The Seven Essentials of Woodworking

Rating:
Summary: Brings the Fundamentals into Focus
Review: After trying to learn woodworking "the right way" over the past several months from the current crop of woodworking periodicals, best sellers, Web sites and older woodworking texts, I felt like I knew the lingo but still had no idea about some of the basics. My last shop class in school was 30 years ago, and making a gun rack back then was not the definitive education for quality woodworking. Reading The Seven Essentials has given me a good grasp of the fundamentals of woodworking and how they fit together. Thank you, Mr. Guidice.

This book is not a treatise; I read it (and reread parts) in an evening and was in the workshop practicing cutting to straight lines with my limited arsenal of hand tools the next day. Over 3 weeks I've read it maybe 3 or 4 times. Its brevity is key to its appeal--one man's methods for what works and how to develop the skills to get there. Oh yeah, he talked me into getting a bow saw in the process, too!

Unlike the Magazines and the Web, Guidice cuts to the chase and says this is what I do, this is what I teach, and this works. Sure, he's opinionated but he isn't afraid to let the reader know it. He wants his readers to be working with wood ASAP and not caught up in high tech machinery and debates on methodology; he wisely wants his readers to learn to walk before learning to run. We've probably all made things with butt joints and no glue, struggled with basics of marking, cutting, planing, and finishing, and wondered in bewilderment why it looks so easy in the magazines and with Norm and the NYW.

If you want a place to start your serious woodworking, a straightforward approach to know what to do and why, and some exercises to build your skills and confidence then this is the book. It's actually made all the other stuff (Web, magazines, etc) more relevant given the frame of reference Guidice teaches. Machines are great fun, but realizing that I didn't have to buy a planer and jointer to flatten and square a board was a relief.

What kept me from giving this a 5-star rating was Guidice's insistence on expensive planes (Lie-Nielsen, but in my dreams). The experience I've gained from resurrecting old Stanley wood planes was worth it, and I'll take issue with his position that it can't be done. My 90-year-old jack plane can take tissue paper thin shavings, my 40-year-old fore plane will hold its own as a poor man's scrub plane, and my grandfather's block planes from the '20's and '30's work like a charm when unpacked after 50 years. Tuning a plane is as fundamental as sharpening a saw or chisel, and these old planes provide big bangs for few bucks.

I'm finishing my workbench and organizing my basement workshop right now. I'd like to build a table as my first "real" furniture, and Guidice's book on building tables has climbed to the top of my list!

Rating:
Summary: Take this book with a grain of salt
Review: I had mixed feelings about this short book. It makes a few points well, energizes the reader, and motivates one to practice fundamental skills until they are mastered. But the book was surprisingly short and contained less information than most. For example, while Guidice champions the bow saw over the familiar European-style saw, he doesn't even acknowledge the now popular Japanese saw. Also, he says that woodworkers should pay more attention to the aesthetic aspects of plans but says very little about the principles of style. He gives almost no advice about buying or using machine tools. When I bought the book, I somehow thought it would contain a series of excercises toward mastering woodworking, but I didn't find a systematic plan of practice. The book is still well worth its price, mainly to reinforce one's motivation and one's appreciation of beautiful work.

Rating:
Summary: Take this book with a grain of salt
Review: If the idea of this book appeals to you, go for it! Your in good hands generally. But it doesn't entirely pass my laugh test on several counts.

First the title (which could be the work of the editor or something) doesn't make much sense. These aren't seven fundamental categories. You really need at least a separate category for chisel work (smushed in with mortises) and a separate chapter for carcass joints like dovetails. Even then they would only be the essentials of square boxes.

The other area where the book has shortcomings is in the author's verdicts on tools or techniques. He comes off as ill-informed and short tempered in some of his comments. Take saws. He favors a bowsaw, and he has the courage to push this least popular of all types in NA (even his beloved German makers are stocking Japanese style saws). But what shred of credibility does his comment that a backsaw saw is inefficient have? Or the same in reference to panel saws? These tools, when well made, are highly superior. Panel saws may not cut as fast as bowsaws, but they cut where bowsaws can't. There are many other examples.

