Customer Reviews

Furniture You Can Build: Projects That Hone Your Skills (Getting Started in Woodworking)

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

 

 

Excellent projects and good basic skills. Each skill is taught as needed--when you need a router table for one of the projects, he shows you how to build a router table. Also so good insights to less beginnery items--sharpening and using a scraper, for example.

My one star off is for the fact that measurements shown in the diagram for the first project (desk organizer) do not match the measurements given in the text! Very disconcerting for the beginner this book is aimed at.

I bought this book for the quartersawn white oak blanket chest, since that is what my daughter asked for. The piece is beautiful. The milling instructions are ambiguous and confusing. On at least two occasions, the book text tells me to place the parts one way for machining grooves, and in the accompanying photo it says to turn them the opposite way. There's a lot to figure out in this project, and I had to remake the legs because the biscuit slots turned out to be in the wrong place -- about 20 hours of wasted effort. I am now struggling to make sense of the frame and panel assemblies.

I will get it done correctly, but the book could have been more helpful.

This is a great practical book. Covers the basics and moderately advanced projects and techniques. Doesn't just tell you to get the ABC Jig; it shows you how to build the ABC Jig. Maybe just a little simple for the really serious, advanced woodworker, but perfect for a small home shop weekend guy that doesn't want to spend a year on one project.

This book has some fine furniture ideas and outlines in it, but this book is probably not for you if you are a beginner or only a part-time hobbyist with limited tools in your workshop. I think it is geared more toward intermediate to high woodworking skill set, particularly people that have access to a higher end tool workshop.

I do like some of the furniture concepts, but I think the book is too technical for the non-professional woodworker. Some of the technique diagrams, pictures, and written directions are confusing to follow if you have never done them before. None of the designs are day or weekend projects.

I likewise felt that there were a lot of ways to achieve the furniture looks and concepts without having to use a lot of the skills and techniques the book recommends. A lot of the techniques require some specialty and high end tools that I most hobbyists won't have access to like biscuit joiners and high end dado jigs. In other words, a lot of these designs are over-engineered in my opinion.

If you want to get into high end furniture making, then you might consider buying this book. Certainly the plans and ideas are professional grade furniture. I think if you are a beginner, this book is probably not that helpful to you.

The book was helpful. I build a bed and this book gave me some pointers. I'm sure it will be more useful in the future. I just had a different design style than what was in the book.

Furniture You Can Build: Projects That Hone Your Skills by expert carpentry and craftsman Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk provides a definitive understanding of woodworking and craftsmanship of particular pieces collectively compiled to assist one the novice carpenter in bettering and furthering their skills as a woodworker. Introducing readers to simple, yet beautiful and impressive pieces, Furniture You Can Build deftly showcases and provides step-by-step instructions for creating desks, bookcases, beds, blanket boxes and more. Furniture You Can Build is very highly recommended to all so-it-yourself weekend enthusiasts and hobbyists looking for woodworking projects that will easily enable them to follow and produce the pristine pieces they see laid out in the pages of this impressive "how to" guide.