Norm Abram is the much admired and even beloved host of the PBS show New Yankee Workshop and a longtime fixture on This Old House. In Measure Twice, Cut Once, we get a peek inside Norm's extensive toolbox, as Norm simply talks tools -- his likes, his dislikes, and, of course, more than a few helpful tips.
Norm has a reputation for loving power tools but in Measure Twice, Cut Once he focuses on his favorite hand tools. His knowledge is impressive as he covers a wide spectrum of hand tools -- folding rules, tape measures, chalk boxes, squares, levels, plumb bobs, saws, planes, knives, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, hammers, crowbars and chisels. Norm's favorite tool is the right tool, be it a power tool or a hand tool -- whatever is best for the job at hand.
I read somewhere that Norm wrote most of this book by dictating it into a recorder as he drove to and from various job sites. It shows -- the book is loose and conversational and Norm even gets a little personal. He talks a great deal about his father, who died shortly after this book was finished. The connection between Norm and his father through carpentry is heartfelt and it's nice to see this personal side of Norm.
Norm knows that carpenters are taught some skills and that they learn other skills through personal experience, but he believes that all of it should be passed on to others, just as he learned from his father. The craft and skill of carpentry naturally passes from one generation to the next and so on. That's what Norm tries to do through his TV shows and through books like Measure Twice, Cut Once. He isn't trying to impress you or overwhelm you. He just wants you to put this knowledge to work.
> Book review of Measure Twice, Cut Once by Norm Abram
