| Review by DannyBoy | posted 348 days ago | 415 views | 1 time favorited | 5 comments |  |
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- Popular Woodworking Arts and Crafts Furniture Projects
- Brand: Popular Woodworking | Category: Books
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I was astonished to actually find something at the local library that I found at the B&B earlier this year! I actually found a lot of new books in the section where I had combed over many times before. When I saw this particular one, I checked it out because I saw a sideboard that would fit some storage in our house perfectly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I got home that I realized there isn’t as much plan in this book as a parts list and some finished product. This seems to be a continuing problem I find with many newer books this year.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a few projects in here that can be easily done using the minimal directions that they provide. However, the larger projects, like the sideboard, are very lacking in details. There is a well written essay about building the sideboard, but it is not as much “step by step” as it is “I did it this way…”
Here’s my overall rundown:
Pros:- Great Designs
- Well Written Essays
- Included CD with Extras
- Lack of Detail on Projects
- Lots of Biscuit Joinery (may only be a con in my eyes)
- No Cut Lists
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is a bad book. If you are an experienced woodworker and can skip the instructions on most projects, then you may love using this because they really are great looking designs. However, for someone of my experience level, although I/we may be able to pull it off, having a few how-to’s would have greatly helped me appreciate this book more. All that being said, I will probably be attempting the sideboard anyway seeing as my wife loves it!
~DB
-- He said wood...http://hickbyassociation.blogspot.com/
5 comments so far
AaronK
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409 posts in 364 days
posted 348 days ago
i saw this in the bookstore and thought the designs were excellent, but i was wondering about the actual quality of the plans as well. I figured maybe the CD ROM came with some good supplementary material on it… does it?
any other arts and crafts woodworking books you can recommend?
DannyBoy
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448 posts in 765 days
posted 348 days ago
The CD-Rom doesn’t have much more detail on the plans. I was hoping for maybe some layouts or details too, but I was disappointed. Mostly, it has technique walk-throughs that, although interesting and useful, aren’t the reason I checked out the book.
I will, go further on my review and say that there is a portion where they do a great job of explaining one technique on how to make Arts and Crafts legs with all four faces showing face grain. That part is actually very interesting.
As far as other books, I know of a couple out there that I have perused, but I can’t think of their names at the moment. If I remember any particulars, I’ll let you know.
~DB
-- He said wood...http://hickbyassociation.blogspot.com/
AaronK
home | projects | blog
409 posts in 364 days
posted 348 days ago
cool, thanks for the input DB. maybe I’ll take another look at it though, as i – and my wife (very important!) – loved the designs.
gizmodyne
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1679 posts in 989 days
posted 347 days ago
Another point: This book contains many of the same projects as the previous Popular Woodworking book. You are paying for the measured drawings for a few new projects. The Bob Lang articles are great.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
steveosshop
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208 posts in 525 days
posted 344 days ago
Sounds like something I will need to look at in the library and see if any of the project fit anything I need. Thanx for the post.
-- Steve-o