Did you remember your goggles? There used to be a time when pretty much every high school offered Shop class, where students learned to use a circular saw or rewire a busted lamp- all while discovering the satisfaction of being self-reliant and doing it yourself. Shop Class for Everyone now offers anyone who might have missed this vital class a crash course in these practical life skills. Packed with illustrated step by step instructions, plus relevant charts, lists, and handy graphics, here's how to plaster a wall, build a bookcase from scratch, unclog a drain, and change a flat tire (on your car or bike). It's all made clear in plain, nontechnical language for any level of DIYer, and it comes with a guarantee: No matter how simple the task, doing it with your own two hands provides a feeling of accomplishment that no app or device will ever give you.

The bandsaw is one of the most widely used woodworking tools, found in 3 out 4 home and professional workshops. Although deceptively simple -- a steel blade rotating around two rubber-clad wheels, the bandsaw does its best work when it's tuned properly. Unfortunately, most owner's manuals provided by tool manufacturers are difficult to understand, and the drawings and photos are unclear.

In this book, professional woodworker Lonnie Bird gives all the information bandsaw owners wished came in the owner's manual plus much more -- what to look for when buying a bandsaw and how to tune it up for optimal performance. The information is presented in an accessible, easy-to-understand way, making this a quick reference as well as comprehensive handbook. All the information is up-to-date and thoroughly researched. Excellent color photos by the author and a clean, friendly layout gives this book on a classic woodworking subject a fresh modern look. This clearly illustrated and photographed volume will quickly become the standard reference and is a must-have title for any woodworker.

Expand your skills through understanding of the router, which is one of the most versatile tools you can own. "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Routers" offers more than 800 photos and drawings which show you how to use and care for your router and how to get the most from it. In addition to mastering the use of your router, you'll also learn about router tables and how to make one that works perfectly in your shop. Lonnie Bird is a professional woodworker with a dozen books to his credit.

Whether you need a fence to protect your garden, keep animals or children safe, or add privacy, Jeff Beneke explains exactly what you need to know to buildityourself -- even if you've never built anything before. He gives clear, simple, step-by-step instructions for several basic fence styles using a variety of materials, including wood, vinyl, and chain link. And once you've mastered the basics, you'll be skilled enough to build any kind of fence, even those not covered in the book.

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When Tom carved a walking stick in his book, Tom Wolfe Carves Woodspirits and Walking Sticks, it was almost an afterthought. But it was soon followed by a book devoted to them, Carving Canes & Walking Sticks. Now we are pleased to present a brand new book with original patterns and different techniques to produce creative canes and walking sticks. Also included are designs for sword canes. As always each step is clearly illustrated in full color and patterns are presented to aid the carver in his or her own creation. A gallery of 25 canes and 11 patterns make this a most useful aid to carving.

This comprehensive, step-by-step pictorial reference covers all the methods for making small boxes crafted in wood. Organised for quick access, the book makes it easy to find each technique and: - Tools - Box-making Materials - Box Joinery - Lids - Box Feet and Bases - - Box Interiors - Hinges and Hardware - Decorating Boxes - Shaped Boxes - More than 500 colour photographs and drawings illustrate how to make beautiful joined, turned and bandsawn boxes. Taunton's most successful series ever launched expands to include an illustrated, step-by-step guide to the essential techniques for elegant box joinery: turned and shaped boxes, making dividers and trays, lids, bases and feet, and installing hardware. * STEP-BY-STEP PICTORIAL REFERENCE, organised for quick reference. * Over 500 step-by-step colour photographs illustrate all the processes from basic tools to surface decorating in this book.

Now anyone can make their own, custom-built canoe guaranteed to draw raves on land and water alike. The Illustrated Guide to Wood Strip Canoe Building is a comprehensive, detailed guide to the process of contructing a high-quality wood strip canoe, written especially for the novice boat builder. Sheathed strip boat construction is becoming increasingly popular among both amateur and professional builders. This is a method of producing a light weight, strong, beautiful boat of the sleekest design using materials, tools, and techniques available to the recreational builder. This book offers complete coverage of the procedures and techniques of mold set-up, assembly of the wood strip hull, epoxy resin, and fiberglass application, finishing, and more. All phases of construction are extensively illustrated with color photos and line drawings. For each stage of the building process, a range of alternative methods is presented, enabling the builder to select those which will yield a craft customized to his or her own needs. Source lists for canoe plans, building materials, and tools are included. This book is dedicated to helping the backyard boat builder achieve professional quality results in creating a fine canoe to use and be proud of for years.

