4 comments about The Weekend Crafter: Woodcarving: 20 Great Projects for Beginners & Weekend Carvers.

1. The projects in the book are easy to do and the results are very impressive. This book covers some basic techniques and provides patterns for these projects. Each are illustrated with color photographs and step-by-step descriptions. If you are looking for an in-depth discussion on wood, tools, and sharpening techniques, this isn't for you. If you are looking for some easy projects to start off with, buy the book!!



2. Great as a gift for someone with woodcarving as a hobby!



3. I like the selection of projects. Very nice patterns too.



4. If you are just starting out in the craft, this is an excellent book to start with. The book illustrates and gives step by steps on a wide range of woodcarving techniques. These include relief, 3-dimensional, and pierced carving. Each project includes the recommended dimensions, wood type, and a list of the tools needed to complete them. There are also small sections describing tools, carving techniques, and methods for transferring patterns. These do not go into great detail, but enough to give you the general idea.
   
   Just a note on woodworking books in general - Once general technique for carving is covered, there is little else that can be taught by text. One has to actually carve the wood ;) No book will do that for you.

1 comments about House Beautiful Color Workshop: Decorating Stylish Rooms (House Beautiful).

1. I adore this book. The presentation/organization are great, nice pictures, good color design ideas. I read a lot of home design books--checking them out from my local library--and this is the first one I've been tempted to buy in almost 10 years. I had so many post-it notes flagging pages that I finally decided to order a copy. I recommend it highly.

1 comments about Illustrated Dome Building: Step-by-step Complete Plans.

1. This is the classic book on how to build a hexadome. Geodesic domes are great, the math behind the design is impressive, but they are complicated to build and the complication leads to leaks. Gene Hopster presents a simplified dome design he calls a hexadome. A Hexadome is not quite so efficient as a geodesic but its geometry makes it easier for real people to build! So you get the advantages (and beauty) of a dome and an approach that a carpenter without a PhD in math can actually understand and implement.
   
   The book is short but it explains the basics. It has some great house plans to give you ideas. Unfortunately we lost Gene Hopster a few years ago so he will not be updating this.

No comments about Master the Maintenance Workers Exam, 4th edition (Maintenance Worker : Mechanical Maintainer, 4th ed).

1 comments about Closets: Designing and Organizing the Personalized Closet.

1. This book has lots of color photos which provide good inspiration and ideas. There is also a good amount of basic information about closet sizing and design requirements. However, some of the designs are quite dated looking.

No comments about Great Workshops from Fine Woodworking.

5 comments about The Complete Cabinetmaker's Reference (Popular Woodworking).

1. ...namely for all the people that flunked out of elementary algebra and can't figure out how to size cabinet parts for themselves. Do yourself a favor, save your money and buy either udo schmidt's, jim tolpin's or danny proulx's books on cabinetmaking as they provide much more useful information beyond cutlist and assembly instructions. Keeping in mind that a standard wall cabinet is 12" deep and that a standard base cabinet is 24" deep and that both are often 30" high (excluding toe kick), you can EASILY fill in the rest of the dimensions by downloading a PDF file on cabinet dimensions from any of the major cabinet companies like merillat or mill's pride but in general most of the widths are in 3" increments beginning with 12" and up to 48". You can easily replace this entire book with the innovative FREE ecabinets program from thermwood.



2. I used this book and a couple of others to build some garage cabinets. I found it very useful. This made the project much easier. I modified the designs a bit, but having a starting point with cutlists was invaluable.



3. Read the title people. It's called a REFERENCE book for a reason...it's not a "how to" or instructional book...it's a reference manual for standard assembly and measurements. This book is a great reference for any kitchen or bath project. That binding makes it easy to copy and bring to an estimate. True, the basic construction is frameless...but American style cabinets are moving to either a frameless 32mm style completely or are a frameless carcass with a face frame slapped on the front of them.



