Comments for Rockwell Tools Reviews

Comment on Carpentry: Tricks of the Trade for Building and Finishing Your House by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:10:03 +0000

I used to be a finish carpenter and Tricks of the Trade taught me lots of little shortcuts and lessons learned by a carpenter the hard way. The simple illustrations reinforced and clarified the lessons. Aside from all the tricks and hints I also learned, what for me, has become a most important bit of advise from this book, make your mistakes work to your advantage. If you want to learn some lessons about carpentry the easy way then buy this book, otherwise buy a few extra pieces of wood for your next project to learn the lessons them the hard way.
Rating: 4 / 5

Comment on Carpentry: Tricks of the Trade for Building and Finishing Your House by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:05:22 +0000

This book is filled with quick tips and lots of illustrations covering everything from foundations to roofing. Everyone is sure to find a useful or better way of accomplishing some task in building a home. The problem is some of the recommendations are too brief to fully explain the how and why. Most of the illustrations are helpful, but many are more cute than useful and some more annoying than cute. In short, it is a quick read that will probably gain you a tip or two worth the cost and effort, but for a more substantial understanding of home construction and finishing, look elsewhere.
Rating: 3 / 5

Comment on Woodworking For Kids: 40 Fabulous, Fun & Useful Things for Kids to Make by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:39:04 +0000

I bought this book a year ago. My son and I have had fun building some of the projects. The book puts the projects in easy to understand steps and gives a cut list for what you need. My son is 7 and understands the directions although it is aimed at a slightly older age level.
Rating: 4 / 5

Comment on Woodworking For Kids: 40 Fabulous, Fun & Useful Things for Kids to Make by wiredweird

wiredweird — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:25:25 +0000

This is a graeat kids’ introduction to tools and how to use them. It starts with a section on basic wordworking tools: hammer, saw, coping saw screwdriver, hand drill, brace and bit, and a few others. (Note to nervous parents: no chisels, planes, kinves, or other sharp blades, and no power tools.) After that, the author presents more than three dozen kid-friendly projects. Most can be completed in an afternoon, and none require the kind of precision that would just frustrate a new tool-user. A few projects, like a doll crib, have obvious girl-appeal – tool use isn’t a boys’ club any more.

Kids are all different in their abilities and familiarity with tools before picking this book up. Some kids will be able to follow the directions on their own. Others will need some amount of parental help, at least at first. Most projects involve only pieces of wood under two feet long, so any shop with a lot of offcuts will alredy have most of what’s needed. Materials aren’t expesive or exotic, though. I don’t think any project in this bok would cost as much as a movie ticket, even if you had to buy all the materials – and, unlike a movie, you’d have something real to show for your work at the end.

Kids that have already had shop classes might find this too easy. Most kids will appreciate a supportive parent close at hand, even though there’s lots of “I can do it” reward to be had here. Pictures of intermediate steps aren’t all they should be, but generally adequate. And, although all of the projects can be adapted in many different ways, especailly in finishing, there’s not much mention of how to change proportions to suit your needs or to suit the materials at hand. Still, it’s the best book I know for kids at this level. I recommend it highly for beginning tool users and for the adults who encourage them. Just add safety glasses – something this author rarely mentions, if at all.

– wiredweird
Rating: 4 / 5

Comment on Carpentry: Tricks of the Trade for Building and Finishing Your House by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:51:36 +0000

This book received a great review in the November 1999 issue of “Fine Homebuilding” magazine.
Rating: 5 / 5

Comment on Great Workshops from Fine Woodworking: Inspiring Shop Ideas from America’s Favorite Woodworking Magazine by Dr. Steven Goedert

Dr. Steven Goedert — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:38:01 +0000

I would recommend this book.If you are a subscriber to Fine woodworking magazine,you will reconize most of the shops from previous magazine articals.I would have liked to have seen more pictures of the shops especially of the woodworking machinery.
Rating: 3 / 5

Comment on Woodworking 101 for Women: How to Speak the Language, Buy the Tools & Build Fabulous Furniture from Start to Finish by rick e

rick e — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:43:27 +0000

I’m a man and I’m getting into woodworking. I’m good with my hands and have built basic furniture pieces but never learned technical stuff. I’ve been reading magazines and looking for a good woodworking book. I came across this one by “accident”. It was mis-shelved. Curiosity got me and I flipped through it. I was really impressed.

1. It’s very clear. 2. It comes from good experience. 3. It’s concise. 4. This lady has some creative touches in her furniture design. 5. It’s no-nonsense construction. This is fine woodworking made simple. 6. It’s more than 101…I’d say it’s 101-401. 7. This book is better than several I have seen or purchased. It is a good book as a compliment to other books.

This is not your encyclopedia. It’s not a large book with 20 projects. It’s small with only a few.
Rating: 4 / 5

Comment on Woodworking 101 for Women: How to Speak the Language, Buy the Tools & Build Fabulous Furniture from Start to Finish by Robert A. Bushnell

Robert A. Bushnell — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:02:30 +0000

My wife wanted this book, as she liked some of the designs. Furniture building is not for beginners! There are too many pitfalls to cover, and this book doesn't cover them. The author does start with a shop bench, but she calls for 2 x 4 spruce, which is not run of the mill.

The designs are excellent, but to call this Woodworking 101 is rather misleading. "Woodworking 305" would have been a better title. Being a fairly accomplished woodworker, I found some interesting comments.

Rating: 3 / 5

Comment on David Thiel’s Power Tool Maintenance: Peak Performance and Safety for Life by Gary Smither

Gary Smither — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:47:27 +0000

Its a fine publication easy to read and understand. It gave me pictorial views of what I was supposed to do.
Rating: 4 / 5

Comment on Woodworking 101 for Women: How to Speak the Language, Buy the Tools & Build Fabulous Furniture from Start to Finish by Crafty

Crafty — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:31:41 +0000

I bought this book for a friend who loves do-it-yourself projects and has some experience with woodworking. She found this to be a great resource, and has already applied some of what she learned about tools in particular. It’s not just for women!
Rating: 5 / 5