Furniture Books

Marshall Brooks's Brief Illustrated History came out a year before Henry Petroski's The Book on the Bookshelf, but didn't generate nearly the amount of attention. That's a shame, because for those of us who are mildly curious as to how the storage of books has evolved, but who do not have a dozen uninterrupted hours of reading in which to satisfy that curiosity, this is a better book. Want to know how the Egyptians stored cuneiform tablets? Here's 100 words on the subject - just enough, not too much - and best of all, a charming drawing to go with it. Brooks has rendered and explained everything from Samuel Pepys custom glass-front cabinets that allowed him to store his books by height, to the library of Congress's self-ventilating shelves. This little book is a pleasure, and at only 80 pages or so won't cause your own bookshelves to collapse under its weight.

This is a thoroughly delightful little gem of a book--witty, erudite and to the point. Let's face it--bookshelves are a fairly obscure and dry topic; Brooks' wonderful illustrations and text bring out the highlights (and a few low points) of three thousand years of the book storage conundrum. The letterpress paperback version is a bargain.

A nice novelity but, hardly worth the price tag. Birch Brook Press brings the only redeeming element to this book. I value it for the workmanship in the binding and print quality, nothing more.

Marshall Brooks' unique and intriguing A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE BOOKSHELF follows the development of bookshelves worldwide, speculating on its fascinating correlation with the development of literacy and publishing. Shelves from the first millenium B.C. Mesopotamian to today's subterranean stacks in the New York Public Library are covered. His treatment of this esoteric sounding subject is actually loaded with interest and fancy. Pen and ink artwork by the author manages to stay historically accurate even as its style introduces a sweet note of whimsy. Detail in the illustrations takes the burden off text, leaving it a nugget of quick, fascinating and often quirky facts. This illustration/text balance is great for promoting reflection on the reader's part. Peppered with quotes from Jack Kerouac, Charles W. Eliot and Brooks' own father, A BRIEF HISTORY also includes enticing references to the likes of James Baldwin and Holly Golightly, as well as obscure anecdotes about figures including Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Pepys, Napoleon, and the French composer, Alkan. Brooks provides a diverse bibliography for those readers lured into further exploration. A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE BOOKSHELF is a significant book with a lightness of spirit.

The book is easy to read and gives you an overall idea about cabinets construction, good advices & tips, however if you are new in the business starting your own shop you will need additional infomation to move forward to build your own cabinets.

The title of this book is spot on. The book is a detailed procedure for making cabinets in a small (1-3 people) shop. The authors give detailed advice on the procedure they have used for many years to make a profit and still have time to spend with the family.

But that is also the limitation of this book. For example, the authors glue face frames to the cabinet and they give great advice on this. However, there are other popular methods, such as biscuits and pocket screw holes. Both of these methods warrant only a superficial discussion. And both of the methods are popular and have pluses and minuses. But alas, the authors only really cover dowels and gluing.

Recently, I was asked to design an entire kitchen of cabinets. I used this book a lot to answer some very specific, detailed questions regarding carcass construction. The example drawings are pretty darn good.

The authors' discussion of door building is a bit brief. They state that it is really important to keep doors flat. Duh. Any suggestions for making sure they are flat? Jigs? What about procedures for gluing up 15 doors at a time? Any idea regarding storage racks? They suggest having a third party do all of the work. Sorry, but my clients want me involved every step of the way including selecting appropriate grain and making sure there is continuity.

Nor should it be your first. The authors have more than 20 years of experience in cabinet shops. They have good advice and smart tips. This short book (96 pages) strikes me as being a great employee training manual. If you are new, this is a good place to begin learning how to build cabinets. The authors explore issues like face frame cabinets versus Euro or frameless case constrution. But there is not enough detailed instruction for a novice to design or build cabinets based just on the information in the chapters.

If you are experienced, this book will remind you of the many things you are suppose to know. For instance, make sure your cabinets will fit through doorways and up stairs. The authors remind you to account for the floor material so a dishwasher will still fit under the cabinet when the 3/4 inch flooring is installed. There is a brief discussion about schematics and how to measure jobsites.

The authors discuss business practices, contracts, estimating, shop drawings and equipment choices. This is a lot of ground to cover in a few pages so they can not go into much detail about any aspect. The reader can find books that have more detailed instruction on cabinetmaking and other books that cover how to run a woodworking business. If the authors of this book are a bit overly ambitious, I respect their solid advice and practices based on hard experience in the field. They have a refreshingly positive attitude that makes the book a pleasure to read.

