25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Kinda Dull and Available Online, April 9, 2009
This review is from: I Can Do That! Woodworking Projects (Popular Woodworking) (Paperback)
This book is designed to allow people with limited tools to create "real" projects from wood. All the projects assume the builder has a small set of tools that are described in the early sections of the book. In general, the authors focus on some hand tools and a few "smaller" power tools: drill, miter saw, and jigsaw. This tool section describes what the reader should look for when buying new tools and has a nice discussion on their use. Overall, this section is quite useful.
Projects are specifically designed with home-center materials in mind, focusing on oak, plywood, poplar, and dimensional lumber. They are, as you might expect with a limited toolset, relatively spartan designs. They do look nice, and seem to serve their intended function. Generally the build instructions are good and stick to the assumed toolset pretty well.
Unfortunately, there are also a few flaws. It doesn't take long to see the limitations of the chosen toolset and get awfully bored with the plans. Squarish designs are typical -- the cover projects are by far the most interesting, yet I could not see these occupying a place in my home. The two chair plans are particularly odd, and looking at them made me wonder if anyone had actually used them. I cannot see wanting to sit in either one.
Finally, a large number of these project plans are available on Popular Woodworking magazine's website at no cost. The early section describing the tools, which is probably the most valuable section of the book, is also available on their website.
Overall, I found this book to be disappointing, and my frustration reached new levels when I realized that much of its content can be downloaded free.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant Book, April 6, 2008
This review is from: I Can Do That! Woodworking Projects (Popular Woodworking) (Paperback)
As a novice wood worker I have really enjoyed this book and can start on projects without buying thousands of dollars of tools. Great introduction on how to use the tools and easy to understand intructructions for the projects.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for beginners, May 9, 2008
This review is from: I Can Do That! Woodworking Projects (Popular Woodworking) (Paperback)
Lovely book, lots of projects from very simple to a bit more difficult. Good for learning some techniques.
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