Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop

If you're like me, you own a hundred back issues of Shop Notes, Wood, and have shelves full of books on specific topics from Framing to Finishes. Most of these articles you skim, get inspired with techniques and design elements, and apply those to your own projects. After spending a few days with this book, I get the feeling that Nick understands how woodworkers and tinkerers consume books, and wanted to make something that would suit them.This book is Fun: There's lovely photography that will inspire you, and there's several techniques and ideas that were new to me in some of the project-plans. But, what makes this book different is that there are also artist profiles, general shop advice, and Nick Offerman's humor and sensibilities throughout. You probably won't read it cover-to-cover, but then, the book doesn't appear to be designed to be consumed in that way. It's perfect for a casual read; to pick up at the end of the day and read a few pages.This is not to say that the book doesn't contain practical instruction; it does, and those projects are well presented. You should be warned however that some of the projects here are going to come off as a bit precious for an older experienced woodworker, but then, many of the projects are going to be approachable and exciting to younger and inexperienced woodworkers.The fun of this book will inspire you to get back into the shop to finish your most recent project.This book would be a great gift for a wide range of woodworkers with a wide range of interests; you'd have a hard time going wrong.

This is a delightful book written in a casual style fitting the merry band of artisans that work a the Offerman Woodshop. Each chapter highlights one of Offerman’s team, sharing with the reader who they are and how they wound up at the shop. Then there is a detailed discussion about their pet project that the reader could easily emulate if so desired. There plenty here to satisfy a woodworker interested in learning tricks and techniques.

I'm a huge fan of Nick Offerman from his Ron Swanson character on Parks and Recreation. It turns out that Ron Swanson has a lot of Nick Offerman in him. You can almost hear Ron Swanson narrate this book in your head. This book is an inspirational dream for the weekend warrior and amateur woodworker who loves turning chunks of wood into beautiful and useful things. It's like shop talk with your Dad. This is not a technical tome or instructive manual, but it has lots of technical stuff in it along with some decent instruction, common sense wisdom and some very funny stories. This is about one man's passion for wood craft and his desire to share that passion with others of like mind and spirit. There are guest chapters by master woodworkers along with cool projects of all sorts and skill levels by members of the Offerman wood shop, and even some great recipes for your next cookout. This book could be subtitled "The Joy of Working Wood."

I wasn't honestly sure what to expect when I picked this book up. Is it a memoir? A work of comedy? A woodworking tutorial? I looked it up on the recommendation of an acquaintance who knew I'd begun dabbling in woodworking and picked it up when a preview I read included a page dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society founder Andrew Leman (who, I discovered, created the Offerman Wood Shop logo). Now that I've read it, I can say the book managed simultaneously to be all of the things I expected and none of the things I expected. The best way to describe it is as a peek behind the curtain of one particular wood shop.If you're looking for anything in particular, you're likely to find it here, but you're also likely to be disappointed by how little of the book is dedicated to any particular element. You want some woodworking projects? They're here, but if that's all you want, you'll be bored during the biographical interludes. Want to know about a variety of different woodworkers? They're in here too, but sandwiched between all the other content. Comedy? Sure, plenty of the lines are funny, but this is a book more about wood than about humor. Amazingly, it even finds the time to include a handful of recipes near the back.For those looking specifically to learn about woodworking, this book is a bit of a mixed bag. It does have step-by-step projects, and they're targeted to a variety of skill levels ranging from the beginner to the advanced. That said, if you don't have access to a well-equipped shop, you're going to struggle to find things you can do. Even the relatively simple projects were assembled in a very large woodshop with access to some rather expensive tools. Can they be adapted to the home shop consisting of just a few tools stored between cars in a garage? Some of them easily could, others not so much.Even when the projects can be adapted to the particular tools you have at your disposal, don't expect this book to provide a very complete education in woodworking. If you're looking for either a step-by-step course to the craft or an encyclopedic reference, you'll find neither of those things here. Instead, what you'll find is an inspiring look at a cross section of the things you can make out of wood, and at the variety of people who make them. You'll encounter some interesting characters and come to appreciate how they impart their personality into their projects.If you're interested in woodworking, whether as a practitioner, a student, or merely an admirer, this book will provide you with, as the title might suggest, plenty of "Good Clean Fun." If you're not particularly interested in wood but only considering this book because of the author's work as an actor and comedian, you probably won't find what you're looking for here.