Getting Started in Woodworking: Skill-Building Projects that Teach the Basics

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't get any better than this!
Review: Getting started in woodworking is the ideal book for an introduction to woodworking. The book is written in a concise and clear manner with many helpful color illustrations. The first chapter reviews tools needed for projects in the book (the author does a good job of keeping your initial tool purchases to a minimum) and the second chapter discusses wood related topics. The remainder of the book is hands on project construction. A nice feature is that at the start of each project there is a complete list of tools and wood needed to complete the project. Within each project are skill builder sections that teach skills needed on the project. Skills such as planing, clamping, routing. I can't imagine a better intro to woodworking book exists or that any future book will be better than this one. Lets all hope that volume 2 is in the works!

Rating:
Summary: Nice concept, poor execution
Review: I bought this book since I am relatively new to woodworking and was looking for a book with some different woodworking furniture construction projects that would be fun to build and develop my skills. This book has about 5 different interesting projects ranging from simple box construction, adirondack style chair, bookcase, coffee table, and low file cabinet. All the projects will result in fairly simple yet attractive projects which are well worth the time spent working through. In the process of each project Fraser walks the reader through increasingly difficult woodworking skill building exercises.

Now for the bad news, as touched on buy several of the other reviewers there are numerous typos and innacuracies which I think are inexcusable being that this book is written by a former editor of a very fine woodworking magazine, and it is directed towards beginners which don't need the additional challenge of catching and working around type errors.

Because I liked the project, I skipped directly to the last project, the low file cabinet. The project starts out with an explanation of dimensions for the project, but for some reason leaves out a few of the key dimensions on the drawings. Then the text references photographs, but for some reason the photos don't match the text, or are not sequenced in the right order. Also, a few of the dimensions in the text are simply not correct, and unless you carefully study the provided dimensions in the drawings and make some visual scale estimates on the photos, you will end up with an incorrectly designed project. In spite of the inaccuracies I was able to successfully build the project, but it is imperative you check the drawings, photos, and text carefully and pick the source which provides the most accurate information to complete the project correctly. Not really something a novice woodworker should have to deal with. So I give this book 3 stars, a 4 for concept and a 2 for execution.

Rating:
Summary: Great so far. Good layout
Review: I have an interest in woodworking as a hobby. I am coming from *zero* experience with woodworking and I really wanted a book that would hold my hand. The beginning of the book starts you pretty easily down the path explaining the layout of your shop and talking about workbenches and the various features you should look for. Then there is a large section on tools, what they are and what they do. Then it talks about wood. After reading these sections I feel like I have a good working knowledge of what I am in for. This is A+.

I haven't started the first project yet. I need to get some more tools and what not. This hobby can be very expensive.

The projects are laid out in a progressive order. You start out making a simple box and then each of the 5 projects gets more and more complex.

I really like how well this book is laid out. The projects have very clear illustrations and shopping lists. Each section has a "skill builder" of excercises you can practice on scrapwood when any new skill is introduced. This will help you a lot in reducing mistakes along the way.

I will edit my review again after I finish the first project.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Started in Woodworking
Review: I read all the reviews on this book and they were all good; I ended up happy even with a couple of typos in the beginning of the first project. There was a little wasted materials and time; but, the instructions were thorough and I ended up with a beautiful box.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't get any better than this!
Review: I'm just getting into woodworking, and this book was a very timely release. The book's greatest strength is its method of teaching. Unlike most woodworking books I've seen which just throw common techniques for cutting and making joints at you, this book couples that with actually using those techniques. In addition to learning such techniques, other very important skills are taught that you might normally have to look for elsewhere, such as sharpening tools and finishing projects. The progressive projects in the book are ideal, in that you start off very simply and continually build on what you've learned. The book also shows you that you don't need a shop full of high priced tools to build something.

The writing style of Aime is also excellent and very conversational. She seems to be an excellent teacher. I'd give it more stars if I could.

Rating:
Summary: Content overshadowed by errors
Review: The book contains good explanations of terms and techniques but there are a lot of errors in it. Errors in a book for beginners is unacceptable. It's hard enough to figure out the difference between a dado and a rabbet without being given wrong directions. Take the first project for instance. The first step in the project tell you to cut the wrong piece of wood. The author tells you to buy 1x3, 1x4, etc. wood. The dimensions given for the cuts, however, are for wood that is 1/2" thick. 1x wood is actually 3/4" thick. Additionally, some of the pictures in the introduction to tools section are mislabeled. I haven't tried any projects after the first one. I'm gunshy now.

Rating:
Summary: Just what I've been looking for -
Review: This book is wonderfully accessible to someone who knows very little about woodworking. I have had trouble finding a book that I can actually understand and use. This one has helped me with fundamentals and I was able to complete the box project for a mother's day gift for my mother. It's nice to see that a company like Taunton Press respects the idea of women doing woodworking and is publishing a book like this.

Rating:
Summary: Comfortable path for starting in woodworking & learning more
Review: This is a superb book. In reading it, one gets the feeling of traveling with some one who is comfortable with what they are saying because they know it well. It inspires confidence and trust. It feels like it is coming from some one who is in tune with the material, and delivers the essence simply, directly and concisely. The intent comes through without volume of words or drama. It brings woodworking within the reach of the inexperienced and untrained.
It was only when I was well into the book that I realized that the visuals and the text are so conveniently laid out that I did not even notice the elegance of the flow of thoughts, since it just seemed so natural.
I wish this book had been written earlier because it would have made my woodworking more relaxed and enjoyable. I would probably have focused more on making wood dust and shavings, and on understanding wood, and less on accumulating tools (of dubious utility). I would also have passed on books I have acquired on sub-topics of woodworking that I never seem to make it through.
To the title "Getting Started in Woodworking" it would be appropriate to add "...and catching up with the things you missed out on learning"!