DETAILS: Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Taunton (September 18, 2004) Language: English

Taunton has continuously set the bar higher with their ‘complete illustrated’ guide, but this guide on Using Woodworking Tools by Lonnie Bird is exceptional for even that series. The book offers 15 chapters divides into parts - 1) Wood and the Shop, 2) Outfitting the Shop, 3) Benches, Clamps, and Assembly, 4) Hand Tools, and 5) Power Tools. Each chapter lays in the basics and then goes on to provide a good deal of insight into the less obvious things one can accomplish with a given tool or process. The end result is a book that works at a beginner’s level, but retains its worth well into advanced woodworking.

The book contains excellent layout and illustrations, one look at the pictures and you know you are in someone's shop; the text is thoughtful, straightforward, and well-written. Surely having more lasting value than most of its competitors, a best buy for introduction to woodworking tools and also for shop reference use.