No comments about Singer Upholstery Basics Plus: Complete Step-by-Step Photo Guide.

5 comments about Beds.

1. An excellent book on bed construction. I built the pencil post bed that Jeff has in his book and the plans and advise were easy to follow. It came out looking great!

   A good book for the beginner to the experienced woodworker. Excellent color pictures and instructions for each type of bed.

   I recommend it highly to anyone who is going to think about building or commissioning a bed project.

   Thanks Jeff if you read this!




2. I am in the process of finishing up the bed shown on the cover of this book. It is the first bed and biggest project I have ever made since I have a samll shop and limited tools. It turns out beautifully that even surprises myself. Jeff Miller gives detailed instructions, design and material list that makes the project a easy task. I happen to have a mortise machine that makes the mortises for the slats much easier and nicer. Also, after I visited a local store, I easily changed dimensions of the bed to suit personal taste. I really enjoyed making this bed.



3. This book gave me the confidence to build a bed. I chose Jeff's most basic design and it went smoothly. I would not say this book is for the complete novice however. I had oversight from an experienced woodworker. Nevertheless, Jeff is a good writer with nice pictures. And opinions. The great thing about Tauton Press books is that they get experts to share their insights and opinions that you simply do not get from people like Time-Life

   The projects range in style, and they are all pleasing.




4. The whole series of these book's (desks, bookcase, tables, beds) is a must for all woodworkers.

   I built the Pencil Post Bed out of this book and will be working on another of the bed projects soon. I like the paperback style easy to read and comfortable to work with. The is a good mix of projects in these books some high end and some fairly basic, good detail on techniques and alternative constructive methods. Pictures are for the most part good. Only drawback in some places I'd like to see a bit more explanation in some places.




5. Have gotten a few here and although I'm just doing basic projects, these books are a great resource and provide tons of helpful information

5 comments about The Soul of a Tree: A Master Woodworkers Reflections.

1. Like the books of James Krenov, "The Soul of a Tree" is as much a book about philosophy as it is about wood. And it's a good philosophy: slow down, take your time, play with the wood, and enjoy it. The book is really about the soul of Nakashima. He outlines some of his own personal history and how he developed his ideas about craft. There's not really much on technique here - you can certainly find better books for that - but you won't find many more inspiring.
   
   On a personal note I had a lady call me years ago to fix up `some old furniture' she and her husband had bought years ago (in the `50's I believe.) Seems when they were young college professors they found this young oriental guy down the road who made furniture in his garage. When I looked at the furniture I told her that her young oriental friend had become quite famous and showed her this book. She was flabbergasted. What she wanted me to do was to nail up some chairs that had worked loose over time. I refused, of course, and explained to her that these were valuable pieces that should be cared for properly. I also encouraged her to contact Nakashima's Conoid Studio (if it still existed) to let them catalogue the pieces. Even after years of use by a family with kids living in the sticks the pieces were obviously crafted with meticulous care and held up surprisingly well. It was a real joy to bring them back to daily use.



2. Alot of philosphy, mostly biographical, has a few quotes that stick:
   "Man has the audacity to try to improve the tree...."
   
   This is a MUST read for a woodworker.



3. Able to tug at you in so many ways. A privilege to be able to buy his product.



4. i'm an electrician, but i really like wood... george nakashima on the other hand loved wood... his views make his work even more valuable and amazing...



5. Nakashima, a woodworker in the classic sense. Only wanted the tree to live on longer by working with and creating with it. This book is a great example of the love one can have for both nature and woodwork.
   Any woodworker should have this book not on the shelf, but closer, to the workspace at all times.

5 comments about Wood.

1. Andy Goldsworthy creates forms that echo the patterns of nature so completely the viewer is almost convinced that mother nature herself made them, rather than human hands. Goldsworthy's sculptures are more than works of art. They become integral yet fleeting parts of the lanscape that surrounds them. His shapes are fluid and delicate, and his ideas are deceptively simple,yet appear to defy both time and gravity. His experiments in Wood are gentle and thought-provoking, and prove that beauty exists all around us. Looking at his book makes me appreciate the trees, rocks, and water all around us. Andy Goldsworthy honors the earth with his quiet, sculptural meditations.



2. This book is so cool! I studied about Andy Goldsworthy for Art, and he is my fav artist. What he does is different and is not boring. When you look at his art it makes you think. They look so beautiful and peacful.