As a professional furniture maker building his first kitchen, I found Fristad's book the most useful of the three I read - the other two being the best sellers. This book is about production; how to make money; how not to make mistakes; how to streamline the process; how to get the sequence right. It covers both frame and frameless cabinets. No pictures, but lots of good drawing that are really all that are needed. While you need to know the information contained in the other books, this book fills in all the gaps that the others leave out. I recommend this book both to pros and people building a kitchen only for themselves.

A bit heavy on biographical sketches for my taste, but the bios will be of interest to students of art history. Most bios are followed by a section on "Techniques" containing very useful details, but since the book is organized by ceramists, there is no quick way to find the technical info you are looking for. Well-written and good for casually browsing.

Karin Hessenberg has done a wonderful job of pulling together enough photos, ideas and techniques to get the ceramic artist started in this technically difficult medium. Accompanying photos,schematic drawings and lists of materials needed are a welcome resource without overdooing the amount of steps in each project. I have found that resource books like this must fill 2 needs for me. One; to inspire me with wonderful examples of each art form by a variety of artists and, two; information enough to help me with technical problems I might not know about but, without giving me a step by step that fills up the book. I really do like to look at the pretty pictures!

Offers an excellent visual guide to outdoor and garden ceramics and a nice insight into the minds behind these strange and beautiful things. If you're looking for an inspirational book, this works. If you're like me and are always looking for more tips and demos, you'll find it's a little on the thin side.

I was disappointed with this book. There is some lovely work illustrated and the biographies of the artists doing the work are comprehensive, but as a newcomer to doing work for outdoor installations I would have preferred more "how-to" information. For instance, there is no chapter on how to deal with the freeze-thaw cycle; you can glean some information from many of the artists about the techniques they use, but it is not organized as a comprehensive topic. The information about the mechanics for making a fountain is sketchy at best--basically, it's determined to be hard to do and must be figured out on a trial-and-error basis.

I almost did not buy this book because of a bad reader's review. I liked the first book and decided to buy it anyhow. I am really glad I did. The chapters on making drawers is wonderful, and David follows it up with a chapter on aligning the drawers as well. Another great chapter brings you through the tapering process on curved laminated table legs.
More advanced sharpening techniques for scraper planes were a welcome addition. I have finally got mine to work properly thanks to David's advice.
There are many other good features in this book, and I am looking forward to volumn III and will buy it regardless of the reviews. Thanks David.

I bought this book thinking it would at least make reference to the title it bears. Instead it is just another approach to the already overlooked subject(in the 1st Vol.) of SHARPENING. Maybe if the books title would of been, "More demented sharpening techniques for woodworkers" I would not be so upset with it. THe book does not cover any angle of what the title suggests. The author might be a renowned woodworker but, his approach in this (and Vol. 1) is totally LAME.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to learn about Power Tools, routers, sanders - then forget this book. But if what you want to discover is how to do extremely high quality work, than this is for you. Forget the comment above about sharpening. It is one of the most important skills to master if you want to work with hand tools, and there is an appropriate focus on it in this book. But also other skills, like planing techniques, fitting drawers, shooting an edge. Many skills the average woodworker seem to be lacking, but are important for great work.

It is on my top list.

Absolutely excellent, as is his first book. The author has a penchant for planning and careful execution that is inspiring. But, he is also very human in admitting the areas that give him trouble and suggests alternate methods for those of us who are also human and might not have the hand skills of James Krenov. He is also very honest in appraising tools by brand name and type. I have (budget allowing) followed his recommendations and been delighted with the tools he recommended. I read both of his books over and over again.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Though, not easy to do this book simplifies and shows you how to make heirloom quality desks. One of the thing the author tells you that to make a desk you are really doing a lot of little projects and combining it into one whole project. I highly reccomend this book

I have to agree with Peter Anger....Venture very carefully when using this book for anything beyond an idea! It has beautiful pictures, awesome designs, great drawings, but very inconsistent and inaccurate dimensions. I am building the pedestal desk and have found several mistakes already including conflicting measurements within the same drawing. Make sure you double check all the wood dimensions given and you can make yourself some beautiful furniture.

As usual for Taunton this book is full of very useful information. It covers several styles of desks, both usage styles and design styles.

