Tauntons Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking [Hardcover]

Lonnie Bird (Author), Andy Rae (Author), Thomas Lie-Nielsen (Author), Jeff Jewitt (Author), Gary Rogowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2005

This step-by-step shop reference, culled from the first six volumes of "Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guides," covers all of the fundamental techniques every woodworker needs to know. Organized for quick access, this book makes it easy to find the information you are looking for. Over 1,200 photos and drawings illustrate how to accomplish essential woodworking tasks from setting up a shop to finishing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lonnie Bird, a professional woodworker specializing in period furniture, runs a woodworking school in Dandridge, Tennessee.
Jeff Jewitt is a professional finisher and refinisher in Cleveland, Ohio and a contributing editor to Fine Woodworking.
Thomas Lie-Nielsen is the founder and owner of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks which manufactures high quality handtools. He lives in Warren, Maine.
Andy Rae, from Asheville, North Carolina, is a professional woodworker who writes frequently for woodworking magazines and teaches woodworking.
Gary Rogowski, a contributing to Fine Woodworking, operates his own school, the Northwest Furniture Studio, in Portland Oregon.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561587699
• ISBN-13: 978-1561587698
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lonnie Bird, a professional woodworker specializing in period furniture, was a contributing editor to American Woodworker. He taught woodworking at the university level and now operates his own school in Dandridge, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mile wide, inch deep, July 20, 2008

By 

Michael O'Brien (Dumfries, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tauntons Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking (Hardcover)

I have been trying to find the perfect book for a novice woodworker and this is not it. The word "complete" in the title implies that it is for beginners -- as an experienced woodworker would most likely buy more specialized books -- such as a book just on dovetail joints.

For example, it has a chapter on all the different kinds of joints you can make -- which is good for a beginner. But then they have a how-to on using a hollow-chisel mortiser - a machine that no novice has in their shop.

They will often show how to do things on upper-end machinery that is out of the price-range or has too large a footprint for a beginner. Some of these things can't be done as well (if at all) with entry-level tools (like cutting down the width of a board with a band saw).

So it is good if you want to understand the big-picture world of wood working, but it is equally silly to give quick lessons on how to use upper-end tools that a beginner just wouldn't have.

If anyone from Taunton is reading this, it would be great to have a book geared toward the beginner who mostly has bench-top tools and doesn't have tools like jointers and shapers.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide, November 29, 2005

By 

Sonya "readaholic" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tauntons Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking (Hardcover)

I've justed considering doing something about my interest in woodworking. After watching scores of decorating shows where they build fairly simple pieces of furniture, I felt I needed a more detailed guide. I was especially interested in the tools, their uses and general kind of construction. This book has it all and explains it in an easy-to-understand manner. My husband has almost all the tools, but I don't know how to use them.

I really like the Case Joinery section where they explain various ways to join pieces of wood and the Construction secion where they show you how to construct different projects, including doors, drawers and shelves. They not only explain it, but include color photographs that are easy to follow.

There is so much covered in this book and was well worth the money. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. I have several Taunton books and this one rates up there with the best of them.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A straightforward guide for practitioners of all levels of expertise, October 13, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tauntons Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking (Hardcover)

The collaborative effort by wordworking experts Lonnie Bird, Jeff Jewitt, Thomas Lie-Nielsen, Andy Rae, and Gary Rogowski, Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking is a straightforward guide for practitioners of all levels of expertise. Chapters cover everything from setting up and outfitting one's workshop, to basic wood skills such as sanding, smoothing, or using cutting lines, to more advanced means of dimensioning and shaping wood, to joinery, sharpening, construction and finishing techniques. Each of the step-by-step instructions is illustrated with black-and-white sketches or full color photographs demonstrating every individual step. Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking does not spare the camera or the description, taking painstaking effort to be as clear as possible both visually and verbally. The text is straightforward, in reasonably large print and easy-to-read, and an index allows for quick and easy reference. Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide To Woodworking is a "must-have" for amateur woodworkers and an excellent basic reference review of the fundamentals suitable for advanced woodcrafters as well.