3. Goldsworthy's art isn't what he makes. It's what he does to things that are already there to make them fresh and beautiful to the jaded eye of an average human. Simple things work best in his art, evoke more raw emotion and longing: he lines tree branches with dandelions and red maple leaves; he hangs large snowballs in trees; ribbons of leaves trail off into the water and spiral icicles circle tree trunks. It's all so simple and captivating, it's really quite astounding. Goldsworthy's art is fleeting. The only reminders of his non-permanent works are photographs. In Wood, Goldsworthy goes beyond the confines of this material and shows us his mastery with the entire spectrum of natural media - snow, ice, rock, leaf, etc. The book is subdivided into sections dealing with each specific medium, the last being Tree - each work is centered around a low-lying branch of a large oak. Nevertheless, I must say that this collection of Goldsworthy's art is slightly inferior to his Collaborations with Nature, which is a better first choice if you are unfamiliar with his principles.



4. It's a big and invigorating book. If you like earth art this book (and there are others) offers some of the best of Goldsworthy. The concepts and execution are as inventive as they are cerebral. While I've never seen his work in person the photos and narrative of this book really feel like they capture the detail. In other ways the book itself is as well presented and printed as any book of art I've seen. If you can't afford it (it was expensive for me) try and get your local library to invest. It would be a great contribution to your local enclave.



5. All the books featuring the works of Goldsworthy are stunning. His work is unexpected and a joy to anyone who loves nature.

1 comments about Sloop: Restoring My Family's Wooden Sailboat--An Adventure in Old-Fashioned Values.

1. This book was a gift and I could not put it down. Through a narrative the author draws into question our modern frentic lifestyle and finds folks who are able to find fulfillment doing what they love. The boat would seem to be the focus of the book, but the value is in the relationships with the other characters. I loved the soul searching when faced with the decision to restore the boat to museum quality versus making it functional again. An easy read, this is the first book I've read to completion in a long time.

2 comments about Decorative Furniture with Donna Dewberry.

1. Donna Dewberry is an amazing artist who shows you step by step how to create beautiful decorations on furniture in your home. Decorative Furniture was written with the beginner painter in mind. Everything is made simple, and it starts from square one.

   Decorative Furniture starts out by showing you what materials you will need to complete every project in the book. Amazingly, it isn't a huge list of materials. Donna Dewberry strives for simple, yet extraordinary projects. She also shows you what brushes are needed and how to load them with paint.

   This book also covers basic one-stroke painting techniques, such as how to make a vine, leaf, or flower. Even if you already know the one-stroke painting techniques, this serves as a very useful reminder of how things should look.

   My favorite part of this book is how it teaches you how to do special effects such as giving a piece a textured look, such as the project on page 32. I plan to start this one soon!

   As with all Donna Dewberry's books, don't feel that the projects are only for furniture. You really can use the same techniques, and patterns on nearly anything you wish to paint!




2. Great book for anyone who thinks they can't paint freehand! Donna Dewberry is the master of instructional simplicity when it comes to showing just how easy it is for anyone to do decorative painting. A+

4 comments about Designing and Building Cabinets (New Best of Fine Woodworking).

1. I liked this book. It challenges you to move past basic cabinet making to furniture quality construction. It includes good detail and suggestions that improve your skills. This book has the quality of it's namesake magazine.



2. This book was not at all what I was looking for. There were too many opions on cabinet building in one book none of which were in any detail. Too general and the various contributors at times condemed the styles of one another. Seemed as though they put together monthly issues of various woodworking magazines.Not what I exspected



3. Not worth the money buy a different book if you are interesting in learning how to build kitchen cabinets. This book is random and appears to be chapters of previously published material.



4. I have read this book nearly cover to cover and have found it easy reading as well as most informative for a beginning/intermediate woodworker. The photos are very clear and the articles are easy to understand. I can't wait to put some new methods to the test.

3 comments about Framing Roofs (Best of Fine Homebuilding).

1. The rafter jig idea was great, but there just wasn't enough info and detail to actually build it (I thought). I must admit, I'am not a pro as this book "by pros for pros" claims, but I guess if I was a pro, then I would probably find the information in this book to be too elementary. This book is ok for learning roof basics, but it's not enough info and detail to fully learn all that's involved with building roofs.



2. In recent years, the roof has become the focal point of many NA homes. No longer content with simple styles, rangy, monstrous roofs are the norm. Additionally many of them are likely to be built with either trusses, or maybe manufactured wood sticks. These techniques shave dollars right into the developers pockets. And frankly have become the norm in the last 5 to 10 years. They aren't much covered in this book.

   The reality is that these new story and a half high, architect/engineer designed truss roofs, factory manufactured, and crew/crane installed are a little much for the average homeowner.

