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Title: The Basics of Craftsmanship: Key Advice on Every Aspect of Woodworking (Essentials of Woodworking) by Purdy Strother, Taunton Press, Rodney Crosby, Fine Woodworking Magazine ISBN: 1-56158-297-2 Publisher: Publishers' Group West Pub. Date: March, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (7 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Great guide!
Comment: As a beginning woodworker, I can't recommend this book enough. It covers just about everything to get you going - laying out a shop, table saws, hand tools, ideal tools to own, dovetail joints, finishes, the list goes on and on. I'm constantly referring back to it as questions pop up.

Rating: 3
Summary: Not for complete beginners!
Comment: This is not a good book for those without any woodworking experience. There is too much jargon that is unexplained, and no real starting projects. I'm certain that there is excellent info for beginners who are looking to expand their knowledge and skills, but for people with no background who are looking for the most basic advice, I would look elsewhere.

Rating: 5
Summary: Good place to start
Comment: My desire to get back into woodworking after many, many years has led me to purchase about a dozen different books on setting up shop, buying tools, woodworking techniques, etc. Now I wish I had found this book much sooner.

The book itself is a collection of articles from "Fine Woodworking" magazine. For the most part, the editor's choice of articles is excellent. For example, the Setting Up Shop section has three articles: 1)outfitting a shop, 2) buying used hand tools, and 3)converting your garage into a workshop. Although I found little of interest in the 2nd article, I learned as much from the other two has entire books on the subject. I especially liked the fact that the article on outfitting a shop had the pull-no-punches opinions of 3 different woodworkers. This lets the reader see that no two experts agree on the subject, but there is enough agreement that it should help a beginner make wiser choices.

The 4 articles on buying wood, sheet goods, glue, and sandpaper were all full of practical information normally lacking in other books.

The Tools and Techniques sections have 13 well-chosen articles, although the collection is far from being a comprehensive survey of the subject. The only power tools covered in any depth are the table saw and router. You may want to supplement your education with other books on these topics.

I found the sections on "First Projects" and "Finishes" to be a little weaker than the other parts. These articles suffer from the fact that this type of book no flow of logic from one chapter to the next. The chapters on finishing suffer from considerable overlap and some conflicting information. Still, I found the individual articles interesting.

In summary, I think this book is an excellent place to start if you are new to woodworking. After buying this very inexpensive book, you can go straight to more definitive books on only the topics you have real interest in. From what I have seen, you can safely skip the other introductory books.

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