Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers
Born (1950-01-04) 4 January 1950
Stockport, Cheshire, England
Occupation Furniture maker, writer and teacher
Nationality British
Education Apprenticeship
Notable works
  • Essential Woodworking Hand Tools
  • Working Wood 1 & 2: The Artisan Course
Website
paulsellers.com

Paul Sellers (born 1950) is a British woodworker, writer and teacher. He was apprenticed as a woodworker in the UK in 1965 at the age of 15.[1] He moved to the US in 1984 and quickly became noted for his ability in traditional woodworking. He has and continues to teach people the craft of woodworking. He has designed and made cabinets for the White House.[2] He started the New Legacy School of Woodworking that provides short courses.[3] Sellers is author to Working Wood which was published in 2011 and Essential Woodworking Hand Tools which was published in 2016. He then moved to premises at the Sylva Wood Centre in Long Wittenham, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire.[4]. Recently Paul moved to larger premises in an industrial unit in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Paul has established a considerable worldwide presence and following on YouTube, where he shares his long experience of woodworking with hand tools, with current and future generations. He recognised that he is one of the last people to experience a formal English woodworking apprenticeship using hand-tools and has worked tirelessly to preserve as much of that rapidly disappearing knowledge and experience as he can. He does so without sponsorship from tool makers, which might compromise his impartiality and credibility. He presents an approach to woodworking that is deliberately both inclusive and affordable, favouring restoring good quality, common, affordable, long lasting, old tools rather than promoting expensive premium new tools or inferior, modern "knock offs" (copies) or expensive specialist tools. His no-nonsense insights and advice carry the credibility of his 50 plus years as a Master Craftsman woodworker, working in the UK and USA.

Paul has created a veritable library of YouTube videos with his son, Joseph, and team. As well as a supporting website and blog. Notable episodes include several on saw sharpening from beginner to advanced, chisel preparation, a comparison/demonstration of modern bevel-edged chisels and vintage "pig-sticker" mortice chisels, "rag-in-a-can oiler", restoring planes, setting up planes, setting up and using old wooden planes and series such as building your own workbench/stool/toolchest and his series of videos showing how to make "Poor man's" versions of various tools. He has provided the inspiration and instruction for a diverse new generation of woodworkers, of all ages, both amateur and professional. Paul has mentioned in various contexts that he considers himself an amateur in the sense that he does this for the love of the craft, it is more than a profession to him, it is his life style and his life. He is creating a woodworking knowledge base legacy for all.

Paul is noted for increasing the price of secondhand hand-tools whenever he discusses them, on his blog, or uses them, on YouTube, as more people learn how to restore, set-up and use them and appreciate them. Most notably the Cinderella of woodworking hand-tools, the router plane; once unsellable, these tools are now much sought-after and often command prices of £100 or more. The humble and ubiquitous #4 plane is also once again valued and sought-after. Consequently, he can also be credited with saving many old tools from being discarded or scrapped.

Articles

References

  1. ↑ "Meet the Woodworker: Paul Sellers | WoodWorkers Guild of America". WoodWorkers Guild of America. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  2. ↑ Sellers, Paul (2011). Working Wood 1&2: The Artisan Course with Paul Sellers. p. 17. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Hess, Joel. "New Legacy School of Woodworking". Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Sylva Foundation • news". sylva.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
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