Small Woodworking Shops (New Best of Fine Woodworking) [Paperback]

Fine Woodworking (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2004

"Small Woodworking Shops contains years of "Fine Woodworking authors' knowledge and expertise on how to make the best of a small space, often with materials woodworkers already have at their disposal. Projects for modifying garages, basements, or specially built shops to fit various needs are included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (February 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561586862
• ISBN-13: 978-1561586868
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Power Tools

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars False Advertising, July 8, 2008

By 

Tim Mensch "technology enthusiast" (Boulder, CO. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Small Woodworking Shops (New Best of Fine Woodworking) (Paperback)

This book has its positive points, but encouraging someone who wants to create a small workshop is not one of them. Instead it tends to make you feel bad about not having 1000+ sq. ft. of space to allocate to a wood shop. They've reprinted six articles that describe wood shops, but only one fits my definition of "small." The rest describe spaces 600, 720, 1296, and two at 2400 sq. ft. I guess if you are making a "small" commercial shop, 2400 sq. ft. is not out of the question, but if woodworking is just a hobby, 200-400 sq. ft. is a more common limitation.

It also has two (related, overlapping in content) articles on dust collection; one of the articles is useful, but another seems redundant. Seems like the editors were looking for filler articles.

I would have given this book more stars--3 or 4--if it hadn't claimed to be about "small" shops. However I wouldn't have purchased it in that case, because I already have general woodshop design books--and in fact almost all the information in this one I've seen in my other books. And it really is just a collection of articles rather than a coherent whole.

In particular, I find How to Design and Build Your Ideal Woodshop (Popular Woodworking) to be much more appropriate. It talks about how to design a small workshop in much greater detail. I also have an earlier edition of Setting Up Shop, Completely Revised and Updated: A Practical Guide to Designing and Building Your Dream Shop, which is quite good.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best concise shop design book out now., January 4, 2005

By 

Timothy Pauls "Need more time to read" (Columbia, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Small Woodworking Shops (New Best of Fine Woodworking) (Paperback)

This is the best concise shop design book out now in my opinion. It covers quite a few areas in detail like lighting, adding a wood floor on top of concrete, dust collection issues, various layouts, essential tools, and more that make it an essential book. Aim high in making your shop as good as any tool you have or project you make. This book encourages that and helps you make wise, cost-effective decisions.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tips - even for the weekend DYI'r, February 8, 2008

By 

Patrick E. Mcknight (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Small Woodworking Shops (New Best of Fine Woodworking) (Paperback)

At first when I started reading the book I thought I was in store for a long treatise on how to build a professional workshop. If you are in the market for that information, I am sure this book will get you started. Where I found the book most useful was in seeing how each person used the space available. In one instance, the shop design was a professional spread with a specific location for each step of the woodworking process. In another instance, the shop design was for a professional who had limited space. Both extremes helped me visualize how my home workshop (my garage) might be better used. I gained a lot from reading the book. Reading it is not a necessity, however. You may gain the same information the authors did by making the same mistakes as they did or you can learn vicariously from them and the examples.

Now, one thing I recommend for most hobbyists; while reading the book, do not get discouraged or dismissive. Read the book for ideas about how to make your workspace more usable and more efficient. If you do, you will not be disappointed.