Easy-To-Build Adirondack Furniture (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin) (Paperback)

by Mary Twitchell (Author) "Building Adirondack furniture is a time-honored craft..." (more)
Key Phrases: fifth slat, arm connector, top back brace (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

About the Author
Mary Twitchell is a carpenter and freelance writer.  She lives in northern Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Storey Books (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580172644
• ISBN-13: 978-1580172646
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #404,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Adirondack book on the market, May 24, 2004

By	M. London - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've bought several expensive books on the subject ironically this is the only one I use. The instructions are concise and simple to follow. Very nice pieces... Buy this first and save yourself some money and aggravation!

3.0 out of 5 stars OK for simple chair, disappointing for more advanced version, January 28, 2009

By	Andy in Washington "Andy" (Washougal, WA) - See all my reviews

I just finished my first two chairs based on plans from this book, and for the most part am pleased. I am somewhere between a novice and intermediate carpenter, and found the book reasonably easy to use. Two chairs took about 2 weeks to finish, with an hour or so spent most nights.

The good points:
There is a complete materials set.
The instructions are straight-forward and logical (except as noted below).
The end result is a fairly good looking chair.


The bad points:
The directions include an option for a slightly rounded chair, rather than just a flat back which I find uncomfortable. Instead of just making this a completely new set of directions, there was a whole set of modifications to the existing instructions. They were a little confusing, and required a lot of page flipping to integrate. How much more could it have cost to just add another page or two to the book?

Also, there were an option for a profiled seat, but no specifics. While it is true that this is somewhat of a personal preference item, the book only offered an instruction to figure out what was comfortable to you. There should have been a general suggestion as to a profile. If you want a rounded seat, you are on your own.


Summary: I found the shortcomings above to be problematic. I bought the book because I just wanted to cut and screw together wood without a whole lot of thinking. If I wanted to design a chair, I would have done that. I ended up doing a bit of work creating a seat profile.
Other than that, it was ok. It was better than some of the other books I have seen for clarity and description, and it was obvious that the author had actually built a chair from the plans.
I have seen plans that were more detailed and complete for the options listed above, but this is certainly a good jumping off point. And if you are comfortable in a flat-backed non-profiled seat chair, the instructions are perfect.