One of the most popular and affordable tools - the router - is capturing the interest of woodworkers, builders and DIY-ers. It contains 350 photos make for easy instructions for creating elegant curves and furniture parts, mortises, slots and holes, fixtures and more. The router is the most versatile and resourceful power tool in the woodworking shop. In this all-new collection of 20 great articles, "Routers & Router Tables" gathers the most up-to-date information on routers and router tables, bits and jigs, tips and techniques for router joinery, and much more. Whether your focus is precision, space savers, versatility, or all of the above, this guide will show woodworkers the smartest route to routers for accomplishing their best work.

Everything you need to use your handplanes! No woodworking tool is more satisfying, quick and precise to use than a handplane. Planes can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools. Yet many woodworkers--both beginners and professionals--are intimidated by handplanes. This book is here to set the record straight. Handplane Essentials contains everything you need to choose the right plane for your project (and for your budget), sharpen it and use it successfully. Compiled from more than 15 years of the author's writings on the subject of handplanes in magazines, trade journals and blogs, this book is an indispensable guide for woodworkers. This revised edition includes 14 new articles as well as new and updated tool reviews.

A kitchen or bathroom renovation raises the value of a home, and kitchen cabinets (and bathroom vanities) are a large part of the cost. Yet cabinets and vanities are surprisingly straightforward to build. Strong, attractive and durable cabinets can be built for a fraction of what they cost to buy. In this heavily illustrated guide, Steve Cory shows how to build sturdy face-frame cabinets in a variety of styles (Shaker, slab, cottage) and also includes a chapter on building bathroom vanities. Steve takes readers through each step of the project clearly explaining step-by-step how a less skilled builder with basic tools can build each component. Then he takes the reader through more complicated construction techniques, making this book both accessible to the novice but also interesting and informative for more skilled builders.

Every woodworker knows that dust is dangerous to health; this book provides the professional guidance required to manage it. It covers all facets of dust control so that the process is truly demystified. This is equired reading (and viewing) for all woodworkers who care about health and safety. It poses a threat in any size shop and professional guidance is required to manage it. Enter woodworking expert Sandor Nagyszalanczy, who covers all facets of dust control in this book and DVD. In the past, dust-control installation required complicated calculations, but now manufacturers offer systems that are economical and easier to install. The process is truly demystified by Nagyszalanczy, who covers comprehensive systems, as well as air filtration, portable systems, shop vacuums, task dust collection and personal dust protection.

A Nature-Friendly Way to Attract and House Birds

Birdhouses are a favorite project among woodworkers. Made of inexpensive materials, they are quick to build and a pleasure for the whole neighborhood. "Easy to Build Birdhouses" includes 26 fun projects for woodworkers of all skill levels.

• Part 1 talks about construction basics, wood grain, doors and access, proper drainage and ventilation, interiors, materials and hardware, paint and stain, and house mounting and support methods. It also addresses birdhouse placement and how to attract birds.
• Part 2 shows how to make birdhouses using natural materials to help them blend in with their surroundings.
• Part 3 shows how to make bird feeders that help attract birds.
• Part 4 provides examples of colorful and whimsical birdhouses, like a lighthouse and a Cape Cod bungalow, that are a little more advanced.

Weekend Woodworking is packed with a fantastic range of over 30 projects, all achievable within a weekend. Ideal for keen woodworkers with a wide range of abilities, there are projects which will suit those just starting out in woodworking as well as those with many years of experience in the workshop. Each project includes clear guidance on how to approach the making of each item as well as helpful tips. Projects include: Chopping board, Footstool, Kitchen Bench, Cutlery tray, Outdoor planters and Desk Tidy.

UK author Derek Jones shows readers how to make the projects featured in this book using pieces of wood from the scrap pile. Ranging from a simple serving platter to a beautiful bird box, projects are explained in a clear and straightforward way, with step-by-step photos. The projects in this book can be tackled by woodworkers of all skill levels. Every workshop has a collection of offcuts that have been saved because they will come in handy one day. When you see the enticing projects presented in this book you will know that that day has come! All the projects in this book can be made using pieces of wood from the scrap pile and can be tackled by woodworkers with a range of skill levels. Ranging from a simple serving platter to a beautiful bird box there is a project to suit every level of expertise. All projects are explained, in a clear and straightforward way, with clear step-by-step photos. There is also a guide to the tools and materials you will need, plus the basic techniques.

Here is a virtual encyclopedia of cabinet door and drawer styles and instruction for designing, constructing, and installing them. Slab, MDF, simulated and true raised panel, frame and panel, arched frame and panel, mitered panel, cope and stick, glass, and tambour: all of these types of cabinet doors--and the drawers to match--are illustrated and explained with step-by-step construction notes and measurements. In addition, all of the common methods of joinery, such as dowels, biscuits, splines, miters, dadoes, tongue and groove, and mortise and tenons are explained and illustrated.

