Everyday Woodworking: A Beginner's Guide to Woodcraft With 12 Hand Tools

by Rex Krueger

Get started with simple, useful, handcrafted woodworking projects for everyday people—with only 12 basic tools!

Lots of people want to try woodwork, but they get intimidated by dangerous power tools and difficult techniques. Good there are lots of ways to work with wood and anyone can get a few tools and start making projects.

Everyday Woodworking  starts at the very beginning—with wood. How can this common material make everything from furniture to houses? What makes it so strong? Why does it break? More importantly, what can you do to a piece of wood? Sometimes we cut it with a saw. Other times, we split it with an ax or shave it with a knife. This book explains why we choose each tool and how to pick the right cut for any project. As Rex likes to "Trust me, it’s not hard."

Once you get a few tools and learn some simple techniques, you’ll start making things right away. You’ll begin with a simple mallet and some wooden wedges and then advance to splitting green logs into usable lumber.

Next you’ll pick up a knife and a drill and after just a little practice, you’ll be making things you can give to your friends; things they’ll actually Each project is shown step-by-step with the beginner in mind. The projects are simple but not primitive. Everyday   Woodworking  will give you skills that you can build on as you grow as a craftsperson.

Genres: Nonfiction, Woodwork

240 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2021

Reviews

[Emily Carlin]

loved it. practical, warm, useful.

[Smoothfin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for the beginner who wants to do woodworking by hand, and I found it very good as well although I'm not a beginner. I found the material on the hatchet and knife very useful. I have an old dull hatchet which has been sitting idle for many years and now I'll sharpen it up and add it to my array of tools. Some useful projects in the book as well. The japanese sawhorses and small workbench are great starter projects and also pretty useful to have on hand. The mallet is another useful tool to have on hand, especially once you start using chisels. And making your own is a nice alternative to buying one. The material on using a speed square was also very handy. Good book, great starting point for the aspiring hand tool woodworker.

[Kevinch417 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rex Krueger's woodworking videos and a number of them I have watched repeatedly. Thus, I thought I would really love this book. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. He covers projects that he already has videos on, and that's fine. The problem is I found that his written word doesn't translate to the projects as well as his videos do. Of course seeing is sometimes easier than reading when it comes to woodwork, so this makes sense. Overall, it was an easy, quick read and is still a good idea for newcomers with few tools, interested in finding out if they even want to do any woodwork to begin with.

[Steve Boggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, glad I bought it

You're got to appreciate his style, reminds me of Roy Underhill. I've watched his YouTube videos for quite a while , he's informative and funny a great combination.

[Lynn Halasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction

Rex makes woodworking approachable. Step by step skill building and confidence building. He helps you understand what skills/techniques are critical and why. I would consider this text to be essential to anyone starting out.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear as day instructions for a few projects, and a very good foundation of knowledge of what wood is and how it can be used. I’m not new to woodworking but I’m new to taking the craft seriously, and I feel better equipped to handle a wide variety of projects after reading.

[James Dewes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rex must have had fun making this book and that jumps out of the page at you. The only downsides are that the page layout is a little confusing at times and that some of the projects are ones I have bought his plans for already.

[Sean Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woodworking doesn’t get any more basic than this, and if you are just starting out or testing the waters then THIS is your book! Thank Rex!

[Marcc]

Excellent intro to woodworking. Just getting started or maybe looking for new woodworking ideas? Grab this book!

[Gabriel Cruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it is a very nice approach to woodworking with few tools, the projects are way too basic and do not let you take advantage of the full potential of what the book might bring.

[Marcus Burtenshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, easy to follow introduction to woodworking