Working With Routers: The New Best of Fine Woodworking (New Best of Fine Woodworking Series)

Rating:
Summary: Useful, But Incomplete
Review: There was a time not all that long ago when I had not routers, and now I have three - four if you count my plate joiner. I have made all the standard mistakes and confused purchases that every hobbyist makes. Enough so that, having decided to put together a highly powered router and a 'real' table it decided to actually read a book on routers and find out what it is that I didn't know in the first place.

As this selection of articles from Fine Woodworking demonstrates, there really is a lot to know. They can be used for joining, shaping, decoration, and even as an emergency saw (don't do this if you have any self respect). Understanding the world of bits - type, purpose, and composition is another challenge, one that affects both our pocketbooks and our satisfaction. Working With Routers covers several aspects of these questions and then dives deeply into joinery, jigs, and tables. With an unending supply of things you can build to enhance the power and flexibility of this little, whirling demon.

The fault of this book really is that, while the articles are all interesting, they really don't offer anything like structured and thorough information. Sometimes an article will raise as many questions as it answers. And I know of very few people who actually would need the plans for five separate and distinct router tables. Router coverage in Fine Woodworking has always been a bit weak, and it shows in the gaps left by this set of articles. Still, there is a lot of information here, presented in readables styles with plenty of illustration.