For woodworkers, hand tools put the emphasis on the process of woodworking rather than the result. Yet hand tools also are essential to the highest level of craftsmanship, bringing a refinement to work that machines alone cannot produce. Whether using hand tools alone as a source of pleasure, quality, or efficiency, or in combination with machines, woodworker can trust the information in Woodworking with Hand Tools, a collection of 35 articles from the experts at Fine Woodworking magazine. In Woodworking with Hand Tools, expert craftsmen explain how they choose, sharpen, and use every kind of hand tool. There's advice on tool maintenance, techniques for getting the most from the tools, and projects made using hand tools. With clear photographs, drawings, and step-by-step instructions, Woodworking with Hand Tools will be a useful and necessary resource for anyone who works wood.

Built-ins make a house more functional, liveable, personal and comfortable. A smaller kitchen with well-placed built-ins can be more efficient and inviting than a great big kitchen. A bathroom may become instantly more useful and less cramped with the addition of just one or two well-placed built-ins. Buiit-ins Idea Book gathers lots of good ideas into one place: easy to look through, easy to carry, it's an all-in-one resource for design ideas as well as the pros and cons of the many built-in storage options. Richly illustrated with 260 photos, this completely revised bestseller will help readers update, choose or create the perfect built-ins for their space.

This book documents the structure of the world's greatest timber buildings, and shows how the framer's craft has evolved over the past 1,000 years.

Show off your woodworking skills--in the kitchen! Anyone who has ever entertained knows that guests inevitably end up in the kitchen--so what better place to showcase your woodworking? Why not add a hand-crafted focal point--a kitchen island or handsome touches such as a cutting board, spice rack, or rolling pin? Whether you are outfitting your own kitchen or looking for a gift idea for a fellow foodie, The Woodworker's Kitchen has a range of woodworking projects sure to add that special touch. The 24 projects inside include: A customized knife block that does double-duty as a tablet holder, allowing you to pull up recipes and watch cooking videos with ease A kitchen island with a built-in wine rack An oven peel perfect for gourmet pizzas and toasted sandwiches A K-Cup organizer to help tame those caffeine cravings A rolling grill cart for your outdoor cooking adventures A fancy bread knife/cutting board combo And many more! Detailed instructions, measured drawings, patterns and step-by-step color photos make constructing these projects easy. See what you can cook up in the shop and add some woodworking charm to your kitchen!

These lesson plans were devised as a result of the author's experience of teaching carpentry toolmaking in East Africa, and include guidelines for lessons on theoretical aspects of toolmaking, as well as practical demonstrations. Students should already be familiar with basic woodworking techniques, including the preparation of timber, marking out and cutting joints, and the construction of simple items of furniture. There is also advice on simple blacksmithing techniques followed by demonstration plans for the metal parts of tools to aid the teaching of this aspect of toolmaking. The book is intended for students of woodworking and metal-working skills in developing countries, and their teachers and trainers.

This book examines the pros and cons of the local production of carpentry hand-tools as opposed to their importation. In seeking the best strategy to adopt it also outlines the previous methods adopted by VSO and Intermediate Technology who have much experience in this area. Published in the VSO ECOE Programme series.

Live large by building small! Do you daydream about downsizing your living space? Or perhaps you long for a more eco-friendly and sustainable way of life. The tiny house movement continues to gain popularity as more and more people look to simplify their lives and reconnect with nature. Building Small is your key to joining the tiny house revolution with designs for homes as well as a range of backyard buildings including workspaces and sheds. There's tons of practical how-to construction advice including best practices, common pitfalls and tips for the do-it-yourself carpenter. Within these pages you'll find: Complete plans for seven tiny houses Strategies for outfitting your tiny house with lighting, water, heating and waste removal Ideas for floor layout and interior design Success stories and inspirational photos of tiny homes Whether you're considering a timber-framed cottage or a modular cube-style home, Building Small offers a wide range of approaches for planning and building your small structure.

This handbook describes a range of hand tools and simple muscle-powered machinery appropriate to developing countries where abundant labour can offset the problems of limited funds or unreliable sources of energy for mechanization.

The construction of shoji -- Japanese sliding doors -- requires intricate skills and attention to detail. This guide to creating shoji brings together both traditional insight and technical mastery of the craft from the perspective of an apprenticed sliding-door maker. Step-by-step instructions, illustrated with photos of each work in progress, give detailed information on how to construct both common shoji and Japanese transom (a piece found between rooms and above sliding doors). The correct use of Japanese tools is discussed, as are techniques for marking lines, making specific joints and handles, using rice glue, and applying shoji paper.