4. The book is well manufacturing and will last for quite a while so you won't lose out on quality. It is glossy and well illustrated however it lacks content for anyone who has built a cabinet or two. It does contain some good points on basic cabinet construction that will be beneficial to someone just starting woodworking however if you are looking for construction details on lots of different styles this is not the book for you. The book contains a lot of the same thing with many construction sheets repeated with only minor changes to a single dimension. For example pages 20 to 27, which contain 28 separate construction sheets (one per page), have exactly the same cabinet illustration and cutting list with one minor change in width on each sheet. This pattern appears to be repeated throughout the book (e.g. pages 32-39, 44-59). However like I said it is well made and would be a good first reference but is definitely not for anyone above beginner level.



5. The book is for my husband. We had to replace the one he already had because we gave it to our son for a project and he likes it so much he wanted to keep it. Great reference.

5 comments about Turning Green Wood.

1. As a beginning turner, I searched for books that were both informative and interesting to read. This book approaches turning with 'green' in mind but also has some very good information about wood properties and turning in general. Very much worth buying even if you are an experienced turner.



2. this is a good basic book of how to deal with green wood and also the use of crotchwood. well written and illistrated



3. Great and a must have for all turners. The book is more oriented toward bowl turning but covers a ton on green turning with plenty of pics and diagrams. Michael O`Donnell goes to great length to educate the reader on how wood dries based on where it is cut form the tree.



4. Great book - great photos - great ideas - great explanations and written so anyone can understand the directions and concepts (even me).



5. If you want to be successful when you turn green wood or newly cut lumber on your lathe. I recommend purchasing this book and reading it all the way through before you begin your wood turning project. When you use green wood there are different procedures that you need to follow than when you use dried lumber. I had tried to turn some green logs on my lathe and had many problems with wood cracking and was very unhappy with the results. After purchasing this book I learned the reasons why my previous attempts had not been successful. I only wish I had gotten the book at the same time I purchased my new lathe. It is an excellent resource on how to use green logs and newly cut lumber that can add flexibility and save money on wood costs when you use "found wood" and cut the logs yourself.

5 comments about Too Much Stuff: De-Cluttering Your Heart and Home.

1. Too Much Stuff is stuffed from cover to cover with techniques on how to de-clutter both your heart and your home. This advice is given in a clear, easy-to-read manner which has us eager to decontaminate our homes of unwanted, unneeded, and unused items. Not only does Mrs. Porter help us make our homes cleaner and our space more effective, but she also gently encourages us to de-clutter our hearts - which is where the clutter really begins.
   
   Kathryn begins the saga of de-cluttering by sharing her own heartfelt story of growing up in a cluttered home and how she brought those habits with her after she'd married and moved out on her own.
   
   Each chapter brings us deeper into our clutter and gives prudent advice on how to start shoveling our way to a neater home. Topics range from defining clutter, planning how to de-clutter in an orderly way, working in the main rooms such as kitchens to less seen rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms. She also tackles the dirty job of paper work and bills - those seldom touched piles on our desks.
   
   But Mrs. Porter doesn't stop there. How does clutter begin? Why do we `need' to keep things? Are we so cluttered in home and mind that we push our time with God aside? Do we go to God with real needs for `food and raiment' or for those sale items we can't seem to pass up?
   
   When I finished reading Too Much Stuff I was taking a second look at my home and my heart.



2. If you struggle with holding onto clutter in your home, it can be an act of deep faith to let it go. Kathryn Porter understands a woman's desire to keep "too much stuff."
   
   In her inspiring book, she bares her heart to readers with the story of how she grew up in a cluttered home and took these habits into her adult lifestyle. When she reached a point of desperation, she prayed to God for help and enlisted the advice of wise friends.
   
   In learning to rid her home of material junk, Katherine began to feel deep spiritual cleansing, uncovering peace and joy. She wants to help YOU do the same.
   
   Her book is a powerful tool for today's busy women who need help letting go of things to make room for God. (If you love FlyLady, you'll love this book, and the principles for decluttering come from a Christian perspective.)
   
