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Back to Basics

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  • Regular price $24.95
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Author: Abigail R. Gehring
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, 2008
Soft Cover, 11"x9", 464pages

Over 100,000 sold! Now newly revised and up to date, with over 2,000 color photographs and illustrations. Anyone who wants to learn basic living skills'the kind employed by our forefathers'and adapt them for a better life in the twenty-first century need look no further than this eminently useful, full-color guide. Countless readers have turned to Back to Basics for inspiration and instruction, escaping to an era before power saws and fast food restaurants and rediscovering the pleasures and challengees of a healthier, greener, and more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Now newly updated, the hundreds of projects, step-by-step sequences, photographs, charts, and illustrations in Back to Basics will help you dye your own wool with plant pigments, graft trees, raise chickens, craft a hutch table with hand tools, and make treats such as blueberry peach jam and cheddar cheese. The truly ambitious will find instructions on how to build a log cabin or an adobe brick homestead. More than just practical advice, this is also a book for dreamers'even if you live in a city apartment you will find your imagination sparked, and there's no reason why you can't, for example, make a loom and weave a rag rug. Complete with tips for old-fashioned fun (square dancing calls, homemade toys, and kayaking tips), this may be the most thorough book on voluntary simplicity available. 2,000 color photos; 200 b/w illustrations

Our Promise To You.

If it is for sale in our store -- it is because we use it and love it!

We are happy to share our experiences with these tools which may enhance your own. Given care, maintenance, and love, each of these fine tools is capable of lasting a lifetime. We do limit warranties to those offered by our supplying manufacturers. If ever you have a question or concern regarding any of the tools we sell, please let us know.

Online. On Campus. On The Job Site.

These tools, toys and supplies are in constant use by our students, timber framing crews, and family. At Shelter Tools, we have a working knowledge of every product we sell. Graduates will find particular items recommended in class and on site.


If you don't see the tools or items you need, we can find it for you. Write us or call us anytime.