Carpentry for Children [Paperback]

Lester R. Walker (Author), David Macaulay (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1985

A step-by-step guide to carrying out such carpentry projects as a birdhouse, candle chandelier, doll cradle, puppet theater, and coaster car.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP (September 30, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879519908
• ISBN-13: 978-0879519902
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Teens > Sports & Hobbies > Arts & Crafts

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good second book, November 1, 2008

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Carpentry for Children (Paperback)

This book offers projects for a range of skill levels, from simple toys on up through a lemonade stand cut from a whole sheet of plywood. Different projects suit different levels of skill and strength - cutting some of those pieces with a hand saw will take a while.

There's a lot to like here. It starts with an introduction to basic hand tools, including short lessons on using each one. The list includes a brace and bit, the classic hand drill (not the egg-beater kind). I agree completely with this 1985 book in recommending that to a kid but, since this book came out, it verges on extinction as cordless drills encroach on its former habitat.

This book distinguishes itself in offering kids larger-scale projects than other books, starting with the very first: the workbench on which the rest will be made. Perhaps the floating toys represent the range best. A little wooden tugboat, suitable as a bathtub toy, lies at the small end of the scale. At the other end, a real raft (holds one or two kids) requires several five-foot logs, eight inches in diameter. Other projects, including a few with girl appeal, lie between those extremes.

Walker makes sure there's fun in the finished work, too, not just in the making. An easel, a puppet theater, and a gravity race car all promise years of fun (and maybe a few good healthy bruises). Although the scale of some projects might be a bit much for smaller carpenters and living spaces, the range offers something for many skill levels, and offers the beginner a lot to look forward to. Not every project will work for every kid, but it looks like a lot of fun.

-- wiredweird

20 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A good book" by David Stull, age 14, July 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Carpentry for Children (Paperback)

Carpentry for Children, by Les Walker is an incredible book with enlightening and challenging projects that will delight children for hours upon hours