Illustrated Cabinetmaking: How to Design and Construct Furniture That Works

This book was recommended by a friend. I barrowed his copy and was impressed with the amount of information containded with in the pages. This is a must have source. If you are new to woodworking or are starting to design your own projects this book will quickly become your GO TO BOOK. Great book.

I will keep it short and sweet. If you want to know the nuts and bolts of how to build furniture (how to measure and cut a mortise and tenon joint for example) this is not the first book to buy.
But, if you have a good basic understanding of woodworking, this book will descibe most of the joinery methods in a "short and sweet" method and descibe the positives and negatives of many of those joinery methods.

If you ever wondered what a drawer slip is you will learn it here. If you wondered about drawer stops, you will see several types here. If you are interested in making a door, you will learn why certain styles are better made by machine and others by handtool. The section on Dovetails has some very interesting information not usually seen elsewhere.

What I especially like about the book is the range of dimensions it gives for various pieces of furniture in order to fit the human body. A few examples from the chapter on table construction is "thigh room," "knee room," and "elbow room." With this book you can understand why tables are made within a certain height range, or why chairs are only so wide, or why furniture molding is designed the way it is. You can then start designing your own furniture or modifying someone else's patterns to fit your needs.

This author conveys subjects in a simple but understandable manner. His other books are first rate and I highly recommend them, too!

Like most hobby woodworkers I've got stacks of magazines and books around the house, the garage (shop) and the "office"; this book always seems to be floating around the top. I'm constantly refering to it anytime I even think about a new project. My biggest complaint is that it makes me want to build more furniture then I have room in my house for. This book isn't for everyone, if you're the type of person that wants the bill of materials and exact dimensions this book may frustrate you a little, but if you can look at a basic drawing and follow it then you'll be okay.

The illustrations in this book are very good. However, for those who are experienced woodworkers. this might not be what you would want for new information in cabinet making. Some parts are somewhat outdated with the new tools and fasteners that are available today.

It was interesting reading and made a good donation to the local highschool shop class.

If you're looking for a book on how to build cabinets, this ain't it. This is a primer on how to build furniture (which is often referred to as cabinet-making) but references to building cabinets are brief and limited. It's really an overview of furniture building rather than a hands-on, how-to book.