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Boat Joinery and Cabinet Making Simplified
Starting with a simple task, such as a deck box, or even a tool box, this book proceeds to bigger projects so that you can develop the skills you need to build almost anything. This book includes joinery techniques and handy gimmicks. It also provides alternative procedures for several of the projects included herein.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 1993
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November 6, 2025
I was disappointed in this book. Not because it was bad per se, but because so much of the material was not needed and written in a rather boring prose. Like the vast majority of carpentry books, the first sections were about the tools needed to perform the following tasks. Now there is nothing wrong with this, but this section was 100 pages. The author definitely went too far in describing the vast majority of tools with excruciating detail and often making extremely dated statements and recommendations (Sears is gone, man- let it go). As I progressed into the sections about making jigs, I felt like the author was trying to pad the book with as much material as he could to have a respectably sized book. And if his writing was entertaining, I would be happy excuse that opportunistic choice. But it ain't- the author's writing is as dry as ten-year-old sawdust.
Having said that, once we get to the actual subject matter the reading becomes more informative. But if you plan on reading it, plan on suffering a lot to get there. And when one considers the vast resources available on YouTube and other streaming services, this book has only limited benefits relative to the cost. Since I don't like to leave any review with mere criticism, I will give my best recommendation in lieu of any disingenuous praise. If the author wanted to write a book about boat joinery, he could have taken it a couple better ways. On the one hand, he could have included a section talking about the evolution of boat joinery and how that relates to modern wooden boats. He could have written about the various styles of boat carpentry or even applied modern woodworking styles to the interiors of various sailboats! On the other hand, he could have written it as a more instructional book that begins with the easiest projects that required the least number of tools and experience to do and then progressed to more complicated projects while introducing new tools along the way.
At any rate, I don't recommend this book. Go to YouTube- there's nothing in this book that cannot be found for free there.
Having said that, once we get to the actual subject matter the reading becomes more informative. But if you plan on reading it, plan on suffering a lot to get there. And when one considers the vast resources available on YouTube and other streaming services, this book has only limited benefits relative to the cost. Since I don't like to leave any review with mere criticism, I will give my best recommendation in lieu of any disingenuous praise. If the author wanted to write a book about boat joinery, he could have taken it a couple better ways. On the one hand, he could have included a section talking about the evolution of boat joinery and how that relates to modern wooden boats. He could have written about the various styles of boat carpentry or even applied modern woodworking styles to the interiors of various sailboats! On the other hand, he could have written it as a more instructional book that begins with the easiest projects that required the least number of tools and experience to do and then progressed to more complicated projects while introducing new tools along the way.
At any rate, I don't recommend this book. Go to YouTube- there's nothing in this book that cannot be found for free there.
Displaying 1 of 1 review