A.J. Hamler stands among the mostly handmade benches in his garage woodworking shop. Two new books, one with birdhouse and wildlife projects and one featuring Civil War-style furniture, will be available later this year.
WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. – A Williamstown writer and woodworker is gaining notoriety with his how-to books.
A.J. Hamler, who has published three woodworking books, one a best seller, will soon be publishing two more.
His “Easy to Build Birdhouses, a Natural Approach: Must-Know Info to Attract and Keep the Birds You Want,” reached best-seller status in late 2013, Hamler said.
“It has sold over 40,000 copies,” Hamler said. “For a woodworking book, that’s Stephen King or James Patterson numbers.”
This book was the first one he published through Hamler’s current publisher, F+W Media.
In 2010, “Easy to Build Birdhouses, a Natural Approach” was the most popular book sold by F+W Media, Hamler said.
Hamler’s second woodworking book with F+W Media was “The Box Builder’s Handbook: Essential Techniques with 20 Step-by-Step Projects,” Hamler said.
The box-building book was relatively popular, showing readers how to build boxes of every size and shape for multiple uses around the home, Hamler said.
When Hamler went to write his next book, F+W requested that it be about birds again…