The Complete Dovetail, by Ian Kirby

This is a terrific little reference guide.   Although I've hand cut quite a few dovetails, I don't use them constantly.  So when I have a new project, it is helpful for me to skim through a quite refresher of how I want to lay things out.  And the ideas on how to lay out dovetails to look attractive are really useful, and I suspect will change the design of the next project I build.

For any woodworker who wants to hand cut dovetails, this is a wonderful guide.

The Shaker Legacy, by Christian Becksvoort

The subtitle is "Perspectives on an enduring furniture style."   And that's precisely what Mr. Becksvoort delivers, in an interesting and informative book with outstanding photographs.

What this is not:  a book of plans for Shaker style furniture.   It is though a lens to the Shaker philosophy and history that puts their style of building into context. 

Even though it isn't a design plan book, there were several pages I folded over because of quite lovely pieces that I could see myself making.

The Complete Guide to Chip Carving, by Wayne Barton

Mr. Barton is the go to guy for chip carving technique.   Do an internet search on the subject and you'll find his books, and his website, at the top of your results.    This book is supposed to be the introductory text of choice.   The reviews on Amazon are all 5-star.

So maybe I'm just destined to be the slow student in the class, blaming the teacher.   But I don't share the enthusiasm about this book.

The good news:  introductory chapters cover everything from how to sharpen your carving knife to how to hold it.   And, when you get to the chapter on rosettes, there's a partial page of guidance on how to lay things out.

So why the grumpy review?   Because that's the extent of the layout guidance.   For example, in the section on borders the photos show the layout lines of intersecting sine curves against which one can carve a really nice border.   So, again admitting I'm the slow kid here, how do I lay out those cool sine curves?  I tried a few different approaches but didn't get anything like I wanted from my compass.   This is an example of where a bit of detailed setup guidance could go a long way.

In fact, the bulk of the book after those how-to chapters consists of pretty examples of chip carving excellence.  But apart from a single page of advice on how to lay out rosettes, you're pretty much on your own for figuring out how to duplicate any part of these great examples on your own.

So as a catalog of really cool carving examples, it would get 5 stars.  But since the introductory chapters do set it up as the how to book for beginning chip carvers, the absence of real layout guidance makes this at best a 2- star book for me.

The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking, by James Krenov

It must be me.  Everyone else thinks this book is great.  I do think Mr. Krenov is great.   But his book, not so much.  So it must be me.

Well what did I learn reading this book?

The first chapter is about wood as art.  At least I think that's what it is about.   The illustrations are clear:  if you pay attention to the grain direction you can make furniture that looks really great, and if you don't you can make furniture that looks, now that I've seen the comparisons, pretty yucky.    As for the text, let's face it:  I'm too much the barbarian to really understand it much.     It sounds the same to my ear as descriptions of modern art.

Don't hate me for this.  I've confessed my ignorance.   Be compassionate.

The second chapter is about Mr. Krenov's workshop, about tools and machines.   I didn't learn much here either.  Except that the photos of his equipment in use were scary in the sense that someone with much less experience than Mr. Krenov (and isn't that most people?) might think they too should eschew all sorts of safety precautions.  Probably most people shouldn't do that.   I accept that Mr. Krenov could but it isn't clear what sort of message he was sending about this.  Perhaps he didn't consider it an issue.

I did like his idea of using the springs from cheap ball point pens to construct his wood bench dogs.

Then we got into planes.   He explained how to build a wood plane.   The instructions are not for neophytes like me.  (Not to mention not for barbarians like me.)  For example:

"If you can't find suitable breakers, it is not difficult to make them. Simply obtain some mild steel (or even iron) the same width as the plane irons you have, and make the breaker as the sketch and photo show."

He lost me at "obtain some mild steel."

(Remember, if you hate me for this, you might feel badly about yourself tomorrow.   Do you also aim your car at innocent squirrels?)

The third chapter is titled, "Details of Cabinetmaking."  This was pretty interesting, and illuminating both about the craftsmanship that Mr. Krenov represents as well as about myself.   I'm no artist.   At this point in my woodworking development, I'd be happy to be a competent apprentice.   All of Mr. Krenov's work is artistry.   His "unconventional runners" which extend outside the drawer to become pulls are amazing.

