Amateur Books

Places to play is what a grandparent wants.
Ideas are great and easy to understand.

Book is very informative and give several plans. Also explains how to make your own cargo net (if you can find the materials) and a really cool spider-web climbing net

This is a very comprehensive book on children's play structures that begins with lists of what children like to play with by age, what they can do to help build by age (nails, screws, shoveling gravel) and how to involve them in the design.

There are water features, sand areas, play houses (from forts to teepees to castles), tree houses, cable rides, bike "roller coaster," climbing walls, skateboard ramp, and other fun things. There are amazing details like a periscope on a tree house, window boxes, steering wheels and a telephone of rubber tubing and funnels.

Don't think you need a huge lot either, as these projects scale well and there is even a tiny yard shown with a water feature, a stage for plays, a circular bike path, and a sand box beside a grassy garden area.

If you build these, they will come.

A must for any boatbuilder. Clear, very practical in it's explanations. A really handy and complete boatbuilding manual.

This book is a very well illustrated account on cold-molding and has a beautiful and clear lay-out, which makes it easy to read.
But more importantly: the content is superb. Because the author has chosen to write for the (beginning) backyard boatbuilder, it is actually a step-by-step guide! One of the most difficult stages of boatbuilding, the lofting process, is explained very thoroughly and illustrated by clear drawings (also by the author).
But there's more: lots of advice on preparations, tools, wood specifically suitable for boatbuilding and even suggestions for temporary shelters (everything illustrated).
In short, given the price it is a must for everyone who's going to build a boat using the cold-molding technique.

Good boock, great to iniciate yourself into the technique, however because it tries to show the process for 3 boats at the same time ends up by messing a bit the things

I bought my first car and this book at the same time. I have had many car problems in the past few years and this book was the only thing that made conversations with a mechanic seem almost painless. Lucille's book helps to identify smells, fluids, sound and much more. Without this book I'd never know how or when to change fluids, what smells or sounds to be concerned with. What is safe and what is not...even if a job will be very expensive! A great book, maybe the most well used book I've ever bought.

This was a great introduction for someone who knows very little about cars. She explains what the major systems of the car are (like the drive train, suspension, etc) and identifies key components (like the radiator and catalitic converter) and explains what they do in simple terms. My only complaint is that as someone who just bought a classic car and wants to really learn to be a weekend mechanic I wanted to know more about certain things and was frustrated by not being able to "double-click" to get more information about something she had described too generally. She really does explain things in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way and gives a great maintenance plan for the average car owner who wants to save money by doing it themselves or just know what mechanics are talking about so they don't get taken for a ride.

Lucille herself is quite inspiring - I'd like to know her! Stop by greasergrrls dot com if you like and say hi :)

This book is a valuable reference for all drivers who would like to understand how their cars work and how to talk to and understand a mechanic. It is well written and organized. I learned what many of those squeaks, clunks & chirps mean & how to do my own maintenance. I'm giving Lucille's to my neice for her 16th birthday.

As has been true with all of the previous editions of "Make" magazine, I have found this one to be captivating to read and leaving me anticipating several new projects to explore.

The production quality of the actual magazine has remained high (it has nice paper, photos, and printing!).

Vol 10 may not have been as exciting as #9 but is worth reading. I would subscribe and can't wait to see the next issue.

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This quarterly magazine is a great way to connect with your kids and tickle their curiosity for doing things that require more than a little thought.

Each issue has an abundance of ideas that can be spun off into Science Fair projects and will make your child the envy of the neighborhood.

If you wish to build vintage audio equipment, this book fills the bill nicely. The state of the art in 1958 was surprisingly good, the builder will bear in mind that the book is written for English reader/builders whose smaller homes and penchant for more efficient speakers even then placed emphasis on smaller amplifiers than Americans tended to prefer. On the other hand, it's precisely the little EL84-tubed amplifiers today's vintage-tweako element seems to prefer, and if you are unhappy with your project you can always recycle it into a guitar amplifier!

The projects in this book can be built very cheaply today, the only big expense being the output transformers, and even these are not terribly costly. I believe the intermediate hobbyist will do much better to build from this book with modern components rather than throwing good money into forty-year-old mediocre products such as those now bringing large sums on eBay-with the exception of Mac and Marantz and some specialty or industrial/professional products, most fifties and sixties hi-fi units were actually not very good.

This is a book which is not only useful for its historical value but also for the constructional articles inside. Many of the circuits are very similar to those found in classic valve amp brands like Leak, Quad, Radford, etc. As it is a reprint of an old book some of the components may not be easily available, especially output transformers, switches and capacitors. Theoretical information is kept to a minimum and is very useful. This is a book for constructors who really want to build their own amp. The is an excellent stereo preamp design and 20, 10 and 3 Watt mono amp designs. Designs for 7 and 3 Watt stereo preamps are also included. There are chapters on sources of distortion, hi fidelity amplification, construction and assembly.

This is an interesting read, of historical value and a pretty good guide to some basic valve amplification circuits. The power amps described are all push/pull so if you're looking for a class-A single-ended design, this isn't your source. Still, it's worth keeping in your library. At sixty dollars it's a bit pricey but at the cover price of $16.95 would be quite reasonable if it were still available. Oh wait. It is still available from Parts Express and it's even discounted so now you don't have to agonize over the expense. I'm still kicking myself over that one.

Alternative building is a recent interest of mine. I hope to have my next home built in a way that is more in harmony with nature and less in harmony with sending my money to utility companies! Looking through this book introduced me to ideas about building that are new to me. The book includes information on where to purchase the technologies discussed in the book. I recommend this book to fellow novices who want to know what is available in Earth friendy architecture.

