Customer Reviews

Constructing a Fireplace Mantel: Step-By-Step from Plywood and Stock Moldings (Schiffer Book for Woodworkers)

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This is a real how-to book with great illustrations and pictures which make the construction techniques really come to life. It is a great resource for those who want to create a classic look with readily available and easy to work with materials such as plywood and stock lumber. I appreciated the step-by-step narrative supporting the illustrations and the practically endless options provided for personalizing the mantel with finishes and detail moldings. The book is a must have for those who want to replace their exising mantel with a new look at a low cost but, at the same time, want to draw praise for their handywork. A great addition to your woodworking library.

Well I was expecting a book that would give me a lot of mantel building basics and maybe a lot of pictures of different mantels. What I got was entirely different.

Constructing a Fireplace Mantel takes you step by step through building the mantel on the cover. It even gives all measurements for that mantel so if you don't have a lot of woodworking experience to be able to change the design for your space it might not be the correct book. If you do have some experience it is great.

It does show several things you can do to the mantel to give it a different look if you don't want it to look exactly like the pictured mantel. It does have a small gallery of other mantels too look at but that is pretty useless - you can get the same thing with a web search.

This book only covers one type of mantel which is shown on the cover. There are better books out there.