1 comments about Bill Hylton's Frame & Panel Magic (Popular Woodworking).

1. Great book, easy to follow illustrations, covers all the basics and then some of frame and panel construction. A must have if you plan to get into the cabinetry business.

1 comments about Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw: 30 Projects in Wood.

1. The book is excellent , a good price and delivered in a timely manner.

5 comments about The New Birdhouse Book: Inspiration and Instruction for Building 50 Birdhouses.

1. The New Birdhouse Book: Inspiration And Instruction For Building 50 Birdhouses by Leslie Garisto is far more than just another woodworking "how-to guide" for a weekend project. Rather it is a full blown celebration showcasing a vast variety of crafted avian housing, ranging from common box houses to pillared feeders, as well as expansive and complex creations designed especially to attract specific birds. Color photography, detailed diagrams, step-by-step instructions, and more, make The New Birdhouse Book a must-have for woodworkers of all skill and experience levels who seek to apply their talents to the betterment of our feathered friends.



2. Good designs, easy to follow plans. This book piqued my interest in dovecotes, and now I'm off in another direction.



3. I WAS VERY DISSAPPOINTED WITH THIS BOOK. IN THE SECTION WHERE THEY HAVE THE INSTUCTIONS FOR BIRD HOUSES TO BUILD THEY DON'T HAVE A PICTURE OF IT. EVEN THE DRAWING IS NOT OF THE FINISHED BIRD HOUSE BUT A DRAWING WITH ALL THE PIECES UNATTACHED. I GUESS YOU HAVE TO BUILD THE THING TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. BIG HELP!



4. This book was quite useful. However, I also purchased "Build Your Own Birdhouses and Feeders: From Simple, Natural Designs to Spectacular, Customized Houses and Feeders" at the same time. I was very disappointed to find that the plans were almost all EXACTLY THE SAME.



5. How do you put out a book like this with no pictures of the finished projects? Ridiculous! I wish I could give it ZERO stars!

5 comments about What Wood Is That?: A Manual of Wood Identification (Studio Book).

1. If your working on a project involving exotic woods, then this book should be added to your library. The REAL wood samples are great. The book also has very useful information about many types of wood. I find this book to be a handy reference tool and am glad to have added it to my collection.



2. This is a very friendly and straightforward book. It starts with veneer samples (quite small, but big enough) of 40 woods and finishes with descriptions of the trees that yield these 40 woods.

   In between there is quite a bit of useful information on wood, and the history of woodworking. A pretty good introduction to wood for and woodworking. This book will be only modestly useful in identification, since it is limited to naked eye observations of those 40 woods.

   I browsed through the 1969 edition and it clearly is from another era (with the chainsaw just being introduced!). I can well imagine that those who equate woodworking with roaring high speed machines may find this quiet book not to their liking.




3. This book is of little value for the woodworker trying to identify woods commonly used on the American continent. When the species are described (with wood samples provided) the European varieties are given to the exclusion of woods from this continent. Species vary enough from the Euopean continent to make the book of very little use in identifying American woods and can even be misleading. The grain pattern on Birch is a classic example and Birch is used a great deal on funiture.

   The book is very badly outdated and lists uses for various woods not seen since the late fifties and early sixties.

   Consider carefully before purchasing this book.




4. Gift for my husband. He just loves it. Very informative and helpful.



5. This book is very handy when identifying and working with foreign wood, but for domestic wood identification try the United State's Department of Agriculture's "The Encyclopedia of Wood." It's extremely in-depth and informative.

5 comments about Chairs: A History.

1. I have read Chairs; A History and find it to be fasinating from two view points. One is that it is more than a history of furniture, it is a social history of the people who sat in the chairs and their times and their culture. Secondly I will retain it for years as one of the most complete reference books on the cultural periods discussed. Finally it is beautifully illustrated and written and should be in everyone's library.



2. A very well written book with lovely and truly beautiful illustrations. Highly recommended!



3. In this fascinating book, De Dampierre brings a fresh perspective to world history by describing it through one of the most ubiquitous items in our daily lives: chairs. In doing so, she has produced a highly enjoyable read for both the sophisticated antique collector and the general student of history.



