Customer Reviews

2X4 Furniture: Simple, Inexpensive & Great-Looking Projects You Can Make

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book contains many great plans that are easy to build and provide a good foundation for intermediate woodworkes to expand upon. I found the plans simple, accurate, and above all fun to make. I made the Entry Hall Table with my 7 year old daughter assisting and we both had a good time coming up with ways to embellish the original design. I would not recccommend this book to true novices because some of the techniques used are not explained in the most basic terms. The author assumes that the reader has a basic grasp of most simple woodworking tools and methods. Great Book , we are looking forward to our next project.

"2X4 Furniture" contains plans for sturdy pieces which, with the crafter's individual touches, add marvelous accents to any home. The designs lend themselves well to the use of softwoods such as pine and poplar, a boon for those unwilling to invest in the more expensive ornamental hardwoods but nevertheless wanting handsome results. The finished pieces adapt well to carving, embellishment with trim or painting, and only basic hand tools are required. However, absolute novices to the world of woodworking may find themselves nonplussed at the lack of explaination at the basic technique level; e.g., the term "beveling" is explained (woodworking terminology is presented thoroughly and in wonderful detail at the book's beginning), but the procedure for beveling, which can be tricky, is not described, although there is mention of a jigsaw as one of the needed tools. Likewise, the sometimes difficult placement of hinges (and description of hinge types)is skimmed over, leaving the beginner feeling as if the details had been omitted. This is however a splendid book for those familiar with basic woodworking, or those who have watched others work and have already read up on the basics. It is a book to be highly recommended to households decorating on a budget who don't mind expending a bit of elbow grease to construct furniture that will last a lifetime. I understand that there is now a sequel dealing with outdoor furniture, which promises to be even more rewarding, with similarly wonderful illustrations. If it is like the first book, it too is to be recommended.

This book is a great confidence builder for beginning woodworkers. The designs are simple and easy to build, the instructions are well written, and few complicated tools are required to complete the majority of the projects. The projects include a wide enough range of designs to provide one or two projects appealing to most any beginning wood craftsman. This book is a great confidence builder because it provides some nice looking, easy to build projects to launch most anyone into wood working with a pleasurable experience and satisfying accomplishment.

Anyone who has ever had to mess with a stuck door has confronted a troublesome fact of life: Wood moves. Write that down on a 3x5 card: "Wood moves." Hold this card in your hand and look at it from time to time as you thumb through Stevie Henderson's enormously successful <i>2x4 Furniture.</i> Because Stevie seems to forget occasionally.

Take the first project in the book, for example. It is a coffee table with an edge-glued wood top almost four feet wide, screwed and glued to a frame running cross-grain to the top. Actually, the top is glued to some trim pieces which are in turn screwed and glued to the supporting frame, but it's pretty much the same deal. You can't do this, folks. A four foot width of pine is going to swell and shrink as much as 1/4" with the changing of the seasons, and it does so across the grain. Gluing it to a piece of long grain (which doesn't move) is like sticking it in a vice and repeatedly closing and opening the vice by 1/4".

That's the theory, anyway, and if it's right, then something has to give. I would guess the miter joints in the trim would open up, or the table top would warp and split, or both. Indeed, something bad is definitely happening: In the photograph, you can see a big gap opening up between the tabletop trim and the supporting framework to which it is glued and screwed. Since this is a big full-color photo of a project for a woodworking book, you'd think they'd turn the piece's best face to the camera. The scary thing is, this may be the piece's best face.

Have a look at some table plans from respectable woodworking magazines. Have a look at a table that's been around a long time. You won't see broad pieces of solid wood effectively welded to anything running cross-grain. You'll see things like slotted screw holes or tabletop clips that permit the top to move. Otherwise, the piece will explode like a bomb.

Just kidding. But it will become a horrible crippled thing that you will want to blow up <i>with</i> a bomb. There are simple ways around this problem. For example, why not use plywood for the top? You're already trimming the edges all around. Or if you just have a thing for solid wood, trim the ends with "breadboards." Or just round them over and consider them trimmed. But don't glue them into a frame!