So how to sum up this book?  First of all, it is audience -specific.   All the really talented woodworkers stopped reading at the first paragraph of this post and will spit at the mention of my name.   The rest of us (if I'm not alone) can get some very positive use from this book:   an appreciation of the art of wood selection and respect for the medium, and some photographs of really cool cabinetry.

Is there a James Krenov book for me?   Maybe I will try "With Wakened Hands: Furniture by James Krenov and Students"as it promises to be more of a catalog of beautiful work.   And one day perhaps I'll achieve illumination and some of what he wrote in this text will click with me.   Hey, even barbarians can dream.

(Um, still though, I have to call this a miss.)

The Woodwright's Guide, by Roy Underhill

I had high expectations for this book.  Famous for his PBS show, The Woodwright's Shop, Roy Underhill is the master of traditional American wood working techniques.   The notion is this book is "working wood with wedge & edge" -- in other words from cutting the tree to working the wood into a piece of furniture.

So what went wrong?   Most of the material is interesting, especially the early sections that cover skills that are foreign to my experience -- such as felling trees.   But there's no material on the different cuts of wood (e.g., radial, quarter sawn).

Things go downhill fast.   The good news:  Mr Underhill covers each successive tool in the progression to finished product.  The bad news:  the illustrations are terrible line drawings.    Contrast this to the wonderful photographs in Jim Tolpin's books.

The descriptions are of varied quality; many are cursory.   The section on how to use a framing square to set angles was completely incomprehensible to me -- and I'm not afraid of math.   It felt as though Mr Underhill could check off the list, "yep, I gave some info on how to do that one, what's next" as opposed to fully explaining things.

I did take some good out of this book -- primarily the names for tools that I'd never before fully understood, like the beetle, devil, or travisher.

All in all though, I'm not about to bother with another of this author's books; still like the TV show though, and I might check out his school if I find myself in North Carolina.

The New Traditional Woodworker, by Jim Tolpin

This is a delightful book about the notion of working wood, not machining it.  In other words, minimizing the use of power tools so as to have more fun building with wood.   Half the book describes hand woodworking tools, importantly within the context of how Mr Tolpin's shop is set up.  So there's a feeling of reality and relevance.   Even for someone with a bit of experience, this section is interesting reading.

The other half of the book describes in detail how to build several woodworking jigs -- appliances that make it easier to work effectively and efficiently.   If only every author of a woodworking projects book would be as thorough, complete and clear in their explanation as Mr Tolpin is!  I am eager to build some of his jigs.

Everything about this book was fun.

Making Woodwork Aids & Devices, by Robert Wearing

This is a bare bones book:  no narrative, just a catalog of jigs for different woodworking situations.   Some of them seem low on aesthetics, some seem unnecessary (a jig for photographic slides -- anyone remember what they were?).   I flat out couldn't understand the tools for drawing perspectives.

In spite of this, the book seems well worth having as a reference.   What if you need to cut a disc (item 170) or put a groove in a dowel (item 121) or precisely gauge a cylinder (item 66)?

Building Fences + Gates, by Richard Freudenberger

Unfortunately the content of Mr Freudenberger's book matches neither his title nor sub-title:  "how to design and build them from the ground up."   Instead it is a near -coffee table book about fences.   Most of the content and photos are lovely in this context.

As an example of the un-evenness of the text, there were six pages of photos and detailed explanation (in 30 discrete steps) for setting up a basic wood fence.  In contrast, building a wire fence got a very cryptic half page, no illustrations and not a single enumerated step.

So all in all, a pretty book, but just barely a D+ grade.    By the way, it is so much the opposite of George Martin's book on fences that it is worth looking at them next to each other.

The Essential Woodworker, by Robert Wearing

The title has it right, this is an essential guide for the serious beginner.   It is well written and illustrated; although it took strenuous effort in some areas to follow Mr Wearing's description, I ultimately did.

A few pages into this book I thought it would have been interesting to be an apprentice woodworker, taking several months to work through the material as exercises towards becoming a journeyman.   By the end of the book I'd increased my mental model of the time required to years.

The edition I own comes, by the way, from Lost Art Press, a fabulous resource for woodworkers which is run by a credible hot-shot hand craftsman.

