Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you want several nice pictures of some reproductions of Craftsman-style furniture furniture for $20, buy this book. DON'T expect to find good information useful for building your own reproductions! When first reading this book, I started noticing that such things as the sizes and locations of mortises and tenons were missing. then I read on the inside of the back cover that I could contact the author for "detailed plans." In other words, this is really a $20 catalog for purchasing useful plans! Then I decided that I might be able to get useful informatation in spite of the ommisions, and I carefuly analyzed the plans for a double-door bookcase. I found that pieces were missing from the parts list, and that pieces were mis-measured! The plans are a disaster, and don't seem to correspond to either the photo or the parts list. For instance: The parts list lists quantities and measurements for one-piece shelves that are longer than the entire width of the bookcase, while the plans show two-piece shelves with a divider (which is how the authentic Stickley piece was made). The divider is not described in the text or the parts list. The back of the top is not described nor measured. And on, and on, and on. If you really intend to build something, this book will only make you angry. LAST THOUGHT: Mr. Kenmer must know something about woodworking to have constructed these very attractive pieces. Somewhere between his shop and the printing press disaster struck.