Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking: Using Woodworking Tools; Finishing; Sharpening

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.

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.

I've justed considering doing something about my interest in woodworking. After watching scores of decorating shows where they build fairly simple pieces of furniture, I felt I needed a more detailed guide. I was especially interested in the tools, their uses and general kind of construction. This book has it all and explains it in an easy-to-understand manner. My husband has almost all the tools, but I don't know how to use them. I really like the Case Joinery section where they explain various ways to join pieces of wood and the Construction secion where they show you how to construct different projects, including doors, drawers and shelves. They not only explain it, but include color photographs that are easy to follow. There is so much covered in this book and was well worth the money. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. I have several Taunton books and this one rates up there with the best of them.