Anarchist's Tool Chest, by Chris Schwarz

This is a must read book for anyone who is at all interested in woodworking.  Not because it describes how to build anything particularly exciting (except for a hand built wooden tool chest that I suspect few with bother with).   But rather because Mr Schwarz has a mission:   to evangelize hand wood working, to assure a vibrant community of folks who know how to build furniture really well.   And, I suppose he'd say, to combat the mentality that poorly built furniture which won't last very long is a pox on society:  it is a reflection of a disposable age which gets further and further from the grounding of well built, craftsman -like goods.

Don't take me the wrong way:  this is hardly a polemic.   It is well written, amusing, and informative.    Even if you don't plan to hand plane a rough board into flatness -- or even if you don't plan to even ever pick up a piece of wood -- this is a worthwhile read.

Arts & Crafts Furniture Anyone Can Make, by David Thiel

I bought this book because I liked the looks of the Morris chair and bookcase on the cover.   Unfortunately, I didn't take the title seriously enough -- Mr Thiel really means it when he says anyone can make this stuff.  The approach that makes this true is a rough, unprofessional, inelegant construction technique.  I can't bring myself to do it.

On the other hand, I can adapt the nicer designs in his book to a more elegant approach, substituting mortise and tenon for pocket screws for example.   Still, I'm in no rush now to build these; I can find better plans elsewhere I'm sure. 

It isn't (just) snobbishness that causes my reaction:  I wouldn't be comfortable having someone sit in such a poorly built chair, and I'm not sure that heavy books wouldn't destroy the bookcase as designed.

Workshop Idea Book, by Andy Rae

I read this after Landis' book on the topic, and my expectations were set pretty low as a consequence.   But to my delight, Mr Rae delivered pretty much what I was hoping for.    His book isn't about the details of how to do things, but rather an informed and well presented view of how folks have approached workshops that, true to the title, stimulate ideas.  Of the two, there's no comparison:  this is the book to read on workshops -- if you're looking for some ideas of what you might do yourself, or just to be amused.

The Workshop Book, by Scott Landis

I was disappointed in this book:  I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it.   Mr Landis interviewed a number of woodworkers, and took some photos of their set ups, with some rudimentary advice.

Once I read Andy Rae's far better book on the topic, I realized what it was that I had expected, because his book got quite a bit closer to the mark.

Fences, Gates, and Bridges, by George Martin

This was first published in 1892 and is available now through Forgotten Books (and others).   At first the poor quality of the (presumably authentic) type was off-putting, but I got used to it as I read.   The information seems quite reasonably to guide hand-cut fence making today (although one would use some modern labor saving techniques).   Actually, it would be difficult to imagine someone reading this without, like me, a strong urge to go cut some fence wood and try out some gate designs!

The Workbench Design Book, by Christopher Schwarz

In this follow up to his "Workbenches" book, Mr Schwarz explains how his real-life use of different workbenches led to tuning up his thinking; he also added some plans. 

As usual from Mr Schwarz, the value of his instructions varies hugely:  sometimes his words are completely cryptic, sometimes clear as could be for any beginner. 

But overall this was a fun book to read, and will guide my thinking about that new workbench I've been wanting to build for some time now...

Patios and Walkways (Do It Now Do It Fast Do It Right)

What I liked about this was the use-case oriented approach: instead of presenting abstract techniques, everything was aligned with a specific project.

Having said that, none of the projects resonated with me. And the implicit assumption is that you have an infinite budget.

So not recommended.

Step-by-Step Outdoor Stonework, by Mike Lawrence

I've exhausted my interest in this topic. Lawrence's book covers some complex situations, like arched stone columns. But overall, not all that informative on the details of the work as "Build and Repair with Concrete," and not as many fabulous photos as "Getting Started with Mortared Stonework."

Patio & Stone: A Sunset Design Guide, by Tom Wilhite

This was light on helpful hints, but did have some useful photos.

Getting Started with Mortared Stonework, by Cody Macfie

This is a terrific book, with excellent illustrations. It gave me lots of ambitious ideas -- far more advanced, more expensive, and more intricate than what I really need.

Build and Repair with Concrete, by Quikrete

This is a fabulous little reference book covering all sorts of concrete projects. I quickly found a clear answer to my question (building a stucco -finished wall for landscaping). Highly recommended.