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111 of 113 found the following review helpful:
 Its really quite good! Jul 15, 2004
By Scott Pointon
"Former Marine, Librarian, Woodworker, Homebrewer"
Through my work as a public librarian I recently ordered this book, and subsequently had the opportunity to be the first at my library to read it! I am very impressed with the sheer scope of the work. Having long been a fan of the Taunton Press I expected this work to be very good quality, and I was not disappointed. I agree with most of the favorable comments made by other reviewers, but I have to disagree with the claim made by another that this book is disjointed. I found it to be very readable and informative. To me the beauty of this book is that there is something in it for everyone. Beginners will of course gather the most new knowledge here, but even seasoned woodworkers (and woodworking book junkies) will find it interesting and above all useful. Besides the grand scope of the book, I was impressed most with the fresh and creative ways that common woodworking knowledge is presented. I found that the way the chapters were laid out, the order of presentation, felt very natuaral. Each subject flows nicely into the next. I particularly liked the sections illustrating the most common forms of a particular component of woodworking. Such as, the most common methods for mounting and fitting drawers and doors, the most common edge details for shelving, the most common dimensions for various categories of furniture, etc. If I had to sum up why this book is a great buy I would have to say it is because this book serves as both an encyclopedia of woodworking facts (usefull to all woodworkers among us) and a comprehensive collection of tips and advice (which novices will find especially helpful). I highly recommend this purchase.
45 of 45 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Work Oct 25, 2004
By Marc Ruby™
"The Noh Hare™"
This is yet another excellent volume in Taunton's 'Complete Illustrated' woodworking series. Focused on (but not really limited to) furniture and cabinet construction, the book takes the reader through 1) Tools and Materials, 2) Box and Case Construction, 3) Doors, 4) Bases, Feet, and Stands, 5) Frame Construction, and wraps up with 6) Tabletops and Work Surfaces. This is an ambitious undertaking under any circumstances, but Andy Rae finds an approach that is both broad in coverage and tightly organized.
After a few initial wobbles as the book gets underway, the reader will grasp the overall approach and discover that there seems to be an endless supply of techniques and idea one can draw on. Whatever your level of building there is good material - this is one of those efforts that can help you make a breakthrough in quality of work.
Unlike many how-to books this series stays away from getting bogged down in projects. This allows the writer to move around and offer a lot of alternatives rather than get bogged down in one way to do things. It doesn't hurt to have a project in mind when reading the book, but be sure that it will change several times as you read and absorb the ideas.
I have a buffet table that owes a great deal to Andy Rae's ability to communicate both technique and design. Thus the book paid for itself in one fell swoop. Happy woodworking!
44 of 46 found the following review helpful:
Great Resource Feb 06, 2002
By Jeff Mackay
"A woodworking geek"
Although not for beginning woodworkers, this is an outstanding book--sort of like a combination Rodale & Tage Frid. It goes into detail on the construction of furniture and cabinetry--where Rodale provides an overview of cabinet/furniture types, and Tage Frid provides details of how to create specific joints, Andy Rae puts the two together. He provides a number of techniques that I hadn't thought of before, such as creating a raised panel out of cheaper MDF framed by solid wood. The other books in the series (Joinery and Shaping Wood) are great as well. But I find myself looking to this book more often.
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Very usable May 13, 2002
By William Loftin
"wgl3"
This book is very well organized and has many excellent examples of cabinet construction. He goes into great detail on all types including frameless cabinets. I have been looking for something which would give me the basics as well as provide for more advanced concepts. I am very pleased to have found such a thing in one volume. I highly recommend this book.
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 A little too general May 13, 2008
By kvnj
"Kevin"
Given the scope of this work, I'm not sure what I expected, but I feel like, after reading a book on furniture and cabinet making, I ought to have some idea of how to construct a basic cabinet. While this book covers a wide variety of general techniques and types of joints commonly used, at no point does it tie them together; it discusses possibilities, but never synthesizes them into anything tangible, leaving me, at least, wondering which of the book's assorted grab bag of clever tricks might be combined to actually produce a cabinet. I already knew what a sliding dovetail was before I bought this book; what I sought to learn was the architecture and structural elements needed to design a cabinet. Strangely, I feel like I'm no closer to that knowledge than I was before I read the book.
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