The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery by Gary Rogowski
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Book Reviews of The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery
Book Review: Wow...What a great book !
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the third book out of the series that I purchased. I loved Cabinet Construction and Shaping Wood and couldn't wait to get this one. I would have to disagree on the other reviews concerning this book. I found the book to be not only informative but quite a work of art in itself. Some people are wondering what audience the book is trying to target. Obviously if you consider yourself 'advanced', then you should not be needing a book on woodworking.
Although I feel the book is intended for intermediate woodworkers, I beleive this book would be of use to a 'beginner' as well because it gives the reader something to shoot for. It has hundreds of photos of beautifully crafted joints. Some of these joints I have never seen before. Joints like the "Cogged Scarf" is not only imaginative but looks fun to make. This is a joint that I would probably never thought about until this book. That is how I started in woodworking. I saw something that I wanted to make and I went about learning how to do it.
Some people are unhappy because of the detail of instructions. Well the joints are explained with text and pictures. I would agree that the book does not 'hold your hand' on every single step. But then how many of us have learned woodworking by reading a book? We learned it by getting outside and doing it. What is nice about this book is that it gives you the basics of what you need to know to make the joint and the rich color photographs that show you what you could achieve.
I would imagine that you could go into any bookstore and find in their woodworking section a book on joints. However, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a book of this caliber on the subject.
Book Review: Best book I've found on the topic.
Summary: 5 Stars
The subject might be a bit narrow for a lot of people, but if you enjoy woodworking (let's face it, the pros have 20 years of daily experience and aren't going to need books), this book is amazing. With over 30 years of hobby experience, I still learned a lot from this book and found it a far better (and convenient) resource than any other book. More convenient than the web, even.
Content is comprehensive. Some comments about "missing information" from other reviews makes me think they hadn't read the whole book. Most joins are covered at least twice. Once generally, to explain why you'd want to the method and what to expect, concerns and cautions, etc. The join will then be covered a second time, and in greater detail showing the steps and highlighting the things you need to watch. Excellent color images everywhere. While this doesn't show every last step in the process, it shows just enough to help anyone with even a little exposure to the basic tools... saw, chisel, etc.
In terms of the book, itself, the quality of materials, binding, printing... everything is top notch. Very heavy for it's size, too. You could have this as a coffee-table book if you wanted. Short of being leather bound, I don't know what they could do to improve appearance and construction.
I now have three favorite woodworking books, this one for joints, one on tools, and one on the wood itself.
Book Review: A beautiful book
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a beginning cabinetmaking student at a local community and technical college and was looking for something on joinery to supplement the classroom text. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery by Gary Rogowski is a lovely volume on several of the techniques that have been discussed both in class and in the text. It illustrates them more clearly with photos of the process, than either of the latter sources and helps me understand better what the instructor has in mind when he makes suggestions for my projects. More importantly the book provides more than one way of producing the joints, using different types of equipment to achieve the same results. Since I expect to set up a small shop on a restricted budget, at least to begin with, I know that I will often have to "make do" with the equipment I happen to have on hand, and I think that this book will help me do that. While I am still a little too much of a novice to have yet discovered the faults in the book of which the other reviewers have written, I hope to be able to add my own notes to the methods discussed as I gain more experience, enlarging the information provided with details of my own efforts and those of my classmates (in fact we are expected to keep a journal for class with just this type of data). I also see the book as a list of basic techniques to try before I have graduated.Book Review: A very thorough and beautiful book
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again I am very impressed with the encyclopedic coverage Taunton has given us on a vital aspect of our hobby/craft/passion. Gary Rogowski's writing was accurate and understandable. I love the fact that this book does not waste too many pages talking about shop basics, yet the first three sections level the playing field for beginners by explaining the tools and terminology used throughout the rest of the book.
As for the bulk of the content here (sections 4-15) - there are twelve themed sections covering every conceivable type of joint you might encounter while working wood. Each section starts with an overview of that type of joint and its uses, followed by cookbook recipes for how to go about accomplishing each one. I found the color photographs to be clear, and they provide ample support for the text as the author describes each step.
I ordered all three books in this series for my library (yes I am a librarian and a woodworker) and I especially recommend this title as a must have shop 'encyclopedia' on the topic. Basically, I found the Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery to be practical enough that I would 'need' a copy in my shop and beautiful enough that I would 'want' a copy on my coffee table!
Book Review: Excellent Quality Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is an excellent quality reference. I was actually suprised because a lot of the stuff you get rated high (4-5 stars) seem to always fall short after the purchase. This is a book that is to be used in the workshop or close by and was made that way....The hard cover, the decent size color step by step pictures, large lettering accompanying pictures, and even down to the table of contents layout makes this a hand down reference for the workbench shelf, as opposed to sitting collecting dust by my War and Peace novel. I really like the fact that the book also went in various ways of performing a particular joint, as it leaves much for the imagination if you need to improvise and improve current project workflow.This is a book that is well thought out and an encyclopedic reference for the above purpose it serves. If your are looking for a book that seems to read like the author just made love to a wood shaving, then there are other classics out there and this definately is not the book. If you want a book that gives you an idea of what your joint options are given tools at hand and how to actually do it, then this is it.