Woodworkers' Essential Facts, Formulas & Short-Cuts: Figure It Out, with or Without Math

By Ken Horner and ken-horner

Book Overview

How high is a dining table or a coffee table? How do you draw the ellipse for a butler's tray? What is the Golden Mean and how can a woodworker use it? How to evenly space the balusters in a railing? How do you saw perfect miter and bevel angles? How much load can a shelf carry before it sags or breaks? Every day, every woodworker has to scratch his head over questions like these. Every workshop operation requires knowing some kind of measurement, formula, fact, or calculation. Workshop problems usually can be solved with mathematics, but as this interesting book shows, there's often a no-math solution too. In most situations, the savvy craftsman can get the answers either with math or by applying common-sense rules of thumb. This handbook presents both approaches so readers can choose what works best in their particular situation. With this handbook on the bench, readers will enjoy success in the workshop whether or not they are comfortable with mathematics. Hundreds of illustrations guide readers through the solutions to everyday workshop problems. Straightforward writing and a simplified approach to calculations lead readers step-by-step to the answers they need. Dozens of useful tables put essential reference information into this single, easy-to-follow resource. This practical handbook, packed full of facts, formulas and shortcuts, is essential for woodworkers of all skill levels.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892836157
• ISBN13: 9781892836151
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.1" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

Should be in everyone's woodshop

All the information you need to do quality woodworking in one book! This should be in every woodworking shop. All those formulas and procedures that you seldom use and can't remember are in this book. Well organized and easy to read.

Either I'm really dense, or ...

I didn't really need to buy this or it's sequel "More Essential ....". Perhaps this is meant for contractors (which I'm not), but I could have done without both of these. Not that there isn't stuff of interest in here, but I have the nuts & bolts of that from other sources. This is not a book for someone starting in woodworking. It's very hard to give a rating on this. If you need this technical information, they are both probably five star books. If you are a hobby woodworker like me, however, they are at best two stars worth of practical usage.

very useful

This is just the book I needed - good, practical procedures. I like the alternatives provided, some with and some without math needed.