Library News, by David W. Keeber
Red Rock News
Date: July 4, 2008
I have just returned from a trip to fish along the US/Canadian border and was casting around for a topic to write about for this column. When I get into that sort of predicament, I often go the shelves and find some interesting books that deserve special mention. In addition to fishing, I enjoy woodworking and so this week, I gravitated towards books on the subject that are among our newest additions.
First and foremost, readers of this column may recall that I often tout our magazines as the most up to date sources of information on a topic. Delivered weekly, monthly or quarterly, they tend to be "fresher" than a book that takes much longer to write and publish. If you are seeking the most recent information, start with the magazines. While woodworking may not seem to be a topic that requires really, really new information, we do carry two publications that come to us monthly – "Fine Woodworking" and "Fine Homebuilding." Both are published by Taunton Press, a company out of Connecticut that produces numerous titles focusing on crafts.
Their names describe their focus and they do an excellent job of offering tips, tricks, solutions, and very clearly rendered plans that can serve to untangle the thorniest problems that someone might face as they build a home or furniture. Published in color, they are a pleasure to look at and extremely useful for the reader.
You cannot do excellent work without good tools or a good work space. That's why Wood Magazine's How to Build a Great Home Workshop is such a treat. It offers excellent advise on customizing your work space, dust removal, shop heating systems, workshop safety and security, workbenches, storage for lumber, tools and parts, and even offers advise on stands, stools and supports. Also published in color and with simple and clear plans, you will want to gut your existing space and start over entirely after reading this valuable tome.
Black and Decker's Complete Guide to Windows & Entryways is another excellent reference manual as well as an idea book that is chock full of things your can do to improve these crucial points of any home. The most common points for leaks into your home, whether of rain water in or of heat escaping are your windows and doors, so building them correctly, installing them securely and tightly and doing so in a manner that is pleasing to the eye and absolutely functional makes them on a par with building chairs – much tougher than they appear. While not a comprehensive textbook, the book offers sufficient information that your next such project will turn out better for reading the information contained within its covers.
Author Doug Stowe has written a very handy book entitled, Basic Box Making. There is no end to the clever ways one can create this most basic of shapes and Stowe offers many basic tips and tricks to ensure that you produce an eye-catching item every time. His contention is that by learning the basics of a number of forms and features, you will have the solid foundation you need to create your own designs. He offers step-by-step instructions for a number of versions of boxes and you hardly know you are learning something useful when you are simply following along.
Many is the home that has a valued and valuable piece of furniture that has some flaw or problem that could use repair. Repairing the piece is one challenge, but ensuring a matching finish and even maintaining a valuable piece's worth is much more so. Ina Brosseau Marx and Allen Marx have written Furniture Restoration: Step-by-Step Tips and Techniques for Professional Results, a treasure trove of great ways to bring a worn or broken piece of furniture back to life and to refinish that piece expertly. Obviously, expert work requires years of efforts based on trial and error, but this book offers a savings of many years in its well written and sound advice on the subject. Even if you don't plan on doing the work yourself, you would do well to glance through it before taking your family heirloom to a workshop that does this work. At least you will know whereof you speak!
If you enjoy any craft or hobby, you are likely to find plenty of materials on the shelves or through the Network loan system that will improve your knowledge, advance your skills and ensure a better end product by reading the numerous titles we can offer you. Check out your hobby at the Sedona Public Library!
