Then I was reading one of Roy Underhill's books and he showed a picture of a cart they used to move logs in Colonial Williamsburg. Here's a similar picture: http://www2.willard.lib.mi.us/bcphotos/transportation/r20_1180.htm It has two big wheels at the end of a long beam. On the short end of the beam, near the wheels, are two hooks that snag the sides of the log. You put the long beam up in the air, snag the log, then pull the beam down so it is parallel with the log. Then you chain the log to the beam. Now, if the log is centered properly, you pick up the front of the beam and roll the log out of the forest. Genius!

I think the old timers understood finesse much better than I do.

The question:

I'm tired of reading books and magazine articles that just encourage me to buy one product or another and have all my woodworking problems solved.

I'm considering cancelling my Fine Woodworking subscription to read old books instead. Do you all have any suggestions for old books (or books about old wood technology) that are a good read?

I remembered, just as I pushed the send button. When I buy a book, I normally prefer to thumb thru it first, unless I know very well what the content is. So, used bookstores are about #1 on my list. At times I do frequent new bookstores to check out their books, then any I'm actually interested in owning, I check on-line for a used copy. If I just want to read one, I check my local library - if they don't have a copy, I see if they can borrow a copy - they do have a fee for this now, so in some cases it could be cheaper to buy a copy, but seldom is. Any books you don't want, you can usually trade them in at any good used bookstore.