Encyclopedia of Furniture Making

Rating:
Summary: A must have book because it covers many subjects, but....
Review: Every pictures looks like they were tooks in 1940's. Chapter on electrical tools is completely outdated. Nothing about new material like HDF/MDF. There's no "easy to understand" drawing nor plans. For a beginner it's not very interresing, this books is more based on "reading" and explanations than showing "how to". I'd ratter recommend books like "Complete guide to furniture and cabinet making" by A. Ray.

Rating:
Summary: Great reference book.
Review: If you're new to woodworking, and you want the 10,000 foot view on woodworking then this is the book for you. I'd say that 75% of what the book contains is useful, 25% fluff and pictures. It could go into greater detail... but I think that each specific section in the book is likely worthy of it's own book. Let's be realistic... howe can an author tell you everything you need to know about finishing in one chapter? Or all the subtlties of joinery in 2 chapters?

Overall, a decent book and makes a handy addition to my library.

Rating:
Summary: Great furniture reference book
Review: The best attributes about this book are the diagrams/pictures of furniture making techniques. With +/- 514 pages of reference information, you certinally get your $ worth. Each page is packed with diagrams,how to information, and explanations. The entire book is packed with just about every aspect of furniture making. However, while covering such a broad spectrum, it is unavoidable that this book will gloss over subject matter. This is a great furniture reference book.

Rating:
Summary: A good all round reference book
Review: This book attempts to detail every aspect of furniture making from plastic to metal to its main focus of wood. This is a English book so there are some unfamiliar terms but there are American equilivents. This book has the reader flipping back and forth to different pages looking at referenced pictures every other sentence and some reference numbers are annoyingly mixed up every so often. In my opnion, the author seems to gloss over some more advanced details in his very concise (miss on word and you miss the point) wording. Perhaps it was over my head after just one reading or perhaps I expected to much detail and he did not deliever as much as a book just on a niche subject would. This book needs to be read at least twice. A must have refference work - if you need some quick info on an obscure subject or problem, this book will usually deliver to all skill levels.

Rating:
Summary: A must have book because it covers many subjects, but....
Review: this book is great because it covers many many subjects, though not in that much detail or in very fine methods. it is very much out of date. the book is written for a british audience which is some times annoying, and there are many biased comments (in my opinion) that are british/european ways of working/thinking. the author also makes too many comments that voice his personal opinion, which is not all that important in a how-to book and is very different from my own opinions. I felt that the writer/editor or whoever disigned the format of the book must have been very lazy, because instead of placing pictures and the related text on the same page where you can see them clearly, there are countless instances where all the diagrams on a subject matter are slapped onto one or two pages and then refered to in text that is sometimes 3 or more pages away. very frustrating. The major strong point is that you can find many uncommon subjects such as info on tambours or webbing for seats, which is why i say that this book is a must have. the area where this book really falls short is the making of FINE furniture. I feel like this book is oriented towards readers that would make a living of furniture making, therefore the methods are just 'good enough,' and many of the furniture examples are very showy, with not much content, some you could call "expensively cheap." many of the examples are just awful - over use of and complete reliance on expensive showy wood, sharp veneered corners, awkward shapes, etc. if you want to see examples of fine, solidly constructed work that doesn't scream for attention, look at some of James Krenov's books. there you will find many fine details of woodworking, though some of the text is unclear at first. of course, there are many other fine works out there. between "The Encyclopedia of Furniture Making" and "The Complete Manual of Woodworking," i personally recogmend the latter, although it is far from "complete." The Complete Manual of Woodworking" covers less subjects but goes into more detail, contains more usable info (instead of one writer's opinions), and has much better pictures and furniture examples.

Rating:
Summary: a fine reference
Review: This is a fine and curiously underrated reference that I have found useful in my own pursuits. The authors write with lucidity and command. Not all the entries are uniformly excellent, but that does not detract from the whole.

Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: Very usefull book and easy to understand

Rating:
Summary: Excellent at what it supposed to be
Review: While not the only book you'll ever have to buy, this is a book every woodworker should own. It is an excellent reference, packed with useful suggestions, recommendations and advice.

The book does have its flaws. I agree with a previous reviewer who found the diagrams and their refference numbers confusing. Also, this book does appear to be written for readers in the UK and seemed a little out of date, or incomplete, from a US perspective. At times the tool descriptions didn't seem complete. I was a little troubled by the fact that the only combo square mentioned was the Stanley (No refference to Starrett, or others. Maybe it's a UK thing). None of these issues I had with the book would prevent me from recommending this book to a friend. The wealth of information contained in its pages more than makes up for any of its shortcomings.