4. Florence de Dampierre has produced what will certainly be not only the definitive guide to the chair itself but also a witty and learned look at how modes of communication in differing cultures governed the kind of furniture people invented for themselves. The scope of the book is huge, ranging from the cradle of civilization in Mesopotamia and Africa to the chair as modern art. I recommend it highly, both for serious collectors as well as anyone who has ever thought twice about the provenance of the place they've just sat down in. The book is copiously and beautifully illustrated, so it makes a lovely gift.



5. No one who has seen my home would expect me to have anything to do with a furniture book. But some perceptive friend gave me this book and now I get it! Under Ms. de Dampierre's tutelage, I have grown to understand how pieces of furniture are a reflection of the times in which they were created. This study of chairs is no less fascinating than any great work of art history and the author does an incredible job of detailing changes in social and political currents which impact the design and use of each chair in her exhaustive chronology. As importantly, the pictures are beautiful; the book is worth buying for them alone.

No comments about Scratching the Surface: Art and Content in Contemporary Wood.

3 comments about Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood: A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors.

1. I sculpt the figure mainly in clay, but I have been thinking about trying woodcarving, so I bought this book to get a look at what was possible in wood. It is a very good presentation of how to create a figure in a carved medium.
   
   The book illustrates the construction of two figures from start to finish - from making reference photos of the model, to roughing, to detailing, to finishing. The photos are clear, copious, in color, and are large enough to be easy to see when propped up on the workbench. The text is concise, but adequate. Also included are a number of excellent photos of Mr. Norbury's figure sculpture.
   
   Most of the techniques shown are not really specific to wood, and there is no discussion of tools and technique, which is a bit of a disappointment with respect to my goal of learning about woodcarving. However, that is not really the fault of the author, since this is not intended as book for beginners.
   
   On the plus side, I work mainly constructively in clay, and I hope the technique of working by carving will help me add some new approaches to my sculpture. I think many of the ideas and techniques illustrated will also be applicable to stone.
   
   I'll give the best recommendation I can: based on this book, I plan on buying as many of Mr. Norbury's other books as I can.



2. 
   For years, I struggled with sculpting the human form. Occasionally I got lucky and produced something that was "acceptable" but most of the time my carvings could be considered a contemporary distortion of the form-definitely not, what I started out to do. To say the least, my efforts were frustrating. The frustration ended when I purchased two of Mr. Norbury's books, "Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood" and "Carving Classic Female Faces in Wood"
   
   In "Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood" Mr. Norbury explains sculpting the human torso from model to finished work. I was most impressed with his concept of holding things in the square while defining size, points of reference and protrusions before any rounded forming should begin. This helped me to easily maintain proportion.
   
   Also very helpful was Mr. Norbury's plan of attack or sequence of events. This taught me that trying to work the whole project at once was futile. He defines a well-planed method that works. In the final stages, the anatomical drawings with simple explanations were very helpful. I can now go back to my anatomy books with greater understanding.
   
   Finally, the gallery section was most inspirational. Seeing what another can do and armed with basic knowledge, I now have an attainable goal. Thank you Mr. Norbury.



3. This is a good reference for those interested in figure carving. It has steps on how to create acurate drawings from photos, an important part of the process. There are anatomy drawings to help in the understanding of what is happening as the figure pose changes. There are actual photos of a model to help relate the anatomical sketches and the working drawings.....a well done presentation!

3 comments about Complete Upholsterer.

1. Just about anything and everything you ever wanted or needed to know about upholstery is in this book. Photographs and descriptions of professional tools,

   The book starts by teaching about style through the ages with the help of period drawings and paintings... then a walk through materials and techniques. Even a list of addresses of suppliers of professional upholstery supplies is provided. This is an essential reference for anyone thinking about upholstering anything.




2. I agree entirely with the reviews of this admirable book. But the buyer should be aware that it's an English publication and all the sources for supplies etc are British. As one who is having a tough time finding American suppliers of materials suitable for antiques who are willing to sell retail, I'm finding that's a fairly big gap.



