4 comments about Mission Furniture You Can Build: Authentic Techniques and Designs for the Home Woodworker.

1. When I became interested in building "Mission Style" furniture I purchased this book. The designs are wonderfully illustrated and easily followed. I particularly appreciated the comments provided by the author as to the skill level required to complete a specific project. The beginning of the book provides a brief but informative history of Gustav Stickley and some important techniques that are required in building the projects.

   I would highly recommend this book to any beginning interested in building "Mission Style" furniture. This book has inspired me to read more about Gustav Stickley and to build more challenge pieces of furniture. Absolutely Excellent!




2. This book included chapters on Gustav Stickley, joinery and woodworking techniques, wood finishing and upholstery. The heart of the book is ten projects, complete with large color photos. They range from a hall mirror to a Morris chair. Some designs may be original, one is from Popular Mechanics' Mission Furniture, How to Make It, and the rest seem to be based upon articles from Stickley's The Craftsman magazine.

   Not surprisingly, since most of the general designs are based on Stickley, they are on the whole quite attractive. They are simplified versions of production designs, and were originally meant for the home woodworker. Unlike the reproduction book Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture, there is a wealth of detail and all of the pieces have a place in the modern home. The author has included two pieces that I call Neo-Craftsman: a coffee table and a hall or foyer magazine table.

   The engineering of the pieces, beneath the facade, may cause some problems. In particular, Mr. Wagner seems to be unaware of the problems that seasonal wood movement can cause when large panels are tightly secured. For instance, his coffee table top is doweled in place. I should be mentioned that the author is very fond of using dowels EVERYWHERE in the furniture. He even uses them to assemble drawers.

   I recommend this book, with reservations. Like most similar books, you must have a shop full of power tools, and be familiar with their use, so it really is not for the complete novice. Knowledge of doweling and making mortises and tenons is a must, and it seems that one would have to have a jointer and a planer (or be accomplished with the hand tool equivalents) for the majority of the projects. There are a wealth of exploded drawings of the parts, but they are poorly drawn. I suspect that the illustrator Ms. Barbara Smullen is not a draftsman or a woodworker. Some of the perspectives are drawn wrong, and one would think that some tenons are haunched when they are not. However, all of the measurements seem to be correct, so one can go by them.

   Note For The Advanced Woodworker:

   It is useful to see completed pieces from the Stickley book. I don't like some of Wagner's joinery techniques, but you can use proper tabletop fasteners and can properly dovetail the drawers, etc. Another thing he has done is skip tenon shoulders for some spindles - I guess to make construction easier. Of course, then the edges of the mortises have to be perfect. One odd thing that I noticed in the photos is that he doesn't seem to use quartersawn oak anywhere. I wonder whether this book was a project assigned by a publisher...




3. Wagner has done a great job explaining wood working techniques for the beginner. This is a great book for beginning woodworkers to use when building this Mission furntiure. I built the table. Had great results. (A nice historical introduction makes the best reading in the book!)



4. After reading Blair Howard's "Arts and Crafts Furniture", I was expecting a lot from this book and it didn't deliver. I agree with all of Donald Thomson's complaints above. The joinery seemed questionable and he took short cuts I would not have made. Additionally, I felt his pieces lacked the elegance that the better mission designs have, both by Stickley and by others. However, the book is very detailed and easy to follow, so it should be easy for a beginning woodworker to follow. Joining boards and cutting mortices appeared to be the most advanced things he ever did, and he avoided cutting mortice and tenon joints whenever possible.

5 comments about Setting Up Your Own Woodworking Shop.

1. Although I have not completed the book I've gotten to the first 7 chapters and I have not found it that enlightening. Most of the referenced shops are old and out of date. The depth of discussion is common sense at best. For example there is a chapter devoted to dust collection but no information on how to determine which size of collector is needed. Nothing on ducting size, determining static pressure loss, length of run, grounding techniques, etc. All very important in deciding how big a collector to buy and how to install. Yet the title implies it is a how to guide. Again very superficial on most topics covered. No guidance is supplied.



2. This author has a wonderful writing style - provides information with style and humor. Diagrams, photos, drawings and a superb depth of knowledge from Bill Stankus made this book a great resource. Highly recommend.



3. I found this book very helpful for me in setting up my woodshop for the first time. It is well organized, easy to read, and I find that as my range of skills increase, I go back to it again and again looking for new ideas. It offers both in price and function, a wide variety of examples of workbenches, shop layouts, storage alternatives, and shop equipment. I found the many pictures throughout the book, enlightening, interesting, and instructive. If you are just getting started and don't have a good idea on where to begin, this book is a great choice and an excellent value.



4. Not the best book in the world. I got this as a gift a while ago. I've just recently set up my shop, but this book didn't help at all. He has a few good ideas for jigs toward the end, but the rest is, as someone else reviewed, common sense at best. He really does gloss over a lot of details that should be covered in a good book on this topic. And he spends a LOT of time explaining what I, at least, think are simple things (types of table saws, brands and models (many outdated, as far as I can tell) of many different machines, etc. I have other much, much better books on woodworking. I would not say that this is anywhere near the best of them.



