...if you had no opportunity...

Cabinetmaking and Millwork, Feirer.

Encyclopedia of Furnituremaking, Joyce.

Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking, the first book, on techniques

Ayn Rand. Seems a popular choice with those who decide to only ever read one book 8-)

I think this is at least three books; joinery, finishing, design. I really don't know a good book that does all three in one.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

What's the bookstore situation in your corner of Mexico? How about libraries? My first recommendation would be to just go to the local bookstore and have a look at the woodworking section.

You can definitely learn how to do this stuff from books. I've never had a shop class in my life.

As has been mentioned, no one book will do. You'll end up with a bunch sooner or later anyway, so if you're interested in furniture, then buy a book about making furniture. If you don't understand what it's telling you, then buy a book about whatever you didn't understand.

No, actually it's that if they've read Ayn Rand, they never want to risk reading another book again.

Mike

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 19:37:52 GMT, Tom Watson scribbled

I would second Tom's recommendation on Feirer. It is the basic textbook used to teach cabinetmaking everywhere north of the Rio Grande (well, maybe, except for Quebec), up to and including the Yukon (where I am). Very comprehensive, tries to cover everything at a pretty basic level.

Joyce is a step up from Feirer, more details on construction and a lot more on design. I would argue that it would be a good choice after you understand Feirer, which is at a more basic level.

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" twice in reply address for real email address

I have *not* read Ayn Rand, for the record. :)

None of the rest of that stuff in a similar vein of popularity either. If people think it's weighty and importand and profound and deep and stuff, then ah gahrontee it will be mind numbingly boring, and a buncha English majors and professors will spend the next 1,000 years writing papers about why the author used the semicolon so effectively in the work.

People think that, but it's nothing of the kind. Rand is a right-wing writer who can stretch a short story idea into a mind-numbing mega-novel. She's a terrible writer with a small number of ideas worth debating. Her fame, like that of many famous people, has greatly exceeded her value to society.

Mike

Ah, so she must be an important literary figure then, like I thought. :)

(If it's something everyone "simply must" read, I don't usually read it for this very reason.)

Mike Daly responds:

Yes. I tried reading her stuff many, many years, back when I had plenty of spare time, when I was in the Marines. Romeo recalls and all that good stuff leave you sitting around for hours with nothing to do. I had to lay off Ayn Rand: first, she seldom made a whole lot of sense; second, she made me sleepy, which displeased my NCOIC.

I'm not at all sure she had a short story's worth of ideas in those jumbo novels, anyway.

Charlie Self

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas J. Watson

As Dorothy Parker might have said about Ms. Rand:

"There's no there, there."

Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

Would you by chance have the ISBN numbers for these books. I have found two written by Feirer and four by Joyce. Thanks

Vic

FWIW, the Feirer book is out of print. Lots of copies available thru used dealers,

Mike

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 22:52:58 -0500, Victor asked:

Mine is 5th edition, revised, (c) 1988. ISBN 0-02-675950-0 (Text) Published by Glencoe Publishing Company

Mine is Revised and Expanded by Alan Peters, 1987 , Published by Sterling Publishing. Three ISBN mentioned inside ISBN 0-8069-6440-5 0-8069-7142-8 pbk. 0-8069-7203-3 HTH

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" twice in reply address for real email address

Faustino,

my website has some recommendations:

Greg

E E Smith, but without the spaceships.

The only I've found is a book for building sofas... I've been looking inside (I don't like to buy a technical book without looking inside first) and it's really useful. It is on my plans to use it for "furnituring" my living room. But I feel before going to the specifics, before reading on plans an design, it will be usefull to get the whole picture and basic techniques. When you are an expert in some topic you laught in such introductory simple books, but when you stand on the beginning of the lane these books can be very helpfull. I'm just making the analogy with software books. I have a degree on Physics from the University, but actually I work as a programmer. And everithing I know about programming I learn from books by myself. Just give me the light, I have not so much time and money for buying all the Amazon stock on woodworking just to find (on my 90's) a good starting book (!) The experience is here on the forum, that is why I'm posting here... Thanks all for your comments Faustino