History of Carpentry Book

In 1999, I was working with Texas Baptist Men at Aspendale Baptist Camp in Cloudcroft NM and two workers cut themselves on circular saws in the same day, not serious, but enough to get my attention to the ongoing problem. I told Glenn Smith, Seminole, Texas, that I was going to write up a circular saw safety procedure and send it to the TBM home office in Dallas.

I got started the next week. I finished it a year later. I had 270 pages. After I got started I could not see an end to what I wanted to say. I sent it to Texas A&M and they did an overview edit, they sent it back to me 3 times to be rewritten.. I spent approximately 1000 hours writing the book.

Andy Engal, editor of Fine Homebuilding, a great help, he, Texas A&M and many others taught me a lot about content and presentation of procedures. All the people you read about in "Quotes" were a great help in writing the book.

Elmer Kelton, the greatest western book author of all time, was also a help and inspiration, even though he told me after he looked at the book "I am no part of a carpenter", he was born and raised on a ranch, the same as I, so I know he knows something about it.
 I wrote the book as if I was talking to a 19 year out of high school wanting to be a carpenter. In the book I lead the person through all of the procedures of constructing a house or building. Starting with most overlooked part of construction, how to read and use a measuring tape. Then I go through all of the stages of construction and end up with 30 pages on how to build stairs.

Spending a year writing the book was something I had never done but after completing it I am proud I did it, now it is in nearly all of the construction schools in the US, Canada, UK and Australia.I now know I did the right thing by spending the time to sit down and construct a book with the knowledge I gained as a carpenter for 50 years and I was adamant about having no references as almost  all construction books do.

I have revised the book, changed the name, adding new content, new font, pictures and taking away some parts that I think are not needed for this type of book. The 50 articles I have written in the past few years would fill another book, but I doubt if I ever write one. I had rather just do the articles and you can choose your selection to read. I have had many articles accepted by the Carpenters Council, Habitat, AGC and many others and have had 5 articles in major magazines. The circular saw article has been read by over 8 million people around the world. Magazines publishers frown on accepting excerpts from published books. They all have rejected the book as to publishing it because I mention God 12 times in the book. I also talk of drugs/alcohol and tell the young carpenters not to use them. I have never touched drugs. They don't like mention drugs or alcohol either. I am leaving the book as is. What I say is none of their business.

 Bob Johnston, carpenter

About Bob Johnston

I was born in Quay County, New Mexico, near McAlister,  in 1946. I became a carpenter when I was 7 years old. I drove a full one pound can of nails into my aunt's apple tree. I told my mother after she got on to me for doing this that I was a carpenter and driving nails is what carpenters do. She laughed and agreed, and I began my career.

I was questioned the other day about starting as a carpenter at age 7, he does not realize the desire I had to become a carpenter. When I was 10 my dad told me to nail a 2x4 around the perimeter of a flatbed cotton trailer. We were going to haul some hay the next day and this 2x4 kept the hay from falling off. He pointed to another trailer and said there is one you can go by and walked off. I immediately went to work as this was the first time I can remember him letting me do something on my own. I sawed the boards and drove far more nails than needed, I was very proud of that job, he came back in about 2 hours and said, good, and that is all he said. He was a man of few words.

As I look at my son today I know my dad was probably watching every move I made installing that rim on the trailer. When I was 12 he let me build a set of hog pens and let me have a helper. They are still in use today, 50 years later. Unheard of today.

Very few young people have the desire to be a carpenter these days, they had rather stare into a 16x12 screen. There will always be a place for a good carpenter. I have no regrets choosing to be one. The only thing I regret is the hardships my family endured. Construction is a tough business and your family is usually the one that pays for most of the hardships and disappointments.

I went to college for four years and studied to be an architect and structural engineer. I quit college and went into the Army and learned how to destruct other peoples properties and kill them while doing it. That is what the Army teaches you, and these two procedures are good to know when you are at war.
In 1972, I went to work for Page and Wirtz construction company. I worked with concrete mainly but that also involves a lot of carpentry work. With P&W I became a journeyman in the trades of welder, drywaller, painter, mason, electrician, plumber and carpenter. If you wanted to be a superintendant you had to qualify in these trades.
In 1982, I went into business for myself and got a contractor's license. I have been doing business in New Mexico ever since.

Today I am a superintendent for a large construction company that builds commercial buildings/airports in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I will do my best to help you to the best of my knowledge. There is a lot I don't know. I have been a carpenter for over 50 years, and each year I learn something new. I feel like I know what I am doing when I constructing a building or a sawhorse. That is why I wrote "50 years as a Carpenter". It would be a sin to throw away 50 years of experience for the reason most carpenters give for not sharing their knowledge "It's a trade secret". I don't have any trade secrets, I'll tell you all I know and about the man who helped me write the book "50 years as a  Carpenter".                                                      Bob Johnston, carpenter