Customer Reviews

How to Design and Build Your Ideal Woodshop

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

 

 

I just finished reading this book and although it is not the best book on the subject (call it a close second), I did find it a worthwhile read. There is the usual overlap of basic information which every shop set-up book seems to have, but what I found most interesting about this book was:

1. The sections detailing different considerations each woodworker must take into account based on the type of woodworking he/she wants to do (i.e. carving vs. cabinetmaking vs. crafts vs. boatbuilding, etc.)

2. The many great suggestions and tips to maximize storage space and organize your work.

3. The attention to safety issues.

4. The pictures of, and more importantly, the shop layout diagrams of some successful pro woodworking shops.

5. The budget-conscious recommendations for every step of outfitting a shop.

As I said, I do recommend this book as worthwhile reading, but for the best book I have come across on the subject, check out "Setting Up Shop" by Sandor Nagyszalanczy.

This book provides a good variety of examples and solutions. It also gives the workshop beginner some ideas about which tools will be most vital to their work, depending on their particular interests. I think the best feature of this book is that it demonstrates good workshop design with real examples. I haven't read some of the other workshop books, so I can't make a comparision, but I feel the book will help guide me through the entire process of setting up my own workshop. Thanks.

I found this revised version an invaluable reference book while planning my workshop. Bill Stankus writes in a style that is informative and entertaining - an important characteristic of any reference book. The floorplans of various shops, illustrations and photographs of professional shops were both useful and acted as a good tool to begin planning my shop. Information on shop safety, consideration of budgets and vairous tools and skills only increased my appreciation of this book. I have read other books on this subject and found THIS book to be the best read, with valuable and TIME-SAVING (very important!) advice. I would recommend this to any woodworker interested in maximing their workshop potential!

The best advice the author gives in this book is that the concept of the "ideal" workshop is the workshop that works for you. Most of us do not have unlimited space or funds to build a "dream" workshop as illustrated in many books and magazines. What you can afford and what you feel comfortable in is the ideal workshop for you. That is excellent advice.

The other topics I found interesting in this book were the floorplans of real workshops (and the owner's principal machinery listed in order of importance) and the chapter on workbenches, especially the section about holding devices.

The rest of the book is kind of thin in content. This book is priced similarly to the other 2 major books on this subject but is about half the size (in page count) which I think makes this book a little on the pricey side.

I can not recommend this book to any qualified woodworker. It contains little useful information. The author devotes a lot of space to safety and tools and even spends an entire chapter on workbenches, but the title promises info on designing and building a woodshop. Is this his version of bait and switch? Also, few woodworkers need to be told that a table saw needs space in front and behind for materail handling. And fewer still need to know that a good shop requires adaquate lighting and electrical. Most prospective buyers should get some other book. If you are an absolute novice, then there may be enough ideas here to justify the purchase price.

This book had some great pictures and ideas, but little else. It kept saying that the "ideal" workshop was different for everybody. That was about the only REAL information it conveyed. I would have liked to see some concrete advice, some do's and don't, maybe even some plans for a really great workbench with notes on how to modify it for your situation. As a jumping-off place for brainstorming ideas, it was fine. As a real reference book, it was just not informative.

A rehash of old info - neither interesting nor compelling. Many other books on building your woodshop are considerably better.

I appreciate the Bill Stankus' personal narrative regarding having a workshop. The book was both informative and a pleasure to read. I highly recommend this book.