5. This book tries to cover areas that are best left to magazine articles. I was looking for a book on the shop space itself, but this one pays a lot of attention to the tools in a workshop instead. Brands of tools, accessories, and machine-specific set-ups become quickly dated and are not useful to everyone picking up the book. Most woodworker's don't go out, buy all their equipment, clear out the basement, and then start on projects. Unfortunately, this is the assumption the author works under, and it hurts the book's usefulness. The pictures should add something to the text, but many of the pictures take up space (5 pics of one commercial vice?), advertise a specific item, or don't add value (we all know what flexible hose is). A lot of time is spent on the author's personal shop, which isn't particularly innovative or different. I can see lots of shop tours online. Nagyszalanczy's book is a far superior alternative.

1 comments about Build A Doll's House.

1. The directions and patterns are simple enough but with experience you can design an absolutely magnificent albeit small dollhouse. Add lighting, woodflooring, two-toned wall papering, sponged painted walls and voile what an interior you will have created complete with atmosphere. And what about the exterior? Wood paneling, stucco or sponge painting along with window panes and dooors from HouseWorks and voile a house of your own inspiration. Don't let the small size fool you, the book is smacked with great information for a simple house that you can make into a home for a beloved dollhouse family.

No comments about Popular Mechanics Workshop: Outdoor Woodworking Projects (Popular Mechanics Workshop).

3 comments about Cabinets & Built-Ins: 26 Custom Storage Projects.

1. This book has little in it. The first large section covers very basic information, including nail sizes. If you need beginer information, that's fine, but there are better books for that than this one.

   Most of the projects in this book are simple, and illustrated with cheesy computer drawn images. If you want to build cabinets or built-ins there are much better books than this.




2. I bought this book about a year ago and after dusting it off I decided to try building the toy chest. After following the directions EXACTLY, I found two glaring errors when dry fitting. 1. Side trim are 3/4 in short 2. Bottom is not even close to the correct size. I have ruined 4 board feet of oak and 1/4 sheet of oak plywood for assuming the plans measurements were correct. I completely agree with the other reviewer. Half of the book talks about very basic areas not even suitable for beginners. There are a lot better books to learn basic woodworking. The pictures are cheesy computer animation with very little detail. Come to think of it, there is nothing good to say.



3. I may be the only one who liked the illustrations, and the instructions are simple and straightforward (albeit incomplete). But I agree with krhino41 about the cut-charts: the authors apparently made no significant effort to proof their work. Although the vanities I made from this book worked out tolerably well, in the base cab plans I have found five critical design errors so far. As a result I now have a nearly finished base cab carcase in the shop that will be tinder for a bonfire come colder weather, and I'll be taking pages from this book to light it.

No comments about Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec.

4 comments about The Best Birdhouses for Your Backyard.

1. The Best Birdhouses for your Backyard includes thirteen projects. Most of the projects are birdhouses, some are feeders. This is a well put together book with great photographs and instructions. There are even projects to attract butterflies, and bats! (Ick)

   The part I like most about this book is that the projects are arranged according to what bird you�d like to attract. This makes it easy to build the spring house for your Robins, or the hide away for the purple martin! Also, the designs are made using basic tools.
   For all you bird lovers, GET THIS BOOK! It is great!




2. This book first explains some of the basic tools, then goes into the houses, how to build them, what you need for lumber and supplies. The book also explains a little about the bird most likely living in the house, when, how many eggs, ect. It also explains where to put the birdhouse for mounting.
   This book is excellent for the beginner. Excellent pictures and directions. Well done book. I actually have birds living in some of the houses. Nice to make a "home" for someone, hihi.



3. This book provides some basic design ideas, but does not provide any decorative "yard art" type plans.



4. This particular work is not bad. I borrowed in from a friend, gave it a look, and did indeed try several of the dozen or so projects. I was more interested in bird houses, rather than feeders, and this book does give some nice simple designs.
   
   The designs are complete and comprehensive enough for most beginners, or for folks like myself that have absolutely no clue when it comes to building things. Fortunately I have a son-in-law who is a builder and does wonderful cabinet work, so when I did get into a pinch, I made a phone call.
   
   The projects in this work are not fancy and in fact are quite basic. I did appreciate the nice photographs and detailed, step by step instructions. The projects I did try, all using very basic hand tools, including a hand saw, worked out quite well.
   
   I must note her though, that in most states, as in Missouri, you can order, for free, any number of birdhouse construction plans from your local conservation department and do just fine with those. They do not have the pretty pictures, but they do contain the simple instructions and they get the job done just as fast as a store bought book.
   
   I own quite a number of various publications myself, and have a wonderful public library whose shelves are overflowing with such books. To be honest, you can use these resources and do much better than you can with this particular book. Now don't get me wrong, this is indeed a nice little publication, but I have to tell you that there are better and cheaper ones out there. Also, as one reviewer has so well pointed out, these are not fancy yard ornament projects, which personally I liked, but feel many will not. Let me stress, these designs are simple and utilitarian.
   
   Don Blankenship
   The Ozarks

1 comments about Builder Boards: How to Construct a Set of Notched Boards Children Use to Create Their Own Playspace.

1. The book direction for making the play house is clear and work great.

1 comments about Furniture and Interiors of the 1970s.

1. The photographs are amazing, and it's a lot of fun to have around just to flip through on a whim. But, unless this alone will justify the price tag for you, I wouldn't recommend it. It seems to be written for people already in "the know," and for a regular Joe it's nearly impossible to enjoy as text alone. For me, the reading was difficult, seemingly random, and saturated with references to alien individuals and organizations (I was using Wikipedia quite a bit).
   
   So, if you're looking for a user-friendly primer on 70s design, I would try elsewhere first... but the pictures are fantastic.

No comments about Making Authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Furniture: With Measured Drawings.