   On the other hand, if you want to cut your own roof, this comparatively recent book gives you all the info you will need to build 2x roofs in many styles. It's a good basic reference, that covers a lot of procedural detail. I find it very useful. If you are only looking for a roof's worth of studs, you will have no difficulty finding the materials for a stick built roof, of generally higher quality than the truss roofs so popular today.




3. Many of the chapters in this book are written by individual carpenters who "do things their own way". For instance, in the first chapter, the writer says to disregard previous techniques and use his method. In the 2nd and 3rd chapters, the writer talks about using power tools that are either outrageously expensive or not even avilable any more. Further, there is no discussion or summary of basic roof geometry and calculations. The tag phrase "for pros by pros" is quite misleading. It is merely 15 chapters of guys telling how THEY frame a roof. Anyone, even pro carpenters using this as a refresher, should start off with a tutorial on basic roof geometry, design, and construction methods. If you are looking for info on how to properly design and construct roof framing, don't waste your money on this one!

5 comments about Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking (Complete Illustrated Guide).

1. This book is excellant for those people starting out in wood working as it shows what can be done wihtout overwealming the reader. Althrough there is not enougth detail to pick up all the tricks, it does give you enougth basic ideas to be able to get a more advanced book and actually know what it is talking about. On the strength of this book, i will be buying most, if not all, of the Taunton's Illustrated Guides.



2. Taunton does an excellent job of producing attractive, well written wide market appeal products. The content of Complete Illustrated Guide is a convenient collection of the same articles you will find in their "Fine Woodworking" magazine. The authors are knowledgable, and very successful in thier space. Unfortunately, in building the mass appeal formula, Taunton had to give up anything edgy, its all vanilla and no "rocky road". A recent copy of Fine Woodworking for example rated central dust vacuums. They rated 3 "best" each was from the product line of one of the top three manufacturers each of whom advertise heavily in thier publications. As I recall there is usually one "best" and then others follow. This straddling is what I mean by no edgyness, they are trying to appeal to everyone and offend no one. In the end this approach results in what I believe is the best vanilla product out there and I love to consume what they produce, just have to take it for what it is, mass production. If you have progressed in woodworking to the point where you are becomming an artist or want to learn something new, look here for foundation and elsewhere for creativity. Most folks will benefit from both.



3. This is the greatest book to learn how to woodturn. You won't be sorry!



4. I have been a woodbutcher for many years. I did this as an advocation. Wanted to dedicate serious time to fine furniture, and cabinets. As reviewers who rate this text positively note. "It is a great book for getting started." I have had discussions with woodworkers who have different levels of expertise. They have shared similar information to what I can find in this excellent text. It is criticized for being "pedestrian" and this is actually a good quality. Habits and skills come from practice, making mistakes, and doing what works for me. I have other similar books, They are more cutting edge, but this is seriously a great book for people who want to reduce personal mistakes in building mental skills toward planning and preperation. It is not a simple "how to book" but a mentoring manual.



5. I have been trying to find the perfect book for a novice woodworker and this is not it. The word "complete" in the title implies that it is for beginners -- as an experienced woodworker would most likely buy more specialized books -- such as a book just on dovetail joints.
   
   For example, it has a chapter on all the different kinds of joints you can make -- which is good for a beginner. But then they have a how-to on using a hollow-chisel mortiser - a machine that no novice has in their shop.
   
   They will often show how to do things on upper-end machinery that is out of the price-range or has too large a footprint for a beginner. Some of these things can't be done as well (if at all) with entry-level tools (like cutting down the width of a board with a band saw).
   
   So it is good if you want to understand the big-picture world of wood working, but it is equally silly to give quick lessons on how to use upper-end tools that a beginner just wouldn't have.
   
   If anyone from Taunton is reading this, it would be great to have a book geared toward the beginner who mostly has bench-top tools and doesn't have tools like jointers and shapers.

2 comments about Plants: 2,400 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Vegetables (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. This is a terrific book. I purchased it with the companion book on Animals. It is a "must have" for anyone interested in art, biology, or just a good coffee table book. It will keep youngsters quiet for hours with the facinating illustrations. Very high quality. You just can't beat the price either. I highly recommend it. You, too, can be botanically correct!



2. I love the Dover Pictorial Archives Series and this book is a fine example of the copyright-free images that Dover offers in these books. Jammed full of beautiful black and white drawings in fine detail this could be the one book in your library to cover all your botanical needs. But it won't be. Once you see this book you'll want to add more Pictorial Archives Series books to your library.