In two areas, planing and tenons, while there is much that is good they are not the best techniques. Missed is the key technique for planing to a flat surface. And paring the sides of mortises that have been drilled is an occasionally useful technique, not a central one for the cabinet sized work featured here.

I think the harsh tones of the book may come from the author's well intentioned effort to get us all moving more towards doing work rather than arguing about tools and technicalities. He hopes that setting seven goals, and keeping us on the straight and narrow will help us to be better woodworkers. If you haven't already been there and done that, then it is good advice. But he doesn't appear to see the irony in the fact that he has just waded further into those very same waters he counsels us to avoid. He has written a book that seeks controversy while he counsels the rest of us to stick to the work.

Rating:
Summary: Seven Essentials of Woodworking review
Review: One of my recommended books for woodworking. The others being Ian Kirby's Dovetail book and Tage Frid's set of three woodworking books. All of these authors have opinions and are not afraid of stating them. All of them tell you how to get the job done with hand tools, practice, and perseverence. And that is the key with most things. Get the right tool, get a technique that works, and practice until you persevere. You don't need to argue about the subtleties of a dozen different methods, you don't have to collect old tools and restore them, you just have to cut and plane wood to get good at cutting and planing wood.

My biggest complaint is the book is not long enough. I wish Guidice had written similar chapters on a few other important aspects of woodworking. I also wish there was a bit more technique in the planing chapter and mortise and tenon section. I would have liked to have seen shoulder planes demonstrated. And spokeshaves. And maybe the use of a few other planes besides the scrub and jack and smoother. And the chopping of mortises with mortise chisels instead of drilling with a brace and paring the sides.

The truth of this book came to me as I was practicing my rip cuts with my new bow saw. It was the Putsch saw mentioned by Guidice, now sold by Woodcraft. The set on the blade is awful now so Guidice will have to rewrite that portion of his book. I followed the directions to pound the set out of the blade and reset it. Did it several times until I was no longer mystified by saw sharpening. If you do something enough you get good at it and comfortable with it. Finally made the blade follow a line and ripped some oak with it. I also tried ripping with a Stanley Shark tooth saw. The bow saw put the western style saw to shame. I have a super slow cutting Japanese saw too.

Guidice also says to get a good plane (Lie-Nielsen is his recommendation) and plane wood with it. He says you will learn more about planing wood with a quality plane for a year than reading 10,000 magazine articles. Or engaging in 10,000 internet discussions I might add. Hard to argue with that fundamental advice.

If you really want to learn how to be a competent woodworker, follow the instructions in this book. Buy a few good tools and use them to work wood. Practice the fundamentals. Planing and sawing.

If your woodworking goal is to collect tools, argue about tools, polish, file and sand old tools, and argue about which technique to use to accomplish a task, then this book is not for you.

Rating:
Summary: Seven Essentials of Woodworking review
Review: One of my recommended books for woodworking. The others being Ian Kirby's Dovetail book and Tage Frid's set of three woodworking books. All of these authors have opinions and are not afraid of stating them. All of them tell you how to get the job done with hand tools, practice, and perseverence. And that is the key with most things. Get the right tool, get a technique that works, and practice until you persevere. You don't need to argue about the subtleties of a dozen different methods, you don't have to collect old tools and restore them, you just have to cut and plane wood to get good at cutting and planing wood.

My biggest complaint is the book is not long enough. I wish Guidice had written similar chapters on a few other important aspects of woodworking. I also wish there was a bit more technique in the planing chapter and mortise and tenon section. I would have liked to have seen shoulder planes demonstrated. And spokeshaves. And maybe the use of a few other planes besides the scrub and jack and smoother. And the chopping of mortises with mortise chisels instead of drilling with a brace and paring the sides.