There is information on storage design, with different storage nook options based on the expected use of the desk. Information on material selection for the desk based on how a desk is used. Different joinery methods and why they are better/worse for the usage of a desk.

If you are wanting to build a desk, of any style, this would be a very useful book to have.

I bought this book because I wanted to build the laptop computer table. I am astounded by the glaring errors in the "plans" for this table. I haven't yet finished building the table but have already encountered six errors in the plans.

The text is misleading and in some parts downright wrong. In many cases, you are left to figure out your own dimensions.

Do not cut anything based solely on the cut lists in this book. The best advice I could give you is to use the plans in this book as a guide - NOTHING MORE!

Make your own drawings and double - triple check the dimensions before you cut a single board.

Coming from Taunton Press - the publishers of Fine Woodworking magazine, I would have expected meticulous attention to detail in this book. Unfortunately, fine woodworkers do not necessarily make fine writers.

I also built the rocking horse on the cover (a couple of times) and some of the other projects, including a very cool wobbly fish. The review by "jeff_mcfarland" is right on the money. I can't imagine building it with a jigsaw, but I suppose it's possible.

In any case, the design of some of these projects is absolutely superb. It's the most handsome rocking horse I've ever seen, and both my son and my neice love it to death -- well worth the cost of the entire book. (The plans for this horse are nearly $20 if purchased separately!) The plans are quite easy to follow, but as Jeff mentioned, there are some holes in the descriptions.

My binding broke, too, also after moderate user in the shop. This is the ONLY reason I'd give it 4 instead of 5 stars. I'll probably end up taking it down to the office supply store and having it rebound (spiral bound). The pages are pretty high quality and durable, so this should work out just fine.

Again, hats off to the designer -- it's well thought out. For example, the back of the head and neck of the horse on the cover is curved in such a way that you can put the head pattern twice on the same board, back to back (one upside down) so that these curves nearly meet. (The two head cut-outs share the curve.) This saves a good deal of wood. Similarly, the leg and tail patterns can be overlapped to save wood. I ended up having a lot of extra wood when I was finished the first time!

This book is a bargain!

I built the rocking horse on the front cover of this book. It turned out pretty well. The drawings in the book are fairly easy to follow. However, the written instructions have some holes in the explanation. In addition, the instructions imply that stationary power tools are recommended for this project, but hand-held tools would work as well. I seriously doubt that this horse could be built properly using only a hand-held jigsaw and electric drill. The precision required to do this project *right* really call for bigger tools. One other gripe - after moderate use in the workshop, the binding on this book started to come loose, and a couple of pages came out.

But overall, I was pleased with the project and hope to build some more toys using the plans in this book. It was worth the price just for the horse plans

I made 2 of the Bunk Beds with the desk option. They turned out great. There were a few errors in the shopping list, so double check the list against the plans or you may have to make a second trip. I also made several modification to better fit our needs. The illustrations were exellent and don't be afraid to make changes. If you only use one project in this book, it is still worth buying.

I built the rocking horse on the front cover of this book. It turned out pretty well. The drawings in the book are fairly easy to follow. However, the written instructions have some holes in the explanation. In addition, the instructions imply that stationary power tools are recommended for this project, but hand-held tools would work as well. I seriously doubt that this horse could be built properly using only a hand-held jigsaw and electric drill. The precision required to do this project *right* really call for bigger tools. One other gripe - after moderate use in the workshop, the binding on this book started to come loose, and a couple of pages came out.

But overall, I was pleased with the project and hope to build some more toys using the plans in this book. It was worth the price just for the horse plans.

Many books I've come across seem to have frivolous unusable decorative furniture makeover projects. Not with this book! I wasn't disappointed one bit, and much of the furniture pieces are items we've all acquired cheaply or simply have stored them in our basements with junk abounding on top of them. Easy to follow instructions and you don't have to be a pro at using tools, materials, etc. I was very pleased with the furniture that I was able to turn into something practicle and useable.

If this book is anything like the show Changing Rooms on BBC America, you will love this book. I personally have not looked at this book, but I have seen Linda Barker at work. She is a great artist and decorator who has an ablity to turn one man's trash to another's treasure!

I was horrified by Barker's book. She destroys attractive, and often costly, antiques to make artsy-craftsy pieces which will look dated within ten years. It's hard to believe she purchased the original pieces at bargain prices. I fear readers may destroy even more valuable items now sitting in their attics. If someone owns the necessary power tools, is willing to buy expensive materials and replacement hardware, and has unlimited time to do these projects, they should head to the local unfinished furniture store and use their own ideas and creativity rather than purchase this ill-considered book.

