Making Elegant Gifts from Wood [Hardcover]

Kerry Pierce (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a book for people who have some interest in woodworking and some familiarity with woodworking tools. However, one needn't be a professional woodworker to tackle some of these handsome and, yes, elegant woodworking projects. I have been inspired to tackle two projects in the book for gifts already, and I bet it gets you going, too!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Popular Woodworking Books (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558704213
• ISBN-13: 978-1558704213
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,542,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After earning a bachelor's degree in English from Bowling Green State University (and later a master's in art from Ohio University, Kerry Pierce simultaneously began two careers, working for 32 years as a teacher of secondary English and working for 35 years as a furniture maker and writer specializing in Shaker and Shaker-inspired work. He's the author of 18 books, five of which focus on Shaker furniture and woodenware. One of the most recent of these-- "Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture"-- is the first book-length study of that community's melding of the Shaker aesthetic and the rural traditions of Kentucky furniture. The most recent of his Shaker titles is "Storage and Shelving the Shaker Way", the first book-length presentation of the ingenious methods by which Shaker craftsmen brought order to their physical world. His next book-- "Hand Planes in the Modern Shop"-- will be published in the Fall of 2010.

Two of his Shaker titles--"Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture" and "Making Shaker Woodenware"--have been translated into German.

Positive reviews of his books--in particular "The Custom Furniture Sourcebook" and "Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture"--have appeared in The Columbus Dispatch, The Chicago Daily Herald, and many other other papers. In addition positive reviews have appeared in Woodshop News, Popular Woodworking, Library Journal, Canadian Woodworking and other magazines. They have also received positive reviews in many web publications.

Twenty-two of his 150+ magazine articles (for Woodwork, Popular Woodworking, Woodcraft, Woodshop News, and The Woodworker's Journal and others) focus on this genre of woodworking.

He served as Contributing Editor of Woodwork magazine from 1995-2007.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful intermediate-level project book, January 21, 1999

By 

appliedchaos (Concord, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Elegant Gifts from Wood (Hardcover)

One of my favorite books to recommend to people who are looking for a good project book!

This is a beautifully illustrated book, full of many useful, attractive small projects. The instructions are clear -- though they assume knowledge of basic woodworking techniques. It is a n excellent book for those who have limited access to machinery. Many hand-tool techniques are described & illustrated with clear photographs throughout the book.

1.0 out of 5 stars Never received product, March 21, 2011

By 

KMK - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making Elegant Gifts from Wood (Hardcover)

I ordered this book from Lettersandkeys (Amazon seller) Dec 14th 2010. Never received it. My father, who I ordered it for ended up ordering it from another seller on Amazon and received it in 4 days. He did say the content of the book was disappointing. It didn't have the detail he was looking for.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Gift, January 23, 2009

By 

anon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Elegant Gifts from Wood (Hardcover)

Excellent book. Good instructions and plans. Great variety of projects. The perfect gift for my husband for Christmas.