The truth of this book came to me as I was practicing my rip cuts with my new bow saw. It was the Putsch saw mentioned by Guidice, now sold by Woodcraft. The set on the blade is awful now so Guidice will have to rewrite that portion of his book. I followed the directions to pound the set out of the blade and reset it. Did it several times until I was no longer mystified by saw sharpening. If you do something enough you get good at it and comfortable with it. Finally made the blade follow a line and ripped some oak with it. I also tried ripping with a Stanley Shark tooth saw. The bow saw put the western style saw to shame. I have a super slow cutting Japanese saw too.

Guidice also says to get a good plane (Lie-Nielsen is his recommendation) and plane wood with it. He says you will learn more about planing wood with a quality plane for a year than reading 10,000 magazine articles. Or engaging in 10,000 internet discussions I might add. Hard to argue with that fundamental advice.

If you really want to learn how to be a competent woodworker, follow the instructions in this book. Buy a few good tools and use them to work wood. Practice the fundamentals. Planing and sawing.

If your woodworking goal is to collect tools, argue about tools, polish, file and sand old tools, and argue about which technique to use to accomplish a task, then this book is not for you.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but could use a little more depth.
Review: This book is a great inspiration to learn good solid fundamental woodworking hand tool skills. Skills which form a foundation for successful woodworking and fine craftsmanship.

My only complaint, and this is a very minor one, is that some of his instructions are a little light on the details. No one book could really cover all these topics fully, so it is not entirely unexpected, but there were a few spots I though could use a little more fleshing out.

Armed with the information presented within, I look forward to aquiring these skills as my next goal in the wood shop.

Rating:
Summary: Solid guide to TRUE essentials! Primer to handcraft mastery
Review: What do you want from your woodworking? If you are like Tim "Toolman" Taylor and seek "more power" at every turn, this is not your book. If you are a diehard, old tool resurrection specialist and believe salvaging flea market finds is an art unto itself, this is probably not your book. If you want to advance your woodworking by reading all about tips, tricks, and jigs, this is definitely not your book. However, if you aspire to creating fine handcrafted furniture and suspect that tons of woodworking machinery might not be the secret, this book will give you an invaluable foundation.

In The Seven Essentials of Woodworking, Anthony Guidice tells you what you need to do to thoroughly ground yourself in seven areas that form the foundation for fine woodworking. From the table of contents, the seven areas are: 1.Wood, Glue Surface And Joint-Making 2. Measuring And Marking Wood 3. Sawing To A Line 4. Sharpening Tools 5. Using Hand Planes 6. Making Mortise And Tenon Joints 7. Wood Finishing.

I have books dedicated to 5 of the seven areas but received a *momentum* from The Seven Essentials unlike any of the other books I own. Part of the momentum is from Guidice's passion for wood and fine craftsmanship. Part is from his "just do it" approach to the subject (e.g. practice 50 each crosscuts and rips cuts with a bow saw. He reiterates "Not four cuts - 50. ... When you're done, you'll be able to do something only about two percent of woodworkers in the United States can do."). Guidice's opinions are strong and would certainly earn opposition from many quarters (even start one of those unending newsgroup threads), but his arguments are compelling.

Guidice debunks several "expert techniques" and gives straightforward instruction for achieving each chapter's objective. His approach is something like this: "A *proven* way to achieve X is to simply do Y. You may be interested in Z, but, since Z is really X squared, you must first master Y. Some experts will tell you to Y+G. G has nothing to do with it. Forget G and concentrate on Y." The attitude is almost as much value as the advice. In Guidice's own words, "My methods aren't the only ones out there, and they are not even the only ones that work. But they do work and are the fastest. In my workshops, if students do just what I tell them and use the tools I tell them to use, they can achieve results easier and faster than any other way."

Reflecting on The Seven Essentials, I can't help but think of the Karate Kid. He thought painting fences and waxing cars was wasting his time, but it set him on the course to mastery (rent the movie if you don't remember!). If you are a beginning woodworker, The Seven Essentials of Woodworking will firmly set you on the course to mastery. If you are an intermediate woodworker, this book will give you some valuable "back-to-basics" and help you improve both in method and approach.

I will be re-reading this book for some time to come (at least until I've made my 50 cross- and rip-cuts with a bow saw AND every page becomes second nature). It is that good. Buy it.