The Drawer Book: A Comprehensive Guide For Woodworkers (Popular Woodworking)
By Bill Hylton
No detail exemplifies the quality of a piece of furniture better than a drawer; and no other aspect of furniture making causes as much anxiety. The Drawer Book gives you foolproof steps to create every kind of drawer, with every kind of woodworking joint, as well as professional information on the best way to fit and mount every drawer. With this book and careful work you can create your own top quality drawers.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #149484 in Books
- Published on: 2009-07-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 160 pages
About the Author
Bill Hylton is a longtime woodworker and woodworking writer. He is a frequent contributor to Woodworker's Journal, is the author of several woodworking books and a renowned author in the use of the router and router tables. His book, Router Magic, is a bestselling router book.
Very comprehensive as the title says
I gave this book 4 stars because I did find it true to its title of being a comprehensive guide to drawers. I didn't give it 5 stars because I thought it was a little thin in some areas where I had a personal interest. But, how critical can you be of something that only costs $20? It's a nice book, physically, spiral bound so it will lay flat when open, and the printing, pictures, and sketches are good and look recent. As a purchaser of a number of similar books, I was glad to see what looked to be new material rather than a cut-and-paste of material that has obviously been around for decades. As Bill Hylton says early in the book, "Whether you're a novice looking for basic how-to or a practiced hand looking for different approches to try, I think you'll find practical, useful information here on all aspects of drawer-making." And, I think that's what a reader will find. Some of the material is so basic that it's of little value to me. For example, the how-tos include using biscuits and pocket hole screws, something I've mastered some time ago. At the other skill extreme is how to make curvy-front drawers, something I suppose only very skilled craftsmen, not me, would attempt. At my current skill level I like to use power tools where possible to save time and improve accuracy. Bill covers both hand work and use of power tools. One area where I need help is using a router with a dovetail jig. I'm on my third jig now and have never completed a single joint. One reason is that the first two jigs were too cheap. This is where a book like this could help a dovetail novice like me and that's one reason I bought the book. Bill goes into quite a bit of detail about various ways to make dovetails, by hand and by using power tools, but not enough detail, for me, on how to use a router with a jig. The book also includes a 30 minute DVD which is totally worthless. Two unknown "woodies" demonstrate how to attach drawer slides to the side of a cabinet. "draw a line where you want to mount the slide and then screw the slide to the cabinet". Why couldn't the DVD show Bill doing some skilled task (like using a dovetail jig)? I'm guessing that the book's publisher thought that including a DVD would help sell the book. So, he asked Laurel and Hardy to put together the video without spending any money or time practicing or making anything. For those looking for woodworking tips and techniques, I highly recommend a series of DVDs put out by Woodworkers Journal, The Complete Woodworking Video Collection. The last DVD sent included, guess what, a very detailed demonstation on how to use a dovetail jig. In fact, the jig they used was the same Porter Cable model I now how! They send out a new DVD every few months and you can keep it for about $20 bucks, plus S&H, or return it without paying. In addition to being able to preview the DVD, I like being able to watch someone do something, not just read about it in a book. I'm not associated with this product in any way.
An outstanding guide for any woodworker strong in furniture making skills
THE DRAWER BOOK comes with a bonus DVD and offers an encyclopedia of professional skills on how to construct all kinds of drawers, from making joins and creating slides to finishing drawers. The accompanying DVD covers installation and tips and makes for an outstanding guide for any woodworker strong in furniture making skills.
