Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking

I have been a woodbutcher for many years. I did this as an advocation. Wanted to dedicate serious time to fine furniture, and cabinets. As reviewers who rate this text positively note. "It is a great book for getting started." I have had discussions with woodworkers who have different levels of expertise. They have shared similar information to what I can find in this excellent text. It is criticized for being "pedestrian" and this is actually a good quality. Habits and skills come from practice, making mistakes, and doing what works for me. I have other similar books, They are more cutting edge, but this is seriously a great book for people who want to reduce personal mistakes in building mental skills toward planning and preperation. It is not a simple "how to book" but a mentoring manual.

We saw this book while shopping out and about. My boyfriend was very excited about it but didn't want to spend the money. He is new to woodworking and carpentry. He generally doesn't draw up a plan for most of his pieces of furniture. I was hoping that this book would help give him some of the fundamentals of how to design quality furniture that will last.When I surprised him with it, the look on his face was worth it alone. He has been reading a little bit of the book each week and learning new techniques. I can't wait to see what he creates after being inspired by this book.

I'm new to woodworking, and I didn't want to spend a ton of money. The Taunton Series of Woodworking books looked like a good bet, but then I discovered this newly released book, which takes the most important info from the Taunton series of books. Pretty much anything you want to do is described in this book. Everything from setting up shop to shaping wood to finishing it. It's well written and and a must have wookworking guide for the shop. I especially like the tips on how to handle pieces safely. When I need more detail, I'm sure I'll pick up the other Taunton books. For 20 bucks on Amazon, its a no-brainer for those of us starting out.

Taunton does an excellent job of producing attractive, well written wide market appeal products. The content of Complete Illustrated Guide is a convenient collection of the same articles you will find in their "Fine Woodworking" magazine. The authors are knowledgable, and very successful in thier space. Unfortunately, in building the mass appeal formula, Taunton had to give up anything edgy, its all vanilla and no "rocky road". A recent copy of Fine Woodworking for example rated central dust vacuums. They rated 3 "best" each was from the product line of one of the top three manufacturers each of whom advertise heavily in thier publications. As I recall there is usually one "best" and then others follow. This straddling is what I mean by no edgyness, they are trying to appeal to everyone and offend no one. In the end this approach results in what I believe is the best vanilla product out there and I love to consume what they produce, just have to take it for what it is, mass production. If you have progressed in woodworking to the point where you are becomming an artist or want to learn something new, look here for foundation and elsewhere for creativity. Most folks will benefit from both.

Book came in time indicated and was in the shape we expected. We would order from this supplier again if the occasion presented itself.

I've been a woodworker for quite some time and this is a great book for beginners. I recommend this book to those who come to me to learn the ins and outs of basic woodworking, its a great learning tool. It tackles a general understanding of methods and practices that the beginner should know to be successful. Then when there ready to expand their knowledge they can find more specialize books on those subjects. A Great Beginner Book!

Very nice compendium of essential woodworking skill. Lots for the beginner, lots for the intermediate to advanced woodworker. Well illustrated and annotated. Well organized.

Taunton's has a long history of publishing extremely thorough woodworking books, and this is no exception. For an all-in-one book, this covers a great deal under one cover! Will remain on my workbench for a long time!