Woodworking Basics Based on a two-week course in woodworking fundamentals offered at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Camden, Maine, this book takes a traditional approach to teaching, with the idea that learning basic skills is essential to craftsmanship. In the process, the book covers all the bases--from working with hand tools to cutting dovetails. Includes two complete projects: a bench and a small cabinet. Product Review - 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. - J. Amsden

2.

Shelves, Cabinets & Bookcases Everyone needs more storage for books and other media. That's why building shelving is so popular among woodworkers, whether the project is a simple shelved built-in or a high-style bookcase. While building a basic box is fairly easy, constructing a stylish piece that that will hold substantial weight takes some design savvy. In this collection of recent articles from Fine Woodworking and Fine Home-building, America's most accomplished craftsmen contribute their advice on building sturdy and attractive bookcases and shelves, and also provide instruction for the special design requirements of built-ins and entertainment centers. The 16 projects, in a wide array of styles, offer enough variety to suit any taste and skill level.

Product Review - I bought this book, mainly for the section on closets and bookshelves. I got a bonus though, because the section on cabinets was also one of my favorites. It will probably be a while before I tackle that, but the photos, steps and instructions are clear enough to not feel quite so intimidating. I've taken some woodworking classes like building cabinet doors, basic woodworking where we made shelves and simple drawers, but I have always been a little nervous about jumping right in. This book makes it appear so "doable". Even the front cover made me think, I could do that. I have all the tools and have made some smaller project items, but it's time I think this lady will need to jump in with both feet. -Sonya Readaholic

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The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker Demonstrating how woodworkers can approach the complex job of designing and making built-in cabinets for kitchens, family rooms, and home offices, this technical handbook provides meticulously detailed shop drawings, instructions, and hundreds of professional tips for saving time, materials, unnecessary aggravation, and money. Bob Lang covers building traditional face-frame cabinets as well as constructing contemporary frameless Euro-style cabinets. Woodworkers will learn how to measure rooms and design fitting cabinetry that considers both function and aesthetics, how to develop working shop drawings and cutting lists, and how to work with materials as varied as solid wood and plastic laminate. Technical instructions for cutting and joining the basic box, as well as for fitting it to drawer stacks, sinks, corners, appliances, and islands, are also included, as are detailed steps for sanding, finishing, and installing each piece.

Product Review - I have years of experience in residential carpentry and furniture making, and I've installed dozens of kitchens, but I had never actually made a set of kitchen cabinets. We are renovating our house, and replacing our cheap cabinets is one of the items on the list. I spent hours at my local Barnes and Noble and Borders stores looking for a comprehensive book that focuses exclusively on kitchen cabinetmaking, and couldn't find one out of the dozens of books on cabinemaking that thoroughly covered both the cabinet design and production processes. Then I took a chance and ordered The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker, and found exactly what I was looking. -Tim Colton

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The Complete Guide to Sharpening Lee, a well-known tool manufacturer, covers the practical and technical information to sharpen tools quickly, efficiently and safely. Descriptive photos, clear line drawings and step-by-step instructions show exactly how to improve the performance and safety of any cutting tool. 255 photos. Product Review - It is essential to have sharp tools, I do all my work with hand tools but the book goes into great detail on ALL tools, machines, different shapes of tools, the advantages of different techniques ... great detail, but it is also concise, very easy to read and understand, and has excellent placement of photos within the text - if you are reading about something on page 30 the pictures will be on page 30, not page 29, not page 35. Also the large pages are broken up nicely with tidbits of fascinating historical and scientific information. -Oavde

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The New Traditional Woodworker Free of the clouds of dust and the ear-piercing noise of machines, you can experience woodworking as it was experienced prior to the machine age. This book includes excellent instruction from a best-selling woodworking author on all aspects of woodworking with hand tools. He approaches setting up the all-hand tool shop, explains how the tools work in wood, addresses the joinery, and finishes with instructions on building a workshop accessory to use with hand tools. Also included are other sample projects and information on finishing the hand-worked projects. The author also has video vignettes to further amplify the learning process that can be used as web site content.