This book is full of stuff like this. Solid wood panels with battens or cleats glued and screwed across the width. Why do you suppose your cabinet doors aren't made this way? Or your house doors for that matter? Because <b>wood moves</b>. Thus the genius of frame-and-panel doors.

And the outdoor furniture. Have a look at the chairs on page 122. See the gap? You like your joints open to the weather? That's what happens when you build outdoor furniture with these huge face miters. How about the bench on the back cover? There's an easy and sturdy way to build a thing like this, but Stevie's piece relies mainly on screws going into endgrain, which is about the weakest thing there is. That bench is going to rack over like a beer carton the first time a fat guy jumps up on it and dances.

People say this book's strength is the simplicity of the projects, but I find some of the stuff to be overbuilt for what it is. Look at the "rustic chest." That's a heck of a lot of wood and measuring and cutting and fastening to do what a 6-board chest does in, well, 6 boards.

This is a good book for sharpening your critical eye, but it's not for a weekend warrior who just wants some plans to knock together. Perversely, you have to know what you're doing to get ideas from this book, and I think the opposite was intended.

Three significant problems with this book. First, the title is grossly misleading; despite what the book claims, several of the projects (e.g. an armoire) are not easy for the most accomplished woodworker. Second, the author oversimplifies the tools and degree of skill required for several of the projects. While it is true that simple dado joints can be made with a handsaw and chisel, the plans included rarely utilize "simple" dado joints, but rather complex joinery techniques, which can only be accomplished with a table saw or router. And finally, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, SEVERAL OF THE TECHNIQUES SUGGESTED ARE DANGEROUS TO A USER. As an example, Mrs. Henderson recommends manufacturing raised panels with a circular saw set at a 15 degree angle. Raised panels can only be manufactured with a router; any attempt to use a circular saw will result in a trip to the emergency room. While the plans to provide ideas for improvement to an experienced woodworker, the plans are not of the type useful or practical to a weekend warrior. For your own safety, please consult a woodworking text before attempting any of the more advanced projects in the book.

A final, more recent comment regarding Robert from Troy and his exception to my review -- a careful reading of my review demonstrates that I stated using a CIRCULAR SAW to make raised panels is incredibly dangerous. His claim that it is safe to do such on a table saw, while accurate, is clearly a misreading of my review.

This book gives a great basic introduction to tools, woods, and fasteners-- the kind of information other books might skip over.

The projects are for the most part very simple, however the book (and others of hers I've seen) centers around 3-4 larger projects, with a bunch of easier "filler" projects thrown in. The major projects are nice pieces of furniture I could feel comfortable having in my home. Some of the others leave much to be desired aesthetically-- at best, a simple piece of furniture, at worst, someone's shop class leftovers. (Although, I must say the projects in this book are much better than her others!!) Tricks include using moldings to dress up simple pieces of furniture.

I found this book to be more helpful in conceiving and designing my own furniture than following her projects step-by-step. A little graph paper and some imagination go a long way! Use this book to get a basic understanding of how to build furniture, and use the projects as a starting point.

I was disappointed with the variety of projects in this book, and the "..Great Looking.." in the title should be changed to "..OK Looking..".

Otherwise a good book. The material lists are helpful, and the instructions are good.

One of the best books I ever bought! Got me started on this great, productive hobby. Even my family is helping me. One thing, the book does not always list the dimensions of the projects. This should be listed so you will know if the finished product will fit in your home.

Simple is right. If you don't have any time and little talent, this book is for you. You can slap some of these pieces together in a few hours and end up with a simple table to set a pizza on. If you are looking for very nice furniture, you won't find it here. But, this is a good book for a beginner.

Recomendation: Strong buy. Simply a great book. I made one of the projects within 24 hours of having the book in my hand. I say almost perfect because i missed having the fasteners in the drawings. Of course, it was well described in the text where the fasteners should be, but a picture says more than 1000 words. 4 3/4 stars would be just right for this book. I guess that rounds to 5.