- Roy Underhill
Roy Underhill (b.
22 December ,1950 ) [http://forums.woodworking.com/article_archive.cfm?article=1799§ion=3 "Woodworker's Journal", "Roy Underhill: A Quarter Century of Subversive Woodworking"] . Retrieved29 December ,2007 ] was raised inWashington, DC and was the first masterhousewright at theColonial Williamsburg reconstruction. Since 1979 he has been the host of thePBS series "The Woodwright's Shop ". As of 2004, the show was the longest-running PBS "how-to" show.Underhill was introduced to traditional woodworking by a sister who worked at the
Smithsonian . He attended theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a degree in Theater. In the early 1970s Underhill and his wife moved toColorado to form Homestead Arts to pursue a career in acting. But when that failed the Underhills moved to a remote area ofNew Mexico where traditional woodworking was one of the few means of survival.In the late 1970s Underhill moved back to
North Carolina andDuke University pursuing a multi-disciplinary course of study includingengineering ,forestry andhistory and was subsequently awarded a Master of Forestry in 1977. At the birth of his first daughter, he approached the UNC Center for Public Television with an idea about a traditional woodworking show. Initially rejected, the idea was finally accepted and in 1979 filming began on "The Woodwright's Shop" atWest Point on the Eno in Durham, NC. [http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Self-Reliance/1985-11-01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx "Mother Earth News", "Have Broadax-Will Time Travel"] . Retrieved29 December ,2007 .] Around the same time he also took the job as master housewright and later director of interpretive development atColonial Williamsburg inVirginia .More recently Underhill also works as a communications consultant. He is the author of several books, including "The Woodwright's Eclectic Workshop" and "Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft".
Many handtool aficionados hold Roy Underhill in extremely high regard and may refer to him with the shorthand "St. Roy."
Publications
*Roy Underhill (2000) "Khrushchev's Shoe and Other Ways to Captivate an Audience of 1 to 1,000". Perseus Publishing. ISBN 0-7382-0672-5
*Roy Underhill (1996) "The Woodwright's Apprentice:Twenty Favorite Projects from The Woodwright's Shop". University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4612-0
*Roy Underhill (1991) "The Woodwright's Eclectic Workshop". University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4347-4
*Lisa C. Mullins, Roy Underhill (1988) "Styles of the Emerging Nation (Architectural Treasures of Early America, 13)". Historical Times. ISBN 0-918678-35-8
*Roy Underhill (1986) "The Woodwright's Workbook: Further Explorations in Traditional Woodcraft". University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4157-9
*Roy Underhill (1983). "The Woodwright's Companion: Exploring Traditional Woodcraft". University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4095-5
*Roy Underhill (1981). "The Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft".University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4082-3References
External links
* [http://www.pbs.org/wws/ PBS site for The Woodwright's Shop]
* [http://uncpress.unc.edu/woodwright/ UNC Press - "The Woodwright's Shop" minisite]
* [http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/archive/139/todaysww.cfm/ Article from Woodworker's Journal]
* [http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=787&Itemid=81 Article from Syracuse New Times]
* [http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Self-Reliance/1985-11-01/The-Plowboy-Interview.aspx Mother Earth News interview from 1985]
* [http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Self-Reliance/1983-03-01/The-Whetstone-Quarry.aspx A 1983 Mother Earth News article]
* [http://www.unctv.org/pressroom/woodwright/season27national.html "Woodwright's Shop" 27th Season Annoucement]
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