Whether You’re a Skilled Craftsman or DIY Newb, You’re Going to Want This Book on Your Shelf
Design hobbyist Jeff Waldman’s illustrated guide to more than 500 tools will give you a head start for the job at hand.
Design hobbyist Jeff Waldman’s illustrated guide to more than 500 tools will give you a head start for the job at hand.
Jeff Waldman’s story should inspire anyone to pick up a hammer. Wanting to escape the confines of San Francisco, Waldman, an electronic systems engineer by profession, and his partner, Molly Fiffer, who works in nonprofit, headed to the Santa Cruz Mountains where they DIY’ed their own cabin, each step a total learning process. It started with a table.
"Everything we built there, at the time that we built it, was the pinnacle of our experience and knowhow," says Molly. "That picnic table represented the totality of what we were capable of making."
The couple constructed Redwood Cabin using wood they felled and milled on-site—those experiences were new, too—and brought friends along to pitch in, all in the name of experimenting, learning, and building something together. Sadly, the cabin burned down in the fires that blazed through the area in August of 2022. But not everything was lost.
Plans for the cabin (and other designs) are available for purchase from Waldman’s company, Elevated Spaces, and his new book, Tools: The Ultimate Guide, covers all the hammers, wrenches, and welders you’d need to build one. Even if you don’t plan on felling redwoods in the near future, you’ll be glad to be have Waldman’s book at hand should the time come.
Tools: The Ultimate Guide
A must-have compendium for anyone looking to learn about the fascinating world of over 500 essential tools. This is the book for answering all your tool questions, gaining knowledge before hiring a professional, or simply flipping through just for the joy of learning something new about the objects that shape our world. This expansive guide catalogs more than 500 tools for measuring, cutting, fastening, and shaping—from hammers and saws to wrenches, welders, and drawknives. Throughout these illustrated pages, you'll learn how to care for each tool so it can last a lifetime, as well as learn intriguing tidbits and fascinating histories of each object along the way. TONS OF INFORMATION: This chunky book is filled with detailed information about a wide variety of tools you'd find in a home improvement store; it will earn a spot in your garage, shed, workshop, or studio. EASY TO USE: Learn how to avoid wasting countless hours on head-scratching home repairs, wonky backyard builds, and failed garage tinkering.
Follow Jeff Waldman on Instagram @elevatedspaces, or read more about Redwood Cabin.
