We found out today that South Africa is not included in the Postage Calculator that our website uses. A customer contacted us via the ‘Contact Us’ page after being unable to make a purchase because of that. We were able to give him a price and alternative way of paying for a purchase other than via the website. If you find this situation occur (not sure if other countries are also not included), please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re pretty much always here, and will respond to you via email asap.

to our Newsletter Subscribers – haven’t received a single entry to the competition yet – so come on, get your cameras out and send us some pics of the project you are most proud of! Remember entries close 30th May, and the winner can choose a book of your choice from the $16- Leatherwork/ Knotting/ Saddlery Craftbook series. There’s plenty of choice, so there should be something of interest for most people in the range!

To all the mums out there we wish you a Happy Mother’s Day for tomorrow. We will enjoy a pleasant luncheon with two of our three sons. The third – well he has to work unfortunately! Hope you have a great day too.

The banners are small sections of larger works created by Ron in a medium he excelled in – watercolour. His versatility is displayed in the variety of subjects he captured in his images, from nautical themes and landscapes to those which demonstrate the love he had for the bushman’s way of life.

His mastery of the medium is demonstrated in the clarity of the finished pieces. No muddy sections, just crisp, appealing images.

Ron wrote a few books to help the budding watercolourist tackle the medium - Watercolour and Sketching Book 1- Getting Started  and Watercolour and Sketching Book 2 – Exploring Colour being two of the books we currently have available. Both books are written in Ron’s well known conversation – style of instruction, with colour images demonstrating his text which makes them easy to follow and learn from. They are great starter books, and are available in the Art/Poetry section of our book catalog.

We hope you enjoy the images.

As a workaround, as many of you will know, we have been refunding the difference between the postage charges quoted at checkout, and the actual cost of postage for our Australian orders. The books that are affected by this are those that cost $16- or less, and a few odd ones that cost more.

If you wish to check on the cost of postage before committing to buy a book (books) from us, don’t hesitate to contact us to confirm how much postage will be. Generally for the small books, one or two can be put into a large envelope for $3- at the most. If you want to check on the postage costs and pay the correct amount for your order plus postage, email or ring us and we can tell you what it will be. You have the option of paying directly into our bank account by EFT, or directly into our PayPal account without going through the website checkout.We do not have credit card facilities except through the checkout however.

The larger books are quite heavy, so the postage at checkout should be correct. We try to send them as economically as possibly and find the 3kg Express Post Satchels are the best way to go price wise, and they also allow us to track their delivery. Most books are too heavy for the 500gram satchels.We also use Fastways Couriers for larger orders to towns down the east coast to Adelaide.

For our international customers, the rates are pretty close to right, but you are also welcome to check with us first, and rather than go through the checkout, pay directly into our PayPal account with your PayPal, if you wish. We will always do what we can to find the best way to send your orders to you.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to purchase without going through the checkout, or just want to check on the price of postage – or with any other queries you may have about the books – we would love to hear from you.

email deb@ramsskullpress.com or telephone (07) 54 241 756

Ron and Anne lived for the past 30 years in Kuranda, and carried their sketchbooks with them wherever they went. This little book is a series of 24 black and white sketches of life in Kuranda, back in the 1980s, when it was an undeveloped and lively country community.

The customer who recently enquired after the book recollected that it represented the Kuranda he recalled when he lived there, and wanted a copy for the memories. We printed a few, with the thought that there may be more people who would like a small memento of Kuranda pre development.

The book is B5 size, with a plastic spine and is available for $12- including postage. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, use the email contact on the website to order.

Ron Edwards is a master at producing how to do it books. Good common sense text is always supported by his own pen and ink sketches which in themselves are very descriptive.

Ron’s latest book is no exception. It’s a book about working with mud bricks. Consisting of just forty eight pages Mud Brick Techniques contains more useful information than most books of twice the size and three times the price.

After an introduction which explains some characteristics of various types of earth construction the book moves into the business of selecting suitable soils, making test bricks and organising work sites to minimise handling. Ron has a relaxed
turn of phrase as in describing the hole he requested a backhoe driver to dig… ‘as deep as a country dunny’ when stock piling brick making soil.

The book goes on to describe various techniques for making and laying bricks. There is an interesting approach to laying curved walls which involves marking the shape on the ground or floor and then suspending weighted string lines vertically from above. It is obviously impossible to use the usual horizontal string line on a curved wall. With Ron’s method, the original curve is maintained by ensuring that the wall continues to rise vertically by using the drop lines as a guide. Various types of wall finishes are also described. The book ends with the down to earth final thought:

‘Although earth building can be hard work, take comfort as you stand there sweating that a good part of the exertion has been caused by your own stupidity in not planning the job through properly. In any case you sleep all the better after a hard day’s work. And there is no nicer room to sleep in than one made of earth, and one that you have created yourself.’

Subsequent editions have included a few updates and improvements, but in essence the latest 8th Edition (2007) is little changed from the original. Still 48 pages, it is now A4 sized, which allows the diagrams to be printed on a larger scale and the text to be a little more easily readable.

After an introduction to mud which includes information on earthquakes, soil and brick testing, Ron gets down and dirty on preparing the mud, making and filling moulds, drying bricks, footings, laying bricks, plastering and bagging. It is an immensely sensible, back to basics type of book, devoid of all temptation to use Bobcats for mixing or buying in pre-made bricks. Ron’s forte has been his love of the old fashioned techniques and his belief that they are still the best.

Ron Edwards passed away in 2008, aged 77. His passion still lives on in the numerous books he authored and illustrated over the years.

This article is appearing in the current edition of the Owner Builder magazine.