This remarkable compendium has useful information for all country builders. It includes directories with sources of building materials, finishes, solar systems, water and waste systems, wood stoves, magazines and newsletters, and much more.

I have come to like this book as it has given me a zillion new ideas and especially where to find those things. Each section is organized with lot of colored pics of houses and brand products. Although the idea of mentioning the names of the companies which sell products in the end of a chapter is excellent but it needs updates. Many telephone numbers are incorrect or have changed, as I tried many of them. And there is NO MENTION OF WEBSITES at all which I find surprising. Most of these companies have websites now.
Overall a good book/guide to start with. And then move on to more specific catalogs/publications.

This is a good book with the coverage that you need to learn about antennae.

Don't rely upon your friend down the street that worked 100 countries in 20 years on his wonder antennae.

Learn the theory so that you can work 100 countries during one weekend contest.

This is the most comprehensive book on making antennas for the lower bands. Of course you can use the same techniques on the higher bands but getting an efficient antenna on the low bands is the most challenging.

I am not the most technical guy in the world, so some parts of this book were a little over my head, or required a lot of study to understand. But I have implemented much of the information, and I continue to plan and fantasize about some of the other projects that are not completely realistic for my property or my budget. There is a TON of great info here, and I can definitely say that my signal and my receiving ability have both improved drastically as a result of this book. I still can't figure out how I ever got by without it, but I guess that is why I went from 4 countries to 75 countries on 160M in the two months after reading the book and building just one simple transmit antenna and one beverage.
Anybody who is serious about doing well on the low bands should definitely have this bible!

Also, a week after getting the book, I bumped into the author on 75 meters, which was totally cool. He took the time to explain something to me that I had a question on. Then later that week we QSO'd twice on 160M, both on phone and on CW, which would not have been possible if I hadn't gotten my antennas working properly per his recommendations. Can't ask for much more than that!

i have done quite a few of basic projects in this book.
the processes are extremely well illustrated and leave me confident in what I have learned to tackle a given project.

I only gave 4 of 5 as i have not used the entire book yet.

The book fulfilled all my requirements for fixing plumbing at
home. The pictures are wonderful for the average person and
tips are great. For once I have a book that is so very help-
fyl in every way.

I converted my 1950 home to copper pipe from iron with the help of this book. At the same time I added 2 new 3/4 bathrooms and switched drain pupe from cast iron to PVC. Big Project.

I was able to learn enough to run all the copper through the rooms and hire a more experienced plumber to help with the actual "cut-over", which the two of us did in one afternoon.

If you are a hands-on type and want to save some money on your next plumbing project, this book is a great reference. There are a lot of rules to follow for plumbing and this book explains them fairly well. Only reason not a 5* was I though the section on drains, traps and vents was still confusing.

I passed all of my inspections and love my new mega water pressure!!!!

I built the 5/8 wave telescopic antenna described in this book. I just followed the step by step instructions. The antenna worked. As I hoped, it works much better than a rubber ducky.

Next time, I will build some other designs presented in this book. The coaxial half wave antenna looks interesting... hmmm... :)

Practical Antenna Design 140-150 MHz VHF Transceivers Third Edition
At last a PRACTICAL book for the Ham radio antenna constructor, easy to read and lots of drawings, not full of "Technical guff" just the bits to get you constructing and on the air.
A well worth addition to your library.

Good collection of ready to build antenna designs.Very little math required :)

I have read a few of antenna books available around and I have a lot of fun building some of the designs, but this book was a breeze of fresh air for me. The focus is toward amateur VHF-band antennas, and as I had hoped for, good coverage of 2 meter band. It even went somewhat outside that band, covering 140-150 MHz. Even some fairly well-known antenna types used by amateurs and scanner enthusiasts are offered.

This offers a collection of detailed, fully illustrated, and tested designs, covering such types of antennas as: omnidirectionals, gain-omnis, gain-directed beams, portable antennas, Yagi, stacked arrays or collinears, wideband-omnis. Packed with detailed drawings, plans, schematics, instructions, material lists, formulas, tips and tricks.

A good addition to my private library. This book is worth reading, especially if you work the VHF, but it shouldn't be your only antenna handbook.

This book, based on the 1950's and 1960's Amateuar Scientist columns in Scientific American, does not spare you the fuss and muss of real experimentation. And only personal experiment prevents science from being a matter of faith. It is not outmoded. It is not out-dated. The manner in which the physical universe behaves has not been altered by the digital era. If you wish to truly develop an innate sense for "the garden of the real" (my apologies to deconstructionists), then build these things, develop a tactile understanding of the universe surrounding you. You will then be able to speak about the workings of the universe with an appropriate humility.

This book and the experiments have kept me engaged in science and engineering since I first picked it up. Although the experiments are somewhat dated, their scope (feel like building a particle accelerator...) and appeal is universal. Have a compressor? Why not try to capture Maxwell's demon and put him to work in a Hilsch Vortex tube. Almost all the experiments are way beyond a weekend's worth of time so there is much to satisfy the true amateur beyond a bauble of an experiment here and there. I highly recommend it for kids, teenagers and adults! My copy is almost worn out.

I acquired this book in 1966 and still use it for inspiration. Methods in the projects are somewhat dated, however the "spark" for any true experimenter is still as bright as ever in this book. It is a "must have" book for any serious experimenter's library. Young or old, if you can find it, buy it!