Woodwork

Review by Jason T. Amsden:

I have found it difficult to find a book with actual exercises to build hand skills in an organized manner. I think many self taught woodworkers have peaks and valleys of skills due to the nature of “solo woodworker” learning (project plans and piece meal magazine articles). Sometimes my inefficient methods have taken more time and wasted more wood than I would care to admit.

This book is based on a course taught at a school under the author’s direction. Though I am sure the live course would be vastly superior, I find this book to be an excellent guide. I would not pass it by if you are completely self taught with years of experience and/or successful projects under your belt. It is a great reinforcing tutorial. If I could have done it all over again I would have started with the course or bought this book.

Review by Steven Vela:

Having muddled my way through about 6 years as a hobbyist woodworker, I wish I would have found this book first. It provides excellent instruction on basic woodworking techniques, but it also unashamedly recommends the surprisingly few, but high quality tools one needs to produce beautiful furniture. Had I read this book first, literally hundreds of dollars in unnecessary or substandard tools wouldn’t be cluttering up my shop today!

Additionally, this book will teach you how to hand and machine cut several woodworking joints using step-by-step narrative and clear, color illustrations. Not only will the book serve the beginning woodworker, but will challenge the more experienced craftsperson to take his or her work to the next level.

I just had the pleasure of taking Peter Korn’s class at his school in Maine, and was surprised at how closely it follows this text. While no book can substitute for the interactivity of a two week course, actually going through the process of completing each one of the projects in this book will be time and resources well spent. Even experienced woodworkers would not be wasting their time in going back to the basics and perfecting their techniques and execution.

I highly recommend this book.

Review by tzefirah:

I bought this book because I thought it would give me project specifications for the novice furniture builder. It doesn’t give project instructions. Instead, it gives instructions on any simple design that you might create for your own furniture designs. It gives instructions on different drawers, different doors, different legs, etc. In other words, this book gives you the freedom to be creative and also to accomplish your own vision.

Review by Scott Pointon:

Through my work as a public librarian I recently ordered this book, and subsequently had the opportunity to be the first at my library to read it! I am very impressed with the sheer scope of the work. Having long been a fan of the Taunton Press I expected this work to be very good quality, and I was not disappointed. I agree with most of the favorable comments made by other reviewers, but I have to disagree with the claim made by another that this book is disjointed. I found it to be very readable and informative. To me the beauty of this book is that there is something in it for everyone. Beginners will of course gather the most new knowledge here, but even seasoned woodworkers (and woodworking book junkies) will find it interesting and above all useful. Besides the grand scope of the book, I was impressed most with the fresh and creative ways that common woodworking knowledge is presented. I found that the way the chapters were laid out, the order of presentation, felt very natuaral. Each subject flows nicely into the next. I particularly liked the sections illustrating the most common forms of a particular component of woodworking. Such as, the most common methods for mounting and fitting drawers and doors, the most common edge details for shelving, the most common dimensions for various categories of furniture, etc.If I had to sum up why this book is a great buy I would have to say it is because this book serves as both an encyclopedia of woodworking facts (usefull to all woodworkers among us) and a comprehensive collection of tips and advice (which novices will find especially helpful). I highly recommend this purchase.

Review by Paul Martin:

This book reminds me of several other books in my collection: The Readers’ Digest Complete Do it Yourself Manual, and similar books being published by Home Depot and Lowe’s. The book attempts to cover an astonishing range of topics, and what it lacks in depth is made up in encyclopedic coverage. It is well done, but shows both the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. If you are looking for something along this line, you won’t be disappointed. It is a useful reference, which will probably see a lot of use. On the other hand, if you are looking for in depth instructions on how to do something in particular, you are better off looking elsewhere. The book begins with a very strong section on the properties of wood, discussing 20 distinct types of softwoods, 56 types of hardwoods, as well as veneers, plywoods, particle boards and fiberboards. Each type is discussed with comments on sources, characteristics, workability, weight, and common uses. After a brief section on furniture design, it proceeds to three sections on tools. These take up the bulk of the book. There are few recommendations on which tools to buy first, or which to put off until later. The authors don’t tell us much about what to look for when choosing a tool. Each tool is recommended just as highly as all the others, with sections on typical uses and how to perform them. On the other hand, the coverage of techniques is incredibly thorough in the handful of pages devoted to each tool. There are also a number of techniques here specifically aimed at those of us who have a less than complete collection of tools.The authors follow this with a brief section on setting up the home workshop, and then a chapter on joinery. Like most older books, the construction of dovetail joints is shown entirely by hand, rather than with a router and set of dovetail jigs. This is followed by sections on wood bending, veneers, carving and finishing.My copy, though printed in 2000, was written in 1989. The book is showing its age, particularly in the sections on power tools. The most striking examples are the pictures of DeWalt power tools in a sickly green color, which must have preceeded their current trademark yellow. In most sections, this makes very little difference, but in places one wishes for a second edition. The authors discuss combination tools and radial arm saws in great depth, while ignoring modern additions like the compound miter saw. The book reads like one written by a committee, with bland, unopinionated language. This is not a book you would enjoy reading from cover to cover, but that is probably not the intent. It is properly viewed as an encyclopedic reference work.This is a good book to buy in the early stages of learning about woodworking. I would recommend this book as a good second book, rather than a first book, because there is too little guidance for the neophyte.

Review by B. Hoogerbrugge:

I got this book shortly before getting “The Basics of Craftsmanship”, and enjoyed the detailed discussion of wood types. However, I was looking for a little more “how-to” information. It’s not enough to say how such-and-such a tool is good for ripping; as a beginner I want to know WHAT ripping is, and how to do it with different tools. I found that “Basics” gave more coverage to this kind of information. With all its pretty pictures I’ll probably be more likely to put this book on my coffee table than in my shop.

Review by :

I bought this book for the Rabbit Hutch only.
The rabbit hutch is exactly what I wanted. Easy access, simple to build, and the rabbit will love it.
If you put legs on it, it could be used inside with a litter pan underneath, which is what I plan to do with it. But I’m also going to make one for outside as well because it is made so that it’s easy to move around.The other projects include a wheeled two-seater bench (love it), a picnic table (it’s not your regular picnic table design), an arbor with a seat, and an arbor with a swing, a folding screen and a very small tool shed. These were the ones I liked the most.

Review by Woody 1:

I have a LOT of books and magazines full of plans for all sorts of things, but this one really stands out. So many quick easy projects you run across out there are for things that are outdated or are just plain dumb. This book is different – - the plans are for things that are actually useful and good-looking, things you’ll want to make, and be proud of. As soon as I got the book I proceeded to make a bunch of the photo stands as Christmas gifts. There are some really simple items that can be made with a minimum of tools, and others that will be of interest to those with a shop full of power tools. These projects are especially great for those times when you don’t want to spend several weeks building something. They’re just fun projects that only require a day or two to complete, with a minimum amount of wood and expense. I highly recommend this book!

Review by Eric L. Fox:

This book has so many projects in it that some are bound to interest you. The problem with books that feature, say 25 projects, is that if you find 10% of them interesting you get 2-3 projects out of the book. This has 150 projects. If you find 10% of them interesting then you walk away with clear instructions and pretty detailed plans for 15 projects. This book is well written and includes sections on finishing and material selection. I own many “project” books. This book outshines them all by a wide margin. Joinery is pretty basic and the projects run from beginner to intermediate, with most of them being the former. One point that I feel compelled to mention, however, is that most projects in this book require a machine (or hand tool) that will cut curves. Just buy it!