Product Description

You've seen a few shows on TV, and working with wood looks like it could be quite entertaining and rewarding. After all, you get to create something that you can proudly display to your friends and family. But where and how do you begin to move from expressed interest to hands-on experience?

Woodworking For Dummies shows you how your raw building materials stack up, with everything you wood need to know about hardwood, softwood, plywood, veneer wood, plain-sawn wood, rift-cut wood, quarter-sawn wood, solid wood, man-made wood, and more. This down-to-earth guide gives you the goods on how boards are made from trees and the characteristics of hardwood and softwood species, plus all the buzz on

• Gearing up with the right tools
• Putting safety first in your workshop
• Using adhesives and glue
• Working with wood joints
• Smoothing it out by sanding and filling
• Adding color with stains and paints
• Protecting your work with topcoats

Whether you want to put together a simple plywood bookcase or an incredible solid oak dining table, Woodworking For Dummies can help you get organized as you craft your plans for a piece that'll reflect your personal touch. You'll discover how to

• Measure and mark your wood
• Distinguish among saw designs
• Choose and use sharpening tools
• Hone in on hot melt glue
• Speed things up with modern frame joints
• Get down to the nitty-gritty on nails
• Apply water-based polyurethanes

This handy reference packs in essential information for the novice woodworker and some advanced tips and tricks to jumpstart any woodworker's existing skills. Detailed illustrations, how-to photos, and a color insert defining the look of different woods and the effects of finishes are sure to inspire a sawdust storm in your busy workshop.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80949 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .90" h x 9.20" w x 7.40" l, 1.45 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764539770
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Review
"...this friendly guide gets you started in the basics...choose your step by step project and away you go..." (Prizes Galore, February 2004)

From the Back Cover
Features detailed illustrations and how-to photos

Create beautiful furniture and decorative items the fun and easy way®!

Want to work with wood? This friendly guide gets you started in the basics, from selecting the right type of wood and the best hand and power tools to the nuts and bolts of joining, sanding, and finishing wood. You’ll make a simple bookcase and move on to create tables and cabinets that will last a lifetime.

Discover how to:

• Get the hang of your tools and outfit a workshop
• Choose the right wood cut for you
• Work with wood joints and edging
• Set up a workshop and store your tools
• Apply adhesives, stains, paints, oils, and varnishes
• Protect yourself from injury

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

About the Author
Jeff Strong, of Lamy, New Mexico is not only an accomplished craftsman and woodworker, but is also author of Drums For Dummies and Home Recording For Dummies.  Jeff began creating sawdust at a very early age while assisting his father, a master craftsman, build fine furniture.  He has designed and build countless pieces of furniture and has recently completed the designs for a commercial line of furniture blending Arts and Crafts and Asian infuences which has already secured representation with a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Only for the Dummy that already has $10K worth of power tools.
By D. Guillermo
I think the Dummies series really dropped the ball on this one. Woodworking for Dummies is written by a guy that tells you that he wants to start from scratch; later in the introduction he refers to himself as a tool collector and a gear junkie. That might be ok, I thought; surely he'll start from the bottom and explain the basic techniques before he gets into using the specialized equipment - the Dummies books are good at that sort of thing. Right?

Wrong. Although there's a whole mini-chapter listing his assumptions - among which he tells you that he assumes that you want to learn woodworking from scratch - he never tells you that the entire book depends entirely on your already having a basement or garage workshop full of power tools. He assumes at every step that you have a table saw, a router, a router table, a compound miter saw, a drill press, a jointer, and a 12' planer.

Not once does he mention the simple, traditional way of doing things with handheld tools, except to snidely deride it and say he does it "the faster, easier way." Everything in this book is written for an audience that has already accreted ten thousand dollars worth of power machinery. But here's the catch: how many people do you know that buy that many specialized power tools before knowing how to cut a straight line on a table saw? As far as I'm concerned this book is fairly worthless. Dummies, my faith in you is shaken - I'm returning this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
And all 10 fingers intact
By Jeffry J. Schanbacher
Great for the starter or occasional woodworker and a resource for the rest of us. As with all "Dummies" books, it is clearly written and gets right to the point of using tools, design, and choosing what wood and joints to use.

This is a good book to get into the hobby, but then join a woodworking group in your area to really learn. Worth the money in my opinion.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
A good addition to my Dummies library
By Charles S. Holzheimer
Being a late in life beginning woodworker, I needed something that didn't assume I knew all there was to know about the tools I had and how to bend the wood to my will in order to end up with items I could be proud of. This book helped a lot in that regard. While I won't always use some of the shortcuts and techniques the author recommends, knowing that you can get from point A to point B professionally was a big help. This is a valuable addition to my woodworking reference library and I will refer to it often.