5 comments about Router Basics (Basics Series).

1. If you are new to using router, this book is certainly for you. It provides very valuable tips, introduces to many features of variety of brands. The basic projects in the book help you build your skill and confidence. The book also covers the safety techniques that are particularly important for a new router enthusiast. I give this book what it truely deserves - all five stars!!



2. Not having a lot of experience with routers, I was looking for a beginning level book and this one filled all my expectations. I didn't realize how much you could do with a router and a good selection of cutters. Patrick Spielman must have had me in mind when he wrote and illustrated this book, because it answered most all of my questions. I also purchased The New Router Handbook by the same author (see separate review). I would reccommend both of these books to anyone who wants to get the full potential out of his/her router.



3. I am somewhat experienced with router operations, I thought!
   I bought a Freud FT 2000EP last year, my first hgh powered plunge router. After several weeks floundering about trying to figure out how to operate the 2000 based on my experience with my lower powered fixed base router and the piece of garbage Freud packs in with the tool as an owner's/instruction manual, I decided I had to get some help, before I chopped up any more wood or myself.
   I bought this book and The New Router Handbook, by Spielman also. After reading almost half of Router Basics I can now operate my Freud router safely and know how to make some of the adjustments properly. It's sad that one has to buy an "after market" publication in order to be able to safely & effectively operate an individual power tool purchased from someone else. The operating manual sent with my FT 2000EP meets only absolutely minimum standards when using the tool (MAY keep them afloat in a product liability court room). This book is a necessity if you have never operated a plunge router before and/or have the misfortune to get one with an operating manual as inadequate as mine had packed with it. Spielman saved my bacon and his book is a very enjoyable read to boot.
   I have picked up a lot of new pointers on general router operation I thought I already understood, I didn't. I've been woodworking for most of my 64 years and it sure feels good to be taken back to the basics. Wished all learning (or re-learning) could be this enjoyable. Read this book before you "light off" that new router for the first time. It'll save you a lot of money for the destroyed wood, grief from your damaged ego and maybe even a finger or two.



4. I am somewhat experienced with router operations, I thought!
   I bought a Freud FT 2000EP last year, my first hgh powered plunge router. After several weeks floundering about trying to figure out how to operate the 2000 based on my experience with my lower powered fixed base router and the piece of garbage Freud packs in with the tool as an owner's/instruction manual, I decided I had to get some help, before I chopped up any more wood or myself.
   I bought this book and The New Router Handbook, by Spielman also. After reading almost half of Router Basics I can now operate my Freud router safely and know how to make some of the adjustments properly. It's sad that one has to buy an "after market" publication in order to be able to safely & effectively operate an individual power tool purchased from someone else. The operating manual sent with my FT 2000EP meets only absolutely minimum standards when using the tool (MAY keep them afloat in a product liability court room). This book is a necessity if you have never operated a plunge router before and/or have the misfortune to get one with an operating manual as inadequate as mine had packed with it. Spielman saved my bacon and his book is a very enjoyable read to boot.
   I have picked up a lot of new pointers on general router operation I thought I already understood, I didn't. I've been woodworking for most of my 64 years and it sure feels good to be taken back to the basics. Wished all learning (or re-learning) could be this enjoyable. Read this book before you "light off" that new router for the first time. It'll save you a lot of money for the destroyed wood, grief from your damaged ego and maybe even a finger or two.



5. I recently became interested in woodworking, when I received a table saw as a Father's Day gift. (Okay I admit that I made copies of the ad from a newspaper circular and left it lying around the house where my wife would surely see it - taped to the coffee creamer, in the bottom of a cereal bowl, on her pillow - but I was still a little surprised when it appeared.)

   I didn't know much about woodworking, but I knew I needed a router. I bought the Freud FT2000E router (also from Amazon). Great router, lousy manual.

   After reading the reviews of Spielman's other router books (The Router Handbook and The New Router), I settled on Router Basics as the best choice for a beginner. I have not been disappointed.

   The writing is clear, as are the photos that illustrate the text. The most important quality is the thoroughness with which Spielman describes each router feature and operation. For example, he suggests using the router while unplugged, to get a feel for the weight and controls. Next, he recommends using the router while on, but without a bit inserted. Finally, he walks you through inserting a bit and using the router for real.

   I think most authors and first-time router users would agree this is a good sequence, but I doubt few authors would take the time to outline it in the text.

   After getting a feel for the router, you can work through a series of projects designed to develop your routing skills. For example, the first project is a workbench that uses mortise-and-tenon joinery for the legs and braces. (Mortises are cut-outs in a piece of wood; the tenons are the protrusions from a second piece that fit into the cut-out.) Other projects include building a router table (a handy accessory) and instructions for routing signs.

   If you're just getting started with routers, I heartily recommend this book.

No comments about Retail Therapy: Store Design Today.

No comments about Asmara: The Frozen City.

No comments about Carpentry (Best of Fine Homebuilding).

3 comments about Bethlehem Steel.

1. Great photos of the now-defunct Bethlehem Steel plant in Pennsy. Photos are all shot in black-and-white format and capture the ghostly and grungy aspect of this abandoned site.



2. Andrew Garn's "Bethlehem Steel" offers a glimpse of a now-defunct steel plant, a plant once alive with power, energy and productivity. Garn's photos convey an ominous sense of the encroaching loneliness and desolation, as the mighty plant ceases production. After looking through the book I had this urge to enter the world of Bethlehem Steel, run around the grounds, and explore every mysterious alcove and dark corner. Personal favorites include "Baskets for workers' personal belongings, hung from the ceiling in the welfare room" (page 66); "The forge division at night" (page 73); "Monitor on the roof of the steel foundry," (page 79); "Open-hearth furnaces" (page 80); "Tool steel shop interior" (page 89); "Blast furnace at night with crows" (page 107).



