Customer Reviews

Furniture by Design: Lessons in Craftmanship from a Master Woodworker

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I consider myself an internediate woodworker and did not find this book very helpful because most of the material is already known to intermediate woodworkers.

Several comments. First, there are only eight pages of color photos and they are in the center of the book. The cardinal rule of technical writing is to put the picture with the text. Flipping back and forth is for the birds.

Second, the author doesn't consider the disadvantages to his design. The design of anything is a tradeoff between many requirements; the corrollary is that there is no perfect design that satisfies all off the requirements.

For instance, consider the "dining table". The apron around the fully assembled table is a dark brown. But when the semi-circle tables on each end are removed, the apron that is revealed is maple. Having two highly contrasting color on the table apron is a big issue which is completely ignored by the author. Also, none of the photos reveal this issue--you really need to read the text carefully to understand what he's doing.

Third, the Gothic Armchair is one of the least helpful examples I've ever seen. To start, the chair is built at right angles (there's a reason chair backs angle back--comfort). Then, a reproduction of a chair that was built in the 15th century? Absolutely none of my customers have asked for anything remotely similar to this. Then, there is no analysis of the design. It is simply a how-to article.

Fourth, the majority of the book focuses on how to build the furniture as opposed to why the design works. The technical details are fine but I know how to true and square a piece of lumber.

Fifth, the author selects furniture from many disparate styles--gothic, comtemporary american and Pepsyian. It did not leave me with an understanding of the style.

I have long searched for books on furniture design and style. There are few that exist in this area. This one is good but I'd like to see something more...

Mr. Blackburn shows you that you too can build your own furniture. This is a must have as far as I am concerned!