Product Review - I don't often read a woodworking book cover to cover. Usually it's just one or two sections that interest me enough to add to my library. Tolpin's new book "New Traditional Woodworker" is an exception. Reading it felt like I was sitting down to a marvelous feast and I didn't want to miss a bite. Half way through I had the realization that he accomplished something very difficult to capture in print. This book is essentially an apprenticeship in hand tool woodworking. Jim takes you under his wing and helps you build a succession of fundamental skills while simultaneously outfitting your workshop with a nice collection of essential workbench accessories. Each successive tool and skill raises the confidence and competence to take on richer and more challenging projects. -George Walker

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Illustrated Cabinetmaking: How to Design and Construct Furniture That Works Featuring each piece in highly-detailed, exploded drawings and applying time-honored dimension and ergonomic standards, this comprehensive visual source book takes the guesswork out of furniture joinery, assembly, dimension, and style. Woodworkers of any skill level will benefit from more than 1,300 crisp and detailed drawings that explain classic solutions to age-old problems, such as hanging a drawer, attaching a tabletop, and pegging a mortise. Covering hundreds of pieces of furniture, including kitchen cabinets, dining tables, desks, bookcases, and chests, readers will unlock the mysteries of legs, moldings, separate braces, and dozens of other sub-assemblies.

Product Review - As a semi-pro woodworker I found this book to be invaluable. It has detailed drawings of just about any type of joint or furniture item you can imagine. The first section is a discussion of wood and it's properties and then there is a detailed comparison of wood joints. Mortise and tenons, miters, dovetails, etc. are all discussed. Then the book moves on with chapters dealing with various classes of furniture, desks, tables, beds, cabinets are all discussed with clear exploded diagrams. Although the book does not contain detailed, measured drawings, it shows the conceptual details of how to make functional furniture. Additionally there are references to detailed plans that you can access via the internet or purchase to make typical examples of each piece. -Mark M Lambert

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Joint Book The Joint Book is the ultimate workshop reference, giving woodworkers all the knowledge they need to choose the right joint for the job. It also features step-by-step, illustrated instructions for making over 70 joints, including mortise and tenon joints, dovetails, miters and more. In short, it covers every basic joint in every joint family--including a range of joint variations and helpful jigs. Product Review - I love this book. I've always wondered about how some joints were made. This book answered my questions. It's easy to read with lots of pictures and graphics. The binding and size of the book are well-thought out (it's small and has a spiral binding). This makes it easy to read and to use in the shop environment. Now if you're looking for really detailed plans for making these joints, it's not bad for getting started, but I've found myself searching for more detail on the web when I decide on a joint. -F. Zupancic

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Measuring, Marking, and Layout: A Builder's Guide Provides simple techniques for accurate measuring using a number of basic tools. The common and sensible dictum among carpenters--"Measure twice, cut once"--is only the beginning for Carroll, who manages to take some very complex information and distill it into readable and understandable form. There are chapters devoted to laying out foundations, frames, roofs, stairs, masonry units, and finishing materials, and many little-known tricks of the trade and shortcuts. Carroll covers all the basics of tools and techniques, shows how to measure larger dimensions on projects while working alone, and shows that one needn't be a master mathematician to assure accuracy in projects, nor use space-age, high-tech equipment to achieve near-perfect results in a building project.

Product Review - If you're planning on building any of the hard parts of a house like footings, foundation, floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, stairs, masonry or shingles, you will want this book so you can figure out how to make them plumb, square, level, and evenly distributed. He shows a few options for arriving at each layout, typically mathematically, from charts, and from pictures, so if you have trouble with one of them you can try another. -David Somers

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The Complete Manual of Woodworking

With more than 1,800 drawings, diagrams and photos, this authoritative guide encompasses the whole art and craft of woodworking. Designed to instruct and inspire every woodworker from the beginner to the most exacting expert, it has become a classic. It includes a discussion of all the principal hardwoods and softwoods, how to choose and use hand tools, detailed information on every woodworking technique--jointing, bonding, fastening, laminating, and much more.

Product Review - 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.

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The Beginner's Handbook of Woodcarving: With Project Patterns for Line Carving, Relief Carving, Carving in the Round, and Bird Carving In this wonderful resource for both novice and veteran carvers, two masters of the craft present detailed instructions and illustrations on how to confidently carve animals, flowers, figures, and more. The authors also include handy tips on tools, techniques, painting, finishing, and even how to exhibit finished pieces. Product Review - I have wanted to carve wood for some time, but had no idea how to go about learning. Most of the books I've looked at were either too technical or too advanced for me. Finally, this book has given me the confidence to begin. The discussions are well written at a level that's good for a beginner like me. I read the entire book in about 3 hours and am now going back and starting my first project. The projects look doable and I know what I'm supposed to be learning in each one. Unlike most books, this one doesn't assume a progression from project to project so that you have to do them all--whether they interest you or not. I like being able to focus on whittling or chip work and being able to put off other types until I have a reason to do them. -Margaret L. Falersweany