Furniture by Design: Lessons in Craftmanship from a Master Woodworker (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Unlike a lot of woodworking and furniture design books, Graham Blackburn does not just lay out the plans and dimensions and list the materials and tell you what to do. Instead, he discusses, in a very literate way, the basic tenets of design and furniture making, and writes with respect for the reader's ability to understand and succeed in designing his or her own furniture. He encourages the would-be furniture designer to work with materials at hand, not just the finest (and most exhorbitantly expensive) hardwoods, and treats furniture design and construction not as a goal, but as a process, using one's brains and one's hands to create one's own singular and pleasing furniture. An unusual approach and a very satisfying read.

Product Description

Furniture By Design is a project book for the woodworker, but one that goes beyond traditional woodworking manuals to teach design concepts through carefully selected, hands-on projects the woodworker builds himself. This book is for the woodworker who is not content merely to build from preset plans; instead, it offers projects that will show how the designs originate and take shape, giving the woodworker the freedom to build anything, with or without plans. The book presents a dozen different pieces of furniture, each illustrated with detailed line drawings and each final product pictured in full color. Every project exemplifies a different lesson in design - making the book a self teaching course in woodworking and furniture design for amateurs and experienced woodworkers alike. (8 3/4 X 11 1/4, 156 pages, color photos, diagrams)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558215123
• ISBN-13: 978-1558215122
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,994,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is for beginners, October 31, 2005

By	David C. Brayton (Healdsburg, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Furniture By Design: Lessons in Craftmanship from a Master Woodworker (Paperback)

I consider myself an internediate woodworker and did not find this book very helpful because most of the material is already known to intermediate woodworkers.

Several comments. First, there are only eight pages of color photos and they are in the center of the book. The cardinal rule of technical writing is to put the picture with the text. Flipping back and forth is for the birds.

Second, the author doesn't consider the disadvantages to his design. The design of anything is a tradeoff between many requirements; the corrollary is that there is no perfect design that satisfies all off the requirements.

For instance, consider the "dining table". The apron around the fully assembled table is a dark brown. But when the semi-circle tables on each end are removed, the apron that is revealed is maple. Having two highly contrasting color on the table apron is a big issue which is completely ignored by the author. Also, none of the photos reveal this issue--you really need to read the text carefully to understand what he's doing.

Third, the Gothic Armchair is one of the least helpful examples I've ever seen. To start, the chair is built at right angles (there's a reason chair backs angle back--comfort). Then, a reproduction of a chair that was built in the 15th century? Absolutely none of my customers have asked for anything remotely similar to this. Then, there is no analysis of the design. It is simply a how-to article.

Fourth, the majority of the book focuses on how to build the furniture as opposed to why the design works. The technical details are fine but I know how to true and square a piece of lumber.

Fifth, the author selects furniture from many disparate styles--gothic, comtemporary american and Pepsyian. It did not leave me with an understanding of the style.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book...but lacks something..., July 6, 2005

By	SoulCatcher "A tool user" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Furniture By Design: Lessons in Craftmanship from a Master Woodworker (Paperback)

I have long searched for books on furniture design and style. There are few that exist in this area. This one is good but I'd like to see something more...

6 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one!, May 6, 2001

By	"timm_ber" (Montana) - See all my reviews

Mr. Blackburn shows you that you too can build your own furniture. This is a must have as far as I am concerned!