The Complete Manual of Woodworking

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View books by Albert Jackson, David Day.

Excellent!!!! - Rated
I am a design and teachnology teacher and wanted a resource to encourage my pupils to carry out research. This book explains everything in great detail and has step by step images of how to create various joining methods and the tools needed to create them. It has a clear section on timbers detailing where they can be found and working properties, listined under hard and softwood headings with clear pictures of each.
I would recommend this publication as one of the best reference materials I have ever bought.....excellent!!

This book has it all - Rated
This is a thorough introduction to woodworking, and a truly useful and very attractive book. It covers wood selection, woodworking techniques and setting up a home workshop, and there's a huge amount of advice on tools and tool selection/use. Space is even found for some inspirational designs to get you thinking. The content gives the impression that it has been whittled down so that every one of the 320 pages contains the essence of ten ordinary pages... it is just crammed with concise, usable information. It really is the only book of its type you'll need.

Simply excellent - Rated
Zillions of beautiful colour illustrations, perfect colour photography, plus a modern, clear and efficient text and layout approach. Few books are put together this well. I'm treating it as my "little" encyclopedia of woodworking. Fantastic value for money.

"Bend me, shape me, anyway you want me." - Rated
This book is more than just veneer. It has the look and feel of a coffee table book. There are glossy pictures and plenty of diagrams. However after the shock and awe, you will find this a great overview of many wood working disciplines. This book has information on everything from the history and makeup of various woods to tools used in various types of wood working.
My interest is mostly in turning and turning tools. There a tab in the margin of the book page that leads you to similar information on the subject. This is the in print version of a Hyper Link.

After absorbing this book you will have a better feel for what how you want to proceed. Then the book is still useful for a reference. If you do not actually indulge, at lease you can hold an intelligent conversation.

Beautiful and comprehensive. - Rated
I must first state that I know nothing about woodworking. I bought this book because I was under the delusion that I could hand build a nice server cabinet. If I wasn't so clod-handed, and if I had a bit of room for a workbench, this book would certainly help me to achieve such a goal.

It is loaded with photographs and sketches. Every page is crammed with information. It is very much a reference book - each section has plenty of text, but it's not the sort of book I'm used to as a computing person. One section lists the softwoods and hardwoods of the world with photographs and wood properties. Another section goes into the many hand tools that woodworkers use, with many guides to using each type of tool. A section on power tools. A section on home workshops. A section on finishing wood in different ways. A section on every type of end-to-end, corner, and t-junction joint, including dovetail joints, biscuit joints, dowel joints...

It's got everything I imagine a budding woodworker would want to read about. Me, though: I'm too lazy to make a great deal of use of such splendid tips. I find a keyboard strenuous enough.