Customer Reviews

The Complete Illustrated Guide To Shaping Wood

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have lots and lots of woodworking books. This one rates right up there with the best that have ever been published. The thing that delighted me the most was the explanation of how to create the gooseneck molding, the rosettes and the turned (and pierced) flame finials for the top of highboys or grandfather clocks. I have been searching for that information for years.

For the novice woodworker, this book is an eye opener. For the folks with more experience, this book is a treasure.

I had heard about this book from Fine Woodworking Magazine. They had an ad for 3 books including this one. Well I purchased the book on cabinets and was so impressed I had to buy the one on Shaping Wood. Let me tell you have a LOT of books and magazines covering woodworking and this book is at the top of the list. Not only is this book rich with information, it is gorgeous. Each page is filled with full color photographs.

What is also nice about this particular book are the unique subjects. For instance it has a section on making gooseneck molding. Until today I had never heard of gooseneck molding, much less knew how to make it. Now after reading the steps and looking at the photographs I want to make gooseneck molding. ( Whether I need it or not)

As you can read, I am excited about this book! It cost less than $30 and has 300 pages to it. I highly recommend it.

This is an excellent book. It has a nice balance between power and traditional hand tool techniques. The photos and illustrations are very good. The writing is very clear and easy to understand, unlike most woodworking books. Overall, this is one of the best woodworking books I own.

This is an essential book for anyone working on a project that requires complex shaping of wood. The book contains excellent colour foto's clearly demonstrating each technique. I was very impressed with the carving of the ball and claw foot. This is a consice book and the author goes straight to the point without any unnecessary clutter.

Out of all the Complete Illustrated Guide books in this series, this is one of the best. Lonnie Bird is an excellent teacher as well as woodworker and this is apparent from reading this book. There are techniques in this book that I've never seen in any other book and I have over 200. This one is a treasure--mine is getting dog-eared and worn!

This book is a very good resourse for building period furniture with one exception. The author's shop is tooled much better than the average shop and he assumes the his readers have the same tools that he does. So far, I have worked out an alternate method of accomplishing the tasks without different tools. The book gave me the basics and I was forced to do some complex problem solving so I have to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to build up my brain power.

What a great book! Very useful, nice functional layout. This is a shop manual more then a book for causal reading.

I believe every successful woodworker possess their own 'Secrets of the Craft'. These are time-tested methodolgies made unique by each craftsmen. Bird goes into great detail about how and more importantly WHY he chooses one method over another in almost every topic.

This is one book that should be sitting near your bench, and not stored with your (often unopened) machine manuals.

Shaping wood by Lonnie Bird is one of the best book I have read on the subject.
Written in a clear and simple style, illustrated by hundreds of beautifull color pictures, this book will take you through a journey that will introduce you to all the different techniques that can be use to shape wood.
You will find it all, cutting complex compound curves, molding, turning, carving and bending.

Fabolous book,excellent easy to follow tips,very well photographed,excellent help around the workshop

This is a great quality book in many ways. Like I said, the examples are great and the pictures are also. This book shows you stuff you have seen, but did not really know how it was done. I don't agree with all the techniques, but at least they are valid ways people have used. There are many many projects you can do. This book is a keeper and is one that is a great reference. It is fun to flip through the pages and get ideas on projects you might be able to do. There are a lifetime of projects and techniques in this book. Well worth the $$$$.