Linda Barker is a wealth of knowledge and know-how. She's got endless ideas that an average gal like myself can do without a second thought. This book allows that dusty junk in the basement to become a great new piece in your home. She's got so many creative and cheap ideas in this book. The amount of creativity is never-ending. Her work is so easy and natural. Great for Everyone!

Very good book excellent ideas, could be a bit more detailed, but overall very good. Not always very accurate eg the ladder for the fishermans cottage should have 10 not 9 steps according to the measurments, but things like that are easily adapted

Following the authors instructions may have you pulling your hair out. There are quite a few mistakes and vague instruction in this book.

I would not recomend this book to the inexperienced for it's plans, as it may prove to be quite frustrating and perhaps discouraging. It is however, a great book for inspiration.

If you are fairly experienced or really like a good challenge, then you will enjoy creating these designs. (Hopefully you will spot the errors 'before' making them!)

I would give this book 5 stars if it were not for the errors. A web site from the author and/or publisher for errata would be very useful.

All that aside, I did manage to buid 2 of the projects so far. (More like 10 if you count the times I did parts of them over and over and ...)

There are only 5 designs for this book. I am happy to learn that there is a second book available. I want to see more. The victorian store and thatched cottage are very nice. The fisherman's cottage is excellent and really tempted me to buy this book (got this out at the library) I liked the goergian house as well but it lacked a second staircase so there was no entrance into the attic rooms.
There are detailed instructions spanning many pages but I can see how some readers might find them a bit daunting. Also the photos are too dark.The tudor example given was an unusual design however there is no furnishings in the interior so it was not as inspiring.

Pretty good book overall. I would recommend looking it over at the bookstore or in the library before you buy.

I checked out this book from the library and used it for my FIRST EVER miniature project - the Georgian dollhouse. The narrative instructions are a little hard to follow, (perhaps because the authors are British and I am not), and there are only a few basic diagrams. But after a few months of mild to moderate frustration, I had a beautiful product! I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who hasn't done any woodcraft or miniature projects, but for someone with a little experience, the end results can be worth the effort.

This book included chapters on Gustav Stickley, joinery and woodworking techniques, wood finishing and upholstery. The heart of the book is ten projects, complete with large color photos. They range from a hall mirror to a Morris chair. Some designs may be original, one is from Popular Mechanics' Mission Furniture, How to Make It, and the rest seem to be based upon articles from Stickley's The Craftsman magazine.

Not surprisingly, since most of the general designs are based on Stickley, they are on the whole quite attractive. They are simplified versions of production designs, and were originally meant for the home woodworker. Unlike the reproduction book Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture, there is a wealth of detail and all of the pieces have a place in the modern home. The author has included two pieces that I call Neo-Craftsman: a coffee table and a hall or foyer magazine table.

The engineering of the pieces, beneath the facade, may cause some problems. In particular, Mr. Wagner seems to be unaware of the problems that seasonal wood movement can cause when large panels are tightly secured. For instance, his coffee table top is doweled in place. I should be mentioned that the author is very fond of using dowels EVERYWHERE in the furniture. He even uses them to assemble drawers.

I recommend this book, with reservations. Like most similar books, you must have a shop full of power tools, and be familiar with their use, so it really is not for the complete novice. Knowledge of doweling and making mortises and tenons is a must, and it seems that one would have to have a jointer and a planer (or be accomplished with the hand tool equivalents) for the majority of the projects. There are a wealth of exploded drawings of the parts, but they are poorly drawn. I suspect that the illustrator Ms. Barbara Smullen is not a draftsman or a woodworker. Some of the perspectives are drawn wrong, and one would think that some tenons are haunched when they are not. However, all of the measurements seem to be correct, so one can go by them.

Note For The Advanced Woodworker:

It is useful to see completed pieces from the Stickley book. I don't like some of Wagner's joinery techniques, but you can use proper tabletop fasteners and can properly dovetail the drawers, etc. Another thing he has done is skip tenon shoulders for some spindles - I guess to make construction easier. Of course, then the edges of the mortises have to be perfect. One odd thing that I noticed in the photos is that he doesn't seem to use quartersawn oak anywhere. I wonder whether this book was a project assigned by a publisher...

