Customer Reviews

Making Classic Chairs: A Craftsmans Chippendale Reference

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

 

 

I recommended to buy the plans for the chair. I forgot to say the plans lack of simmetry, hence, use the left hand side for reference to make the templates otherwise you will end up with mismatched pieces!

I am presently building the chair explained in the book. The book is very well written an helpful if you have never built a chair before, but beware there are many (many although the author does not recognize the mistakes) mistakes in the measurements. MEASURE TWICE- READ ALL THE REFERENCES in the book which relate to each piece, or you will have to buy extra wood to recover from these mistakes. There is a set of plans for the chair which you MUST buy or from the tiny pictures from the book will not be able to accomplish the project.

The book itself has plenty of pictures (all black and white except for a gallery of chairs). The cover seems to deliver better quality pictures than it actually does.

The title should say "Building A classic chair" since it only explains how to build just one model. But remember, get the plans, and re-read the book back and forward before cutting any part and buying the wood.

This is a fantastic book despite the false claim on the ball and claw foot on the back cover, as the author does not show the reader how to carve a ball and claw foot anywhere in the book, only the hairy paw carving is shown in detail. It is certainly the best chair making book I have seen.
I highly recommend this book.

When I got this book I couldn't believe what I'd found -- a time machine! Of the few craftsmen of this caliber remaining, few would share their secrets to the extent Ron has... Sure there are other books on 18th century furniture but not written in this much detail and loaded with as many pictures, tips and insights into building such a masterpiece. Everything is covered, all you do is follow the steps guided by the pictures and captions to make a treasured heirloom! All you need to succeed is the ability to follow step by step instructions and a bunch of chisels and gouges...

The "used" book arrived ahead of schedule and in NEW condition. A great master carving book by Ron Clarkson.

This is an excellent book. If you are thinking of carving a Ball an Claw I would suggest this book.

Using this book, I was able to build a decent chair, considering it was the first chair I ever built. However, there's some things that purchasers should be aware of before buying.
First, as others have mentioned, it doesn't actually show you how to carve a ball and claw foot. Not at all.
Second, this is a *carving* book basically. There is almost zero information on the joinery aspects of building the chair. It's apparently assumed that you've either bought the full-sized plans (I did not), or that you've built enough chairs before to be comfortable with the process. There are many details left out in terms of the joinery. If you are looking for a book on chair joinery, get Chairmaking and Design by Jeff Miller instead.
Basically, this is not recommended for the beginning woodworker, or for woodworkers who have never built a chair before.
All that said, the book does do a good job of illustrating the various steps in the carving, and it shows you how to carve the "hairy paw" foot, which I personally like better than the ball and claw because it is unique. It does also show some of the building steps, like how to cut out the cabriole legs and other curved parts. So it does contain a good deal of useful information, especially if you're not an experienced carver.