Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship

First I need to point out that I am an armchair woodworker, unfortunately I have not had the pleasure (yet) to do the various exercises/projects. This was my first woodworking book. The author has a vast experience not only in woodworking, but also, and perhaps more importantly at this level, in *teaching* woodworking. He can explain the various concepts and techniques very eloquently, precisely and concisely. The descriptions are so accurate that it feels like you are actually seeing it done - no, doing it yourself, even though you are (like I was) sitting in a train. The pictures are also excellent, and the balance between text, pictures, drawings and sidebars denotes first-class editing. From a macro level, the book is also carefully structured. The first part describes the properties of wood and how they affect woodworking. Then machines are explained one by one, followed by hand tools (I would have done it the other way around, but never mind). After that, the student is taken through a number of basic exercises, in many cases giving various choices of hand tools and machines. Finally, there are a couple of projects. Be warned, reading the book takes some effort on your side. Especially if you are unfamiliar with technical terms, which are always introduced before they are used in context, you will have to look them up again in the index, which is by the way complete and functional. The author's writing is packed with information (which is good), and he is explaining difficult operations so you sometimes have to read the same paragraph twice to understand how to do things properly. When later projects build on previously-learnt material, the reader is referred to the specific page instead of repeating the explanation. Five stars, well deserved.

This book is fantastic, particularly for the beginner or someone who wants a solid foundation in hand-cut joinery. It is certainly not encyclopedic, nor is it a "project book". It does, however, offer concise and insightful instructions on "the essentials". The "projects" on cutting mortise and tenon, and dovetails, contain a wealth of information about how to mark accurately and cut square and true with hand tools. By focusing on these details, skills develop and better joints happen naturally. As a side note, the book contains lots of bits of good tool advice. The author often mentions, "If I had to have only one of tool X, it would be " which I think would be useful to anyone just getting started. Also, I notice that the tools used by the author in the illustrations are the type that get "best value" in tool reviews. Among tools used in the illustrations are what appear to be Marples blue chip chisels, Starrett squares, Shinwa protractor and bevel, xacto utility knife, etc.

Good book. Using it for a woodworking class. Informative, though current edition is old.

great workbook, tool explanations, bench project, well written.

Well thought out and presented, it is not only a reference book full of information it is also a skill building class taking the reader through various tasks that will be used in a couple of projects later on in the book. The projects are useful, elegant and as a skill building project they incorporate the techniques in the book providing practical application of some fundamental techniques. I purchased about $50 of additional tools that the projects could require (you don't have to have them but a work-around can be tedious) so if you are just starting, be prepared for the additional expense. Not a great deal of money but the book assumes that you already have some fundamental tools either powered or non powered. Also a mortising marking device is not a common item to me, but I now own one so i could complete the projects accordingly. The basics are really essential for designing and building you own furniture. I am only a third of the way into the first project but having read the book prior to starting I see that this is a great, fun way to learn and build up those wood working creds.

j'ai acheté cet ouvrage pour apprendre tous les termes techniques de la menuiserie en anglais dans le but d'aller travailler à l'étranger. Excellent ouvrage, très riche, et répondant parfaitement à ma recherche d'un anglais à usage professionnel.

Fast Amazon Delivery! Good Packaging! Responsive Customer Care! Reasonable Price! About the book, good start for beginners. It includes soo many basic guides for woodworking. You won't regret getting one. All the best 👍🏼

Información muy completa sobre herramientas y cómo aprender a trabajar la madera, con proyectos muy fáciles de seguir e inrformación vital sobre seguridad. Encantado con mi compra.

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angesichts des mangels an unterrichtsmaterialien zu diesem themenbereich aus dem englischsprachigen bereich ein durchaus lohnenswertes buch; es bedarf jedoch der anpassung an die individuellen bedürfnisse