Monday 18 August 2014

Woodworking Book Review: Making Furniture Projects & Plans by Mark Ripley

This is a book that achieves a rare double; it has great appeal for the novice woodworker and the experienced cabinet maker alike. For the beginner it offers a glimpse into the world of the possible, aspirational plans and exotic joints with explanations that make it all seem very reachable given time and practice.  For those with well-developed skills it’s an exploration of form, function and design with some great insights into harnessing the natural properties of timber to make beautiful and functional furniture.

The book is set out in two parts; the first section has an overview of the principles of furniture design balancing the four essential elements of structure, function, aesthetics and economy.  It also looks at the process of batch production with a case study of a set of chairs the author created.

The second part of the book is where it can become your coffee time browse to muse over the 24 projects. They are really well written, rather than a list of simple instructions there is an easy to read narrative that talks you through the process in a conversational style. There are some excellent photographs of the details of each project and a full set of dimensions for you to work from.  What it is not, is a strict set of rules to reproduce what you see on the page.  You are invited to understand the process and to put your own interpretation on each of the pieces.

There is no doubt the quality and design of the furniture in this book will appeal to many, and those with real ambition, a quality workshop and plenty of time should be able to reproduce Mark’s plans to great effect. For everyone else this is a grand book that will give us all plenty to aspire to and an excuse to buy a few more tools in preparation for that “One Day” moment.

Making Furniture Projects and Plans is available from GMCbooks.com and other retailers on line.

ISBN-978-1-86108-560-3

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for this review. I will buy one for my father. I will also tell this to my friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi decorteq,

      Thanks for your comment! We often post book reviews so keep checking back to our blog for future reviews!

      Triton Tools

      Delete
  2. well done job by the blogger, this is really informative, i have also shared to others, your analysis is very good and you have written everything in detail...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks for your support. We are aiming to be informative and entertaining. Glad to hear we are getting it right for you.

      Delete
  3. Ideal and Most economical Jabodetabek Confidential Classes, all of our staff members and also tutors are available to your property, collection your personal research agenda and will select almost any arena of research ... go to https://kursus-akuntansi.netlify.app/kursus-akuntansi-palmerah.html for more information

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perhaps you will find a cheaper fee compared to table above, ensure again with regards to the qualifications of your teacher / Kindergarten teacher recommended to you personally ... for detail https://ipa-exed.blogspot.com/2022/05/les-privat-ipa-di-grogol-petamburan.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mitchell Lenny2 March 2023 at 01:50

    Jabodetabek private tutoring services with teachers traveling to the house. More than hundreds of active tutors will be ready teach various skills and lessons of the to adults ... click https://kursus-jerman.vercel.app/kursus-bahasa-jerman-gambir.html for more information

    ReplyDelete

Your email address will not be published.