Customer Reviews

The Family Handyman: Wordless Workshop

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

 

 

Doty divides his subject matter into five categories: 1. Cabinents, Closets, & Shelves; 2. Around the House; 3. The Workshop; 4. Sports, Toys, and Entertainment; and 5. The Great Outdoors. Each section contains from six to seventeen individual projects, 60 some odd projects in all.

The projects are set forth in a series of wordless cartoon panels. The first panels state the problem, and the final panels present a simple, easily "engineered" solution to the problem.

The cartoons are well drawn and amusing. The step-by-step directions are understandable and within the capacities of the most inept hammer-mechanic. You can follow the directions exactly, or you can let your imagination soar as you adapt the projects to your specific needs.

What a cool book! The problem is presented in a cartoon. For instance.. (I have six kids, this is my favorite)... a woman sorting through laundry to wash, trying to separate the colors. Laundry is all over the floor in front of the machine.

The solution: A frame is built which holds six little trash bins, stacked up one on top of the other, so clothes can be sorted into them by color, without taking up much floor space at all. Then the woman is shown, emptying the whites into the washer - no mess!

No words are used but the methods of creating these little organizational solutions are very simple to understand.

I am not a handyman (or handywoman) at all, but I really felt these concepts were clear, and we have used several of the solutions presented.

Other little gems in this book are: drawing paper dispenser, making a 2-pole closet, creating a nice organizer for rakes, shovels and the like, a neat little stand for roller blades, a ball stacker that goes on the back of a door, and even a baby bottle rack.

Every project is simple to do and easy to understand.

I recommend this book for any large family! Some of us just need to have every organizational tool we can get our hands on!!

I had seen this book in the stores when it was first published. When I went to buy one it could not be found an so a couple of years went by an I would think about it when I would see one of the cartoons in the back of a woodworking magazine. Finely decided to look on the internet to see if I could fine one. Got this one an just love it. I have already used a couple of the projects from the book.

I have always loved the wordless workshop from family handyman...and this compiles them all in one place.

Many of these items are very useful around the home;they are easy to do, especially for a person like myself who is mechanically declined. There is a nice variety for people of all ages and skill levels.