MY TRAINING IN CARPENTRY was largely overseen by an old school German possesing all that implies in terms of work ethic and skills. As a result, at the end of my apprenticeship I confess to an immodest smugness about my own skills. Then a friend gave me a copy of Thomas Moloney’s Carpenters’ Pocket Companion. My smugness evaporated. I knew if I were transported back to Moloney’s 1878, I would have only the slimmest chance of landing an apprentice’s job. I will leave it to the reader to review Moloney’s preface as to what inspired the labor of love that became CPC, but his final prefatory paragraph states:
To those who want a book for daily reference, this little volume is offered, hoping that it may prove of practical utility to all who are interested in the Building Trade.
I cannot claim that CPC offers much practical utility in the context of carpentry today. Calculators have made relics of slide rules and simplified the use of the framing square. Computers have revolutionized estimating and many other construction-related chores. This revival of CPC is an attempt to preserve a repository of knowledge I find both fascinating and priceless. I present it to you as it was originally executed with Moloney’s eccentric approach to punctuation and capitalization intact. For clarity’s sake, a few misspellings have been corrected, as have errata from the original volume. Please allow me to conclude by revamping Moloney’s words to my own use.
To those who wish a look at the depth and breadth of knowledge possessed by craftsmen of a bygone era, this little volume is offered. Whether their interest is for history’s sake or because, in their own workshops, they still reach for the handsaw before the power saw, I hope CPC deepens their appreciation of the Building Trade. Barry Tabel Bend, OR
You've done an excellent job with Carpenters' Pocket Companion. I used some of the formulae to lay out a glass-topped coffee table with a double ellipse. Darryl Nelson, MFA