   --Christian Women Online Book Buzz



3. I bought several books on de-cluttering and this was the least useful for me. It's from a Christian perspective, which I thought might be helpful, but that seems rather superficial. I found Cindy Glovinsky's books much more helpful -- especially "Making Peace with the Things in Your Life." (They're not specifically Christian.) Glovinsky gets deep down into your heart much more effectively, I thought. I'm going to de-clutter "Too Much Stuff" by putting it in my giveaways box.



4. This is a must read for anyone who struggles with self-worth and self-discipline. Kathryn does a beautiful job in sharing heart-rendering personal moments to becoming a disciplined woman of the Word, not only in her housekeeping but life in general.
   
   The author shares how to set up a system that almost works itself in maintaining a home and a heart free of clutter. With the applications suggested in her book and God's help, all things are possible.
   
   I would recommend this for a really good Christmas gift to all the harried people out there who are standing around with bows in their hair and tinsel in their hands, asking themselves what to do next.
   
   Paulette L. Harris
   Author/reviewer



5. This is the best book I've ever read on de-cluttering and organizing your home. BUT...it also tells you why you have the clutter in the first place. It also guides you thru de-cluttering your life... the emotional clutter we carry with us, which takes up space and prevents us from reaching our goals and full potential.

5 comments about Crown Molding & Trim: Install It Like a Pro!.

1. I bought this book on a reference from a guy at Home Depot. I have gone crazy doing crown molding in my house. Cathedral ceilings and all!

   I am now the guy the neighbors come to for advice.




2. I am a cabinetmaker/woodworker who decided to get into trim carpentry. After purchasing dozens of books to learn the trade secrets I must say that this book is simply the best . I heard that there were photo issues but this has been cleared up. My book is in color. The author explains things that most books leave out . These are really important things too. The teaching methods are logical and precise with great photos. Really if you want to learn the art of crown moulding this is the book. I cant really see the scale on the True Angle so I purchased a digital one. I did have a few questions and I emailed the author and he called my home 3 times and explained everything to me! He was very polite and helpful . His main concern was he just wanted to speak to the person doing the work as to avoid confusion. This is the best book on this subject and remember this is an art so although the book is great you need to be realistic it takes practice like anything else. Thanks Wayne for a great book!!



3. I could not understand why Amazon wanted 65 bucks for just a book with no description listed, so I went to Lowes and bought it for 20 bucks. Started reading and immediately found out that every word in the book refers to the authors' protractors and other accessories which can be bought through his web site. If you only bought the book with no accessories as I did, you are pretty much out of the loop as all the pictures and examples include his products. His system may work, but why not be up front about it? Just tell us what is going on, and if you are like me and already have invested in a really good (Starrett) protractor, pass on his book and get a more straightforward guide to installing trim.
   I also agree with others who think the reviews are fishy. Amazon, you really dropped the ball on this one, with no details on the product.
   By the way, I took the book back.



4. I almost gave up on using this book because of the unending sales pitch throughout to buy the True Angle tools, and other accessories. What is annoying is that this is a really good book, with clear descriptions, and excellent pictures that help highlight each point the author makes at nearly every step. It is not necessary for him to push his tools; he has a good system that can stand on its own. As for the approach he uses in demonstrating how to measure and cut the molding, it was extremely helpful, in that he breaks it down at a level that doesn't overwhelm the reader. I started with baseboard molding, used the True Angle tool (Yes, I did go down to Home Depot and purchased one.) It worked perfectly in that each step can be verified via the pictures and hints that are throughout the book. This has proven to be a valuable approach for me, which has saved me both time and money. I recommend this book if you've never installed molding, it has everything you need, just ignore the sales pitch. I also recommend the True Angle tool, however you don't need to buy the full set, one will work.



5. The author patiently and with sufficient detail works through an otherwise complicated subject to make it fairly simple. You may be surprised to find he actively encourages you to email him with your questions! I emailed him and got a call half an hour later! He appears genuinely concerned that you understand the subject - as if he's found how easy it is and wants to convey the secret to you! Highly recommended.