About Bob Lang
I grew up in the college town of Kent, Ohio and in the early 1970s I left college. My career as a woodworker began when the band I played bass in needed cabinets for our PA system. The drummer and I made what we needed, were impressed with the finished products and we went into business making speaker cabinets for other bands and local music stores. That business didn’t last, but the spark to make things from wood was ignited.
I spent the next decade in a number of related jobs including building scenery for a theme park, repair of wood boats on Lake Erie, and a commercial cabinet shop. In the early 1980s I was laid off from the cabinet shop and spent the next several years making my own designs and selling them at art shows around the country. Eventually I returned to the world of commercial cabinetmaking while building furniture (and other things) on the side. During this time I became enamored of the work of Gustav Stickley. At the end of this phase of my career I was a project manager in charge of large residential and commercial projects for a large architectural millwork company.
As I learned the trade I read everything I could get my hands on, and my favorite books were books of measured drawings. I expected that sooner of later someone would produce a book of drawings about furniture from the Arts & Crafts period. After nearly 20 years of waiting for the book I envisioned to appear, I decided that maybe I should be the one to research/draw/write one.
In the late 1990s I began and my first book “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” was published in 2001, followed by other books. That led to a new career path and in 2004 I went to work for Popular Woodworking magazine where I was executive editor/project illustrator. After 10 years I left the magazine to work independently. In 2018 I became editor of American Period Furniture, the annual journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers.
I often refer to myself as a juggler. I build, write, teach and publish about making nice things from a wonderful and renewable resource. There aren’t enough hours in the day for everything that interests me.
My approach to publishing is the same as my approach to making furniture; build something of value that will last beyond my lifetime and focus on what others are not doing. I want to ensure that we understand the history and the details of historic examples of furniture.
VISIT MY OTHER WEBSITE READWATCHDO.COM FOR EXAMPLES OF MY WORK AND MY RECENT WRITING ABOUT BUILDING & DESIGNING FURNITURE.
About Craftsman Plans
I launched this website in early 2002 to sell large format plans based on the drawings in “Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture” as well as the book. New plans and books were added as they were published.
Despite appearances this is a low-budget, shoe-string operation. My wife and I maintain this site, fulfill orders and respond to questions. When you purchase or contact us you reach the author or his partner. The two of us are “customer service”, the “shipping department” the “manager” and “tech support”. We are human beings so please forgive us if life gets in the way at times.
From the beginning we have operated with these core principles:
- We do our best to treat our customers the way we want to be treated.
- The site exists to sell my books and plans directly and we appreciate your support.
- There are no ads on this website.
- We do not share customers information with anyone, ever.
- Shipping prices reflect our costs, they are not a source of profit.
VISIT MY OTHER WEBSITE READWATCHDO.COM FOR EXAMPLES OF MY WORK AND MY RECENT WRITING ABOUT BUILDING & DESIGNING FURNITURE.
The best way to reach us is by email. CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL or Fill out the contact form on this page.