Book Stand Hidden Inside a Walnut Slab...

André Jacob Roubo (1739–1791) was a carpenter, cabinetmaker and author. Roubo was born and died in Paris. The son and grandson of master cabinetmakers, he earned that same designation himself in 1774 through the publication of his masterwork treatise on woodworking.

He wrote a highly influential complete treatise on woodworking that covers practically all the associated trades. This multi-volume work, L'Art du Menuisier (The Art of the Joiner), published between 1769 and 1774 by the Académie des Sciences, contains sections and illustrations on: building carpentry, furniture making, and precious woodworking (ébénisterie), carriage making, and garden woodworking.

Roubo's design for a workbench has proven to be popular amongst some modern woodworkers and his workbench is by far my favorite. But there will be more coming about workbench designs in future blogs...

This piece is about Roubo’s book stand design made out of one single piece of wood only. No hinges, no hardware. There are a few videos showing the technique on how to make this amazing stand, but this video is the one I like the most. The artisan here treats that piece of walnut with absolute respect.

Click on the image to open the video.

Andre Roubo Folding Bookstand made from a single piece of Walnut.

There is another book stand I found over the net and is shown in “L’Enseignement Professionnel du Menuisier” (book 1) by Léon Jamin.

The plates below illustrate how to draw the book stand in perspective. The three images here are joined to one another at the edges, making for a complete exploration of all the details of the book stand.

Feel free to download the three images if you wish and stick them together to see how the complete plate looks and perhaps have a go making this stand yourself.

Click on the pictures to download them in high resolution.

"Au revoir", Gaston