woodezine - Volume III - Issue X - OCTOBER 2005

Book Reviews

Making More Working Wooden Locks   Tim Detweiler
Making Garden Furniture from Wood   Anthony Hontoir
Shopping for Furniture, 2nd Edition   Leonard Bruce Lewin

 

Making More Working
Wooden Locks

A few years ago, Tim Detweiler's original wooden lock book featured several all-wood padlocks - no metal parts whatsoever. Now Tim is back with a new collection. This time around he has one traditional keyed padlock, a combination lock, a dial combination safe and two barrel locks. Each one is a delight to make and will most definitely be a conversation piece. They are all fairly sizeable - the largest is 15" - and you'll be surprised how easy they are to build with Tim's excellent instructions, drawings and photographs. He should know: he has built about 4,000 of them! A trained locksmith and life-long woodworker, he has sold his wooden locks all over the U.S. and in nine foreign countries.

Linden Publishing
ISBN 0-941936-79-1
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Making
Garden Furniture
From Wood

You'll have to wait a few weeks for this book - it isn't scheduled to be published in the U.S. until December 1st. But it's worth the wait because Hontair's writing style is so quintessentially British. He wraps himself in the language, using it to tell a story rather than just give instructions. At times, there's more art in his language than there is in the actual projects, many of which are quite basic in nature. All thirteen of them can be built with a very simple selection of tools and limited skill. They run from easiest at the beginning of the book to most difficult at the back, so your skills can grow with each chapter. He includes an excellent primer on basic joinery for new woodworkers. There's a bit of a Medieval flair to some of Hontoir's designs - his bird feeder, for example, is miniature post and beam construction with bridle, mortise and pegged joinery. And his garden bench would have been quite at home in Henry Tudor's back yard. All dimensions throughout the book are given in both metric and inches.

The Crowood Press
ISBN 1-86126-599-9

  

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Shopping for Furniture
Second Edition

I've been buying couches for thirty years and I'm still waiting to find one that can survive teenagers. Leonard Bruce Lewin knows what I'm talking about. He has been selling furniture to stores and consumers for even longer than I've been buying. Just wish I'd met him sooner!
"Shopping for Furniture" is obviously written for interior designers and homeowners, but much of the book makes great reading for woodworkers, too. Lewin covers every aspect of construction from veneers to joinery, and he tells you what your customers, or show judges, or critics are looking for. If you already build furniture or are planning on doing so, here's a guide to upholstery, leather, webbing, finishes - every aspect of the business. The real value here is that the author looks at what you do from another angle, and tells you what past masters have discovered before you repeat their mistakes.

Linden Publishing
ISBN 0-941936-87-2
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