Foundations of Woodworking: Essential joinery techniques and building strategies

This is a brilliant book about woodworking. I will not say it is ideal for beginners, but for intermediate to advanced woodworkers this is as useful and practical as it gets.

This book exceeded my expectations. I bought MP's "Why and How...." and felt it was worth buying "Foundations..." as a continuation. I have a bookcase full of woodworking books and a digital library of FWW. Most Taunton books are a compilation of previously published individual articles written by multiple authors clustered around a theme. A few are written by a single author on a single topic which is organized in a traditional manner which are usually inspirational or read like a recipe. This book is different .I was pleasantly surprised at the tone and little tips embedded in this book. More importantly, MP shares his thinking and decision process. e.g. he'll explain that you could cut a dado or rabbet on either a table saw or with a router (and how to do it), and then explain what he chooses to do and why. it is like apprenticing with a more experienced woodworker/craftsman.To be sure, a lot of the projects shown have appeared in FWW before--either the magazine or on-line. but the details and particularly the reasons are what make this book worth buying. For example, it's been apparent that MP likes to leave his dovetails "proud" and not flush. I don't believe that I'd ever heard before that he leaves his dovetails proud so that when seasonal wood expansion inevitably occurs it doesn't change the look of the previously "perfectly flat" surface.similarly MP's latest miter sled diagram has appeared on-line before. but the book contains more details on how to build it, and why there is a sub base, 2 stop blocks, etc. while it's helpful that he describes how to cut the board so that the miter corners match, I'm not convinced that if you follow all his directions (i.e., "start with one board long enough for all 4 sides" then the next steps, that all 4 corners will "match". --I think 3 corners will match, not 4.minor quibble. This book is both inspirational and descriptive; although if I were to actually build one of the projects I would probably also buy the project plans. it's also full of little tips and examples of how an experienced woodworker decides how to go about crafting furniture. It's my new all time favorite woodworking book.

I so much enjoyed the first book Mike Pekovich published, and it inspired me to try some new things. Mike breaks things down in a way that makes them at least seem possible for the amateur, and that's important because overcoming the thoughts about everything that might go wrong are the biggest inhibitor to getting out to the garage and trying something new. Anyway I made several of the projects from his first book and while they are not done to the perfection that Mike's projects seem to attain, most people don't notice the flaws.His latest book created the same enthusiasm for trying something new. His personal insights and descriptions of situations that might make you feel like giving up on a piece or a technique, or not even trying it in the first place, are relatable and it's nice to see that even the professionals sometimes share the same experiences. I feel good about woodworking when I read his books, and maybe even feel a little more that I'm on the right track.

I bought this book well acquainted with Pekoich’s work at Fine Woodworking Magazine, so I pretty much knew what I was going to get. The book is well written and has dozens of beautiful illustrations and photographs. Pekovich does stunning work and there many examples of his throughout the book, that provide inspiration for us with lesser skills.The book should really be titled “Foundations of Power Tool Woodworking”. If you are a woodworker that does mainly hand tool work, there is very little for you on this book. The first chapter discusses wood selection, milling, and general layout; which is applicable to all forms of woodworking. After that not much – an occasional block plane or chisel. If you like using power tools, there lots of information on using table saws and routers with specialized jigs.I don’t own a table saw and probably never will. I have donated my copy of the book to the local public library. I hope will get more use out of the book that I did.

This book is truly inspiring. Mike Pekovich is an outstanding author who makes you feel feelings about woodworking that you didn’t know you could feel.

The media could not be loaded. A really illustrative book about wood joinery. Hard cover and quality print. It didn’t imagine that there is so many honey techniques one can apply to his creative projects.I think this book can work for beginners as well as established professionals. I believe you can teach your self to be a fine wood worker if you follow this books guided pictures. I wish you luck and prosperity my fellow woodworker.

This book is presents what is needed to choose and execute the right process for the job at hand.

This is a great gift for the lover of woodworking!