3. This is a wonderful book of photographs of the now-closed Bethlehem Steel plant in Bethlehem, PA. The first part of the book provides a history of the company and plant. Beautiful black and white photos complete the book. If you enjoy industrial photography in general, or steel mills in particular, you will appreciate this book. My only complaint is the book format size. There are so many details in each photograph that you really need a larger page size to fully appreciate the subject matter. The book is fairly priced and well-worth owning.

No comments about Adventures in Architecture.

No comments about Future Forms and Design for Sustainable Cities.

2 comments about Norwegian Wood: The Thoughtful Architecture of Wenche Selmer.

1. I am biased by the fact that I am so very fond of the work done by Wenche Selmer. That being said the author has done a spectacular job of showcasing Selmer's accomplishments. Beautiful photographs abound and the text is quite substantive. My only complaint is that the floor plans that are included generally have no captions or notes and often no dimensions. Those floorplans that do have notes are in norwegian and as a result I spent a fair amount of time trying to puzzle out where the photographs were taken relative to the layout of the various buildings.



2. The Norwegian contribution to mid century modern architecture is not well known - let along the contribution by a mid century woman architect. With beautiful color photographs, plans and construction details, this presentation of the work of Wenche Selmer is a visual treat and a learning experience. The collection of cabins and second homes provides an in depth look at the results of carefull attention to the details of a home environment. As we seek alternatives to big and over the top houses, the book is a must for anyone who wishes for the beauty of simplicity and anyone interested in wood architecture.

1 comments about Steven Ehrlich: A Dynamic Serenity----House Design.

1. Despite the architect's versatility, this book concentrates on his involvement in residential houses. All the works featured here are based in West Coast particularly Venice where Steven works and resides. There are a mere eleven works featured in this book, starting with the architect's own houses and ending appropriately with a massive house to be built for his client in Dubai. According to the author & reinforced by a short essay written by Steven Ehrlich himself, he endeavours to integrate humanity and sustainablity into his works. From a quick glance of his works here, they are in the traditions of Richard Neutra & Schlinder who left their marks in California. There are four components in this book contents: Venice -making much of little, additions & transformations, expanding into the landscape & lastly, the firm profile. The book is a mere 128 pages, & the presentation is okay enough. It's a good introduction to Steven Ehrlich. Interesting read.

3 comments about David Adler, Architect: The Elements of Style.

1. David Adler (1882-1949) was one of the most important architects designing homes and estates in the United States, during a period known as that of the "great American house." Adler's works--which range in date from 1911 to 1949--were truly American, offering an enormous range of stylistic expression on the exteriors and a simpler definition of interiors than traditional European models allowed.
   
   This important book features seventeen homes and one private club designed by Adler, all of which are beautifully reproduced in full-color with newly commissioned photographs by the firm of Hedrich Blessing. Highlights of this volume include the Stuart-style country house in the manner of Sir Christopher Wren, built for Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Crane in Ipswich, Massachusetts; the Celia Tobin Clark residence, in Hillsborough, California, in which Adler used English half-timber construction; and the William McCormick Blair House, built in Lake Bluff, Illinois, a Colonial New England farm house that constituted a new experiment for Adler.
   
   The book also presents examples of Adler's interior designs, that respond to the demands of modern life, by featuring both the use of new materials and historical elements or furniture acquired during his European travels.
   
   This volume is a strong compliment to the original, David Adler: The Architect and His Work by Richard Pratt and Ezra Stoller. I am in a good position to comment on the matter, as I have both volumes in my library. I have referenced the original often for my own research, and work. I now find this volume a brilliant addition, creating a full and comprehensive view on David Adler's career. This book adds vivid color to his work, via the images, and a fresh, up-to-date and well researched perspective on his life, career, and impact on timeless American architecture.
   
   As the general public unfortunately were force-fed the failures of Modernism, and then had to endure the hideous Deconstructivist anti-architecture that followed during the 20th century, this book is a highly recommended return to intellectual, and aesthetic, sanity. The traditional and classcial architect will, of course, find it mandatory. And the serious architectural theorist, academic and student (who has the intelligence and confidence to think independently) interested in history and honest architecture, that lasts, will find it a must have reference.



2. This book does do a commendable job of disecting Adler's major works and the research is quite good, though it could have used more photos. I must stipulate that the photos used are quite good. Note to publisher the cover photo, with Adler's name vertically imbosed cheapened the look of the book, although the back photo was excellent. If you are fan of Adler I recommend this book, but with slight reservations, look at my other reviews to find truely great books on American Master Architects. I'm a tenacious reviewer, but if I say a book is great, I'll bet you will agree. I really do try to write reviews that will help people, not just give them a positive synopsis, these books are expensive and some are great, some are good, like this one, and some are just plain disappointing. Anyway, I really hope this helps you in some way, if not...well this is a minute of your life you will never get back.



3. Knowledgeably edited by Martha Thorne, featuring essays by Richard Guy Wilson, Pauline C. Metcalf, and Ghenete Zelleke, and enhanced with color photography by Bob Harr and Hedrich Blessing, David Adler, Architect: The Elements Of Style is an astounding visual and descriptive tour of the unique and influential architecture of David Adler (1882-1949) famous for designing homes and estates in America during the period of the "great American house." His elegant style, blending classical inspiration with a uniquely modern finish that shows through the test of time, is presented through memorable color and black-and-white photographs as well as diagrams and extensively detailed text (beginning with an informative foreword by Robert A. M. Stern) and offers enriched background information as to the creation of David Adler's most well-known masterpieces. David Adler, Architect: The Elements Of Style is very highly recommended for connoisseurs of grand architecture and a core acquisition for professional and academic Architectural Studies reference collections and American Architectural History supplemental reading lists.