3. I teach traditional upholstery restoration in NYC and always recommend to my students that they have this book as a resource. It is a wonderful reference -- very clear and concise -- with detailed illustrations. Thank goodness it is still in print, as traditional upholstery done with horse hair and hand stitching is rapidly losing its existence to a world of foam-based furniture constructed with glue and staples.

5 comments about The Encyclopedia Of Wood: A Tree-By-Tree Guide To The World's Most Versatile Resource.

1. To start, this is a very nice book, lots of nice pictures of things made from wood, location shots, and as much information as almost anyone would want to know about wood, in general. My problem is with the title word "Encyclopedia". "Thorough Introduction" would have been a better choice. As for the individual woods covered, the author selected about 150 which he expanded on nicely. Considering the thousands of woods in the world, 150 could hardly be considered encyclopedic (unless of course this was just volume one). There is a mixture of common and very obscure woods. I can only assume there was a reason behind the selection process. There was also a considerable bias toward European wood over the western hemisphere. The wood ID photos seemed a bit small at 1.25 inches square (about 3.3 centimeters for the Europeans).
   So to sum up: excellent photos (except the tiny wood examples), lots of interesting information, reasonable price, wish there were more woods covered (which would have obviously impacted the price). Knowing what I know now, would I still have bought the book? Yes.



2. I was waiting for probably over one month.
   But the book is fine, anyway.
   Thanks.



3. This book fills the need for a color reference that can quickly help in the identification of both softwoods and hardwoods. The charts showing the home range of the species greatly helps with ID. I highly recommend this book for use by the interested layman. The color photographs, while small, are a great aid to wood identification for the non-professional. It is an excellent resource.
   
   Scotty Drye, Wood Scientist



4. A lot of information here but not enough to truly be considered an encyclopedia. The illustrations are nice to be sure, but that's not what I was looking for in this book. On the other hand, The Encyclopedia of Wood was put together by the United States Department of Agriculture so it's as thorough as you could ever want! It covers all the same material as this book, only in more detail, and it's written specifically for people who want to learn about wood in order to work with it safely and efficiently. It's also a better bargain - more book for a smaller price!!



5. This book is loaded with facts about wood and its preservation. Also, the pictures of various woods are outstanding. It is better than four other books (similar ones) THAT I LOOKED AT
   
   It is very useful

4 comments about Arts and Crafts Furniture: From Classic to Contemporary.

1. The book provides an excellent introduction in the history of furniture at the end of the 19th century and the evolution of the Arts & Crafts movement. The nice thing about this book is that it's giving the larger context, showing the influence designers in England and continental Europe had on Arts & Crafts movement in America. The book has excellent pictures of representative furniture pieces.
   
   Towards the end of the book, there's a small collection of contemporary furniture makers and designers that build classic pieces, or new ones inspired by the classic designs. You can google the name of the furniture makers to find showrooms and stores that carry their products, which is a very good way to start when you want to buy such furniture.
   
   If you like this type of furniture, and you're technically inclined, it might also help getting a book that describes how this furniture is built. This helped me enormously to understand what is involved in producing good quality furniture.



2. As a librarian and a lover of all things relating to Arts & Crafts style, I recommend this book to anyone desiring a greater knowledge of this furniture's history and design evolution. With clear color photographs and just the right amount of text, this book illustrates the origins of Arts & Crafts furniture in England and its progression, first to our East Coast, and eventually Westward across America. In fact, my only 'complaint' about this book is that the photographs are good enough that they leave you wanting for more.
   
   Because of the depth of information presented here, I would not say that this is a general interest read - rather this book is geared toward those seriously interested in the history of the Arts & Crafts movement and its recent revival.



3. Rodel has crafted an excellent review of the Arts and crafts movement in America with many fine pictures.



4. A very comprehensive book covering both English and American furniture of the classical to recant,evan having some of the author's own furniture on the front cover.This is a book that has created very favourable comments from visitors to our house who have browsed through it during their stay.