Biscuit Joiner Basics (Basics Series)

Rating:
Summary: Not Even a Good First Draft
Review: Hugh Foster's Biscuit Joiner Basics is simply awful. The book is so poorly written and edited, it's not even a good first draft. The number of errors and the amount of bad information is astounding. I read much of the book just for the sport of finding more mistakes. Here are some examples. The text on page 36 lists the sound level of the Ryobi JM-80K biscuit joiner as 92 dB, whereas the table on page 38 lists the sound level as 96 dB. The safety tips on page 41 warn the reader "don't wear jewelry, not even a wedding ring." This advice appears below a picture of how to hold a biscuit joiner, which shows the tool operator wearing a wedding ring. On page 73 there are two photos of the same joint being cut that are shown from different angles. One is labeled as a "flat mitre" and the other as an "edge mitre" (they are both flat mitres).

My favorite error is not in the book itself, but in one of the projects presented in the book. On page 6, Foster proudly shows a photograph of his "handsome desk organizer". In the photo, one side of the desk organizer is populated with papers shoved against the center partition. On pages 109 and 111 there are photos of the desk organizer being assembled. In these later photos, it can be seen that the papers shown in the first photo aren't simply props for the picture. They cover up a major biscuit joining mistake. The author accidently cut slots for his biscuit joints above the shelf line!!! Hugh Foster would fail high school shop class with a mistake like that. He didn't even have the good sense to airbrush the mistake out of the photos.

In addition to the amusing goofs and errors, the book also fails to clearly explain how to use a biscuit joiner. The writing is confusing at every turn. Simple procedures are rendered incomprehensible. For example, here is the author's description of how to perform the simple task of gluing boards up into panels: "To ensure the flattest possible work, glue only two pairs of pieces together at a time. Using this method, follow these easy steps for efficient edge-to-edge gluing when making panels: Start with opposite sides of a wide panel and glue two pairs of pieces together at a time until you have one pair left, and then glue those pieces together." Hugh Foster's writing would have as much chance of passing a high school English class as his desk organizer project would have passing a high school shop class.

HUGH FOSTER'S BISCUIT JOINER BASICS IS A POORLY WRITTEN AND ERROR PACKED BOOK! The only reason I gave it one star is that there was no option of giving it zero stars.