After reading Blair Howard's "Arts and Crafts Furniture", I was expecting a lot from this book and it didn't deliver. I agree with all of Donald Thomson's complaints above. The joinery seemed questionable and he took short cuts I would not have made. Additionally, I felt his pieces lacked the elegance that the better mission designs have, both by Stickley and by others. However, the book is very detailed and easy to follow, so it should be easy for a beginning woodworker to follow. Joining boards and cutting mortices appeared to be the most advanced things he ever did, and he avoided cutting mortice and tenon joints whenever possible.

When I became interested in building "Mission Style" furniture I purchased this book. The designs are wonderfully illustrated and easily followed. I particularly appreciated the comments provided by the author as to the skill level required to complete a specific project. The beginning of the book provides a brief but informative history of Gustav Stickley and some important techniques that are required in building the projects.

I would highly recommend this book to any beginning interested in building "Mission Style" furniture. This book has inspired me to read more about Gustav Stickley and to build more challenge pieces of furniture. Absolutely Excellent!

Wagner has done a great job explaining wood working techniques for the beginner. This is a great book for beginning woodworkers to use when building this Mission furntiure. I built the table. Had great results. (A nice historical introduction makes the best reading in the book!)

this book is a good reference for furniture finishing and restoration. Solid information about how to identify antique furniture and it's finishes and then how to repair it. it has information about staining, french polishing, and gilding among others. A straight forward, interesting book that will help me in many furture projects.

There's one fatal flaw in this book. The techniques and tools used throughout the book do require some not inconsiderable practice to master before they can be applied, meaningfully, to wood. I appreciate the author's desire to make the subject of antique restoration more accessible to the public; however, the purpose of the book would be better served if it focused on the methods used to reach the final result, rather than vignettes of restoration projects. Admittedly, the subject is anything but impenetrable, but as with all things in life, the rewards reaped are commensurate with the practitioner's skill level. I can say without fear of contradiction, that if someone from the "Belt-sander and Varnish" school of restoration attempted to apply any of these methods-without bothering to master the techniques required to do them good service-on a valuable antique, the outcome would be a disaster.

Furthermore, someone who has already mastered the skills outlined in this book would have little use for the restoration vignettes peppered throughout the book; they'd be working on projects of their own.

Lastly, the completed projects are very poorly photographed. In almost every instance, the finished piece of furniture is either partially hidden by shadows, or arranged in such a way that the viewer cannot fully appreciate the affected repairs.

This book is an excellent value. It is packed with useful techniques for restoring just about any kind of furniture. The entire book is in full-color. Each project and technique includes a material and equipment list as well as clear step-by-step instructions accompanied by small photos.

The book starts out with tips on where to purchase furniture and what to look for when you do. Then it gives you the basics of getting started including tools, finishing, cleaning, stripping, and treating infestation or wood rot. It also has a wonderful section on understanding wood with a nice chart on 15 wood types, their use, advantages and disadvantages.

Consolidation of furniture including deciding what parts to keep, dismantling a piece or simply making the furniture joints stronger follows. Consolidation sections specific to chairs, tables, and a chest of drawers provide useful details. They teach things like replacing a broken chair stretcher bar, evening chair legs, mending major cracks, replacing a table chassis, carving a new leg for a tripod table or repairing worn drawer slides. There are two additional sections on metal fittings and upholstery. Molding a backplate, antiquing new metal fittings and replacing a double stuffed seat are just a few of the techniques taught here.

The next section focuses on repairing and beautifying surfaces. This includes a great guide to solving common problems like white water marks, dents and scorch marks. Veneer repairs such fixing blisters and removing an old veneer and reusing it as are also covered. It then goes on to demonstrate several surface effects including French polishing, working with gesso, gilding, aging paint, staining, graining, marbling and waxing.

The last section includes 12 projects that use the techniques previously covered. In one project, clients need a sixth chair. They find one with a matching back but must replace the entire seating structure and reupholster it. In another project an empire-style night table needs its brass fitting replaced and its tambour door dismantled and refitted. It also needs new stain, French polish and wax.

The information here will enable you to take on some tough challenges with satisfying professional results as you restore or enhance fine furniture. To help with any project there is a nice list of suppliers in the back.

Having read both the book and the other review of it here, I'm in wholehearted agreement. But I did encounter one small downside. James Bain recommends only one source for upholstery material -- and that turns out to be a wholesaler to the trade only. I haven't checked the other recommdnations, but you should be aware that there's a possible problem here, however minor.