Need a new Book with Projects

[Strokes77]

I followed Paul Sellers Working wood book, from start to finish, making every project in it. It was awesome and a lot of fun, progressing through skills and teaching many different tasks.

Can anyone recommend another book that follows the same concept? Hand tool projects that increase in difficulty as the book progresses, and exposes me to different techniques?

Again, the projects with good details on building and joining with hand tools are the key.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[iclark]

You might take a look at some of the Nick Engler books to see if any of them suit you.

I would recommend the Richard Raffan books, but you might not appreciate the humor.

[Window Guy]

I also like Paul Sellers book and his video's, they are great and he is a good teacher. What I like he shows a couple different ways things can be done and use the tools you have on hand. I haven't seen to mant books / DVD's that compare. Chris Swartz ( sp ) books are very good also.


Steve

[PaulC]

I very much enjoyed Jim Tolpin's book 'The New Traditional Woodworker".

[Bibliophile 13]

The Joiner and Cabinet Maker has some cool projects, but the difficulty curve is pretty steep: project #1 is a packing crate, project #2 is a dovetailed school box, and project #3 is a chest of drawers.

[gjohn]

You might look into some of Franklin Gottshall's books. Lots of projects at varying levels of difficulty.

[Strokes77]

I also noticed a deal for the online PDF's of Fine Woodworking. For $49 I think you can get 30 years worth of magazines...

My main goal here is the projects and build plans. Has anyone tried these? Worthwhile?

[Derek Cohen]

Strokes77 said:

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I followed Paul Sellers Working wood book, from start to finish, making every project in it. It was awesome and a lot of fun, progressing through skills and teaching many different tasks.

Can anyone recommend another book that follows the same concept? Hand tool projects that increase in difficulty as the book progresses, and exposes me to different techniques?

Again, the projects with good details on building and joining with hand tools are the key.

Thanks for any thoughts.

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Any thoughts?

I would suggest that the next book is a blank notebook in which you draw up your own designs. The next skill level is to leave behind the plans of others and learn to create your own. You have developed sufficient building skills from previous efforts. Move on.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[hbmcc]

Derek Cohen said:

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[blockquote]Strokes77 said:

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SNIP

Thanks for any thoughts.

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Any thoughts?

I would suggest that the next book is a blank notebook in which you draw up your own designs. The next skill level is to leave behind the plans of others and learn to create your own. You have developed sufficient building skills from previous efforts. Move on.

Regards from Perth

Derek

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[/blockquote]

+1.

Although this is often tough to do, if you have some "furniture design" books, such as Tauntons publishes--the versions all repeat--you can do your own projects. Tolpin and Walker have a nice design book published by Lost Art Press. Don't forget the library. At first glance I can choose among a 1000, have them in less than a week at my branch, and keep at least 3 weeks. I only buy if I keep checking out.

Note, most plans/projects, such as FWW, pick a construction technique they can expand upon in other parts of the magazine issue; or is different, and not necessarily the best or most efficient method. A simple sliding dovetail is easier and more durable than tusked tenons, or a bazzilion dowels holding a shelf inside a box.

The idea is to hunt in your house and yard for inspiration.

I use gridded Composition books for scale convenience when sketching ideas and taking measurements. You can design a pen box, highboy, or house, on them.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I would encourage anybody to take Derek's advice.
It's an excellent answer. One of the most enjoyable aspects of woodworking is being able to make what one wants. I don't suppose any two woodworkers are the same. Choosing a project for yourself, designing it, and then building it, is the most fun of all.
Also, if you think of project books as skill builders*, choosing, designing, and then building, is the best skill builder of all.

*You probably should too. The best books are like that.