{"product_id":"the-intelligent-hand","title":"The Intelligent Hand","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eby David Binnington Savage\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou can download an excerpt of this book \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.lostartpress.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the_intelligent_hand_excerpt-1_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/lostartpress.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/02\/the_intelligent_hand_excerpt-1.pdf\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The Intelligent Hand” is a peek into a woodworking life that’s at a level that most of us can barely imagine. The customers are wealthy and eccentric. The designs have to leap off the page. And the craftsmanship has to be utterly, utterly flawless.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow does one get to this point? And how do you stay there?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne answer to these questions is in this book. Yes, the furniture can be technically difficult to make. But a lot of the hard labor involves some unexpected skills. Listening. Seeing. Drawing. And looking into the mirror and practicing the expression: “And that will cost 20,000 pounds.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs you will see, it’s a personal struggle – like the production of this book. On the day David began work on his manuscript, he received a cancer diagnosis with a grim prognosis. He wasn’t sure what the book would be about or if he could finish it. But David attacked the work with the fervor of a younger, healthier man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSo what is it about? On the one hand, “The Intelligent Hand” is the story of a boy with a stammer who became one of the leading furniture designers in the U.K., working for clients worldwide, including Saudi Arabia and China. It’s a story of extreme failure – bankruptcy – and how he built a new life using the debris from the broken one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIt’s a practical and iconoclastic guide to getting started in woodwork. David has always had pointed opinions about the tools and methods his students should use to get good results. And he shares – in great detail – his recommendations for tools, sharpening, cutting dovetails and building a proper workbench.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIt’s a primer on design. If you have ever wanted to train yourself to create pieces that break out of the typical or expected (to defy what David calls the “Mark I Eyeball”), this book is an excellent start. David’s advice is both general (how to keep a mental record of your ideas) to specific (smudge the ink in your drawings with spit to create shadows) and it will make you want to take up pen, pencil and watercolors before you design your next piece.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBut most of all, “The Intelligent Hand” is a window into David's workshop in Devon. To show how the shop functions, David spins a thread that ties together all the book’s disparate parts by designing a desk and chair for his wife, Carol.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLike many furniture makers, David and Carol’s house is filled with prototypes or factory-made items. All the good stuff went to clients. For this book, David shares the process for how these two personal projects were developed and built.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn the end, this book is an interesting read on many levels. Beginners will see clearly how to get started in the craft and how far one can go. Intermediate woodworkers will devour the sections on design. And the professional will find advice on how to run a good business – and sometimes how not to (plus some practical workshop hints).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe book is funny, sometimes tragic and helpful. And it’s filled with beautiful photos and drawings of David’s pieces from his long career. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLike all Lost Art Press books, “The Intelligent Hand” is produced and printed entirely in the United States. It is 304 pages, 8-1\/2” x 11” and printed on #80 matte-coated paper. The pages are sewn together for a long life. The hard covers are covered in a cotton cloth and then wrapped in a #100 beefy dustjacket. The book is printed in full color.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContents\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eForeword vii\u003cbr\u003ePeople in this Book ix\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e1: Introduction 2\u003cbr\u003e2: For the Unbalanced Amoung Us 6\u003cbr\u003e3: 'Oh, You're Alright' 10\u003cbr\u003e4: And Then There is Lumber 18\u003cbr\u003e5: All Hail the 863 22\u003cbr\u003e6: John Ruskin \u0026amp; 'Happenings' 26\u003cbr\u003e7: Give Not a Stuff 34\u003cbr\u003e8: Flailing About With Wood 42\u003cbr\u003e9: Moving to Devon\u003cbr\u003e10: Alan Peters: The Miserable Mentor 50\u003cbr\u003e11: The Bideford Workshop 54\u003cbr\u003e12: A Tool-using Animal 60\u003cbr\u003e13: Sharp Sharp 72\u003cbr\u003e14: Sawing, Paring \u0026amp; Chopping 82\u003cbr\u003e15: Plane Thinking 90\u003cbr\u003e16: The Transformative Week 96\u003cbr\u003e17: That Damn Chair 106\u003cbr\u003e18: Loading the Gun 110\u003cbr\u003e19: Downloading from Conscious Mind 114\u003cbr\u003e20: First Presentation Drawings 118\u003cbr\u003e21. Waking up George 126\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg height=\"236\" width=\"355\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0306\/3197\/files\/savage_drawing.jpg?v=1739216377\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/finefurnituremaker.com\/\"\u003eDavid Binnington Savage\u003c\/a\u003e (1948 – 2019) was an artist, writer, furniture maker and designer. He attended the Ruskin Art School in Oxford and trained with Alan Peters. In 1984, David founded a workshop in Bideford, North Devon. In 1995, he moved from Bideford to Rowden Farm and founded Rowden Workshops. There, he earned two Bespoke Guild Marks and began to teach students how to design and build fine furniture. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/rowdenatelier.com\/\"\u003eRowden Atelier\u003c\/a\u003e remains a center of excellence in furniture making and design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou can read David’s full profile \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blog.lostartpress.live\/?s=meet+the+author+david+savage\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Art Press","offers":[{"title":"Book","offer_id":13642051911743,"sku":"BK-INTELLIGENT","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Intelligent Hand Book + PDF","offer_id":12992601784383,"sku":"BK-INTELLIGENT \u0026 PDF","price":68.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"PDF only","offer_id":12992283934783,"sku":"BK-INTELLIGENT-PDF","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0306\/3197\/files\/int.hand2.jpg?v=1751312284","url":"https:\/\/lostartpress.live\/products\/the-intelligent-hand","provider":"Lost Art Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}