    Designers, not woodworkers -
    Frank Lloyd Wright
    Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann
    Greene and Greene were mainly architects, Peter and John Hall were the main cabinetmakers who built the furniture. Their shop was also in Pasadena. https://gamblehouse.org/important-collaborations/
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  16. 12-24-2023, 5:09 PM #15
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    jack duren
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    The guys who trained me..
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