Customer Reviews

Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use

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When I decided to build myself a workbench I played around on paper with a few of my own designs. Thankfully, I came across this book before going ahead with the project. Practical, highly educational with its historical research, and well written with a great turn of phrase, I enjoyed it from start to finish. Other things I liked about it:
- Lots of photographs and illustrations.
- If you want to follow someone else's design, then the book provides highly detailed drawings of two very different benches, including step by step photos. If you want/need to build something of your own design, the book has an extensive section on the various tasks woodworkers need to do and 3 or 4 suitable workbench features to help with each. Mix and match to suit your needs.
- The author's sense of humour.
- There is a soulful or philosophical undercurrent in the book. Nothing loud or pushy, but it adds to the book's character.
- It gave me a chance to practice some new (for me) techniques such as the draw-bore pin and the wedged mortise and tenon.

The bench I built is very similar to what's on the front cover, and I love it. Had to modify it a bit, but after reading the book I understood the reasons behind the choices I made. I'd give it six stars if I could.