Customer Reviews

Tauntons Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I started making boxes, a friend of mine gave me a copy of David Freedman's book Box-Making Basics. That book contains photographs of a variety of boxes, has large line drawings to illustrate details, has precise measurements for each box, and has a numbered step-by-step procedure for making each box. That book enabled me to make several of the boxes in the book with relative ease. Stowe's book, on the other hand, really disappointed me. Although it has colored photographs of the boxes, they are so small that it's difficult to see what's going on in them. His procedures for actually building the boxes are way too general for me to follow. In a couple of sentences, he attempts to describe five or six procedures at a time. He has no dimensions for any of the boxes. There are no line drawings to further illustrate what he's trying to show in the tiny photographs. If I had used this book when I first started making boxes, I probably would have built book cases instead.

This is a superfluous book. It is an essentially contextless version of another book written by the same author "Creating Beautiful Boxes With Inlay Techniques". The book provides very detailed descriptions of a large number of woodworking procedures but does not put them into the context of any particular project. It is a grab bag of procedures rather than a thoroughly worked out tutorial or set of projects. The primary value for this particular book is as a companion to "Creating Beautiful Boxes With Inlay Techniques", which lacks some critical details, some of which can be found in this volume.

When Taunton bills this book as "The Complete Guide..." they are not kidding. As a huge fan of the Taunton Press and of this series, I was prepared for all of the great detail that this book offers. I especially appreciated the organization of the book. All of the major components of a box, the joinery, the lid, the base and feet, hinges & hardware, and the interior all get detailed treatment within their own chapters.

My only complaint is that as a moderately skilled woodworker, I wasn't prepared for the over-simplistic first two chapters. Maybe I am being too critical, but to me it doesn't seem likely that most who are interested in box building would need information like "Tools for box building" and "Box making materials." In other words, if a person doesn't already have a shop and a basic collection of tools, they should not be starting with this book and thus why include this woodworking beginner information?

That is a minor irritation though. Overall this book is an excellent resource on the subject and it is deserved of Taunton's reputation for excellence. Highly recommended to all woodworkers interested in box building.

Box making is a microcosm of woodworking. Machining the wood, shaping, turning, joinery and every form of embellishment are involved, and the small size allows the use of precious woods that are beyond the means of most weekend furniture makers. As well as opening the craftsperson to an incredible diversity of design possibilities. Box making is a form of artistic expression that can bring out the best of the woodworker, and hone all the skills that create excellence in the macro world as well.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a yen to make boxes - small, prizewinning works of art that might be the comfort of my old age. But first, I have to learn how. How to jump the gap between a satisfactory maple kitchen table and these little containers with their high 'wow' factor. Hence my acquisition of Doug Stowe's tidy monograph on Box Making.

This is one of Taunton's 'Complete Illustrate Guides to...' As series of beautifully made books that are often a pleasure just to hold and look through. Once again Taunton sets a very high standard. As always, the discussion starts out with a discussion of tools and jigs, then materials, joinery, lids, bases, interiors, hardware, and decoration. A final section introduces shaped boxes.

While Stowe only occasionally takes you through the details of making a particular box, he delves deep into the hows and whys, in the tradition of this entire series. The result is that the reader comes to grasp box making conceptually rather than simply learning to mimic. I find this combination of practical advice and idea building the best way to get excited about a project. Even as I write I'm thinking about a small pile of rosewood that is sitting in my shop, beckoning.

I have been making box's for a few years now, but am always looking for new ideas and techniques. Doug Stowe's book, although published in the early 90's, is one of those gems that come along now and then. It is laid out in a logical and informative manner, with a lot of pictures and side notes. It is full of technique, design, and tool choices. On most projects he gives several alternatives for accomplishing the desired effect.
If you can pick up just one new idea from this book it is well worth the price, and I managed to glean a half dozen.
I would reccommend this book to everyone interested in improving their box making endeavors. Really enjoyed this one.

This is a great intermediate book. Probably a bit much for a novice but still a great read. Like all Taunton Press books the pictures are great and very detailed. The writing is easy to follow with some knowledge of the craft.

this is a great book for the intermediate wood worker who wants to know how to (or be refreshed) on how to do some specific box making techniques. If you are looking for a project-based book, I would recommend something else. However, I enjoyed this book a lot and have learned some cool things from it.

I have over 30 year of woodworking experience building tables, chests etc. I bought this book as it sounded like everything I ever needed to know about box making. The book was a big disappointment. It has lots of colorful pictures on nice glossy thick paper, but lacks the detailed instructions of how to build a box. Normally the Taunton Press (Fine WoodWorking Magazine) has excellent articles, but this book falls short of giving you the 'know how' to build a box.

The book gave me several new ideas for design as well as new techniques for creating beautiful boxes. It was well illustrated but could have included some specific plans.

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here. This is a nicely organized book covering a multitude of relevant subjects, but there's very little useful detail in here. I think Taunton made a mistake by trying to stuff too much into too little space. I'm a decent intermediate woodworker and thought this book would help me with some of the things I struggle with in making decorative boxes. But I already knew about 75% of what's in this book. Besides too little detail, the photos, although plentiful, are too small to be of value. Sorry Taunton, a nice effort, but this one misses the mark for me.