2 comments about Care & Repair of Furniture.

1. After inheriting some old furniture that had belonged to my late grandmother, I invested in 2 books about repairing/restoring furniture...this one and the one written by Brian Hingley. Both are good books, but this one was written by Albert Jackson and David Day, who live in England. Some of the terms are different than what we are used to in America. For example, the authors explain how to make your own cleaning solution using linseed oil and 'white spirit'. I'm not sure if their reference to white spirit means regular mineral spirits or something else like acetone or naptha. In another section, they cover the repair of cracks, dings, holes and other surface imperfections using 'stopper'. Most folks will easily recognize this as what we call wood putty or filler.
   
   This isn't to slam the British, just to point out that some of the terminology and names used in this book may throw some people off. Even some of the terms used for various parts of a piece of furniture are different. Not to worry, since there's lots of four-color illustrations to guide you, although I prefer the color photos used in Hingley's book.
   
   One final note: Most of this work seems centered around the repair and restoration of chairs and tables, although many of the tips and methods can be applied to many types of furniture. If chairs and tables are your particular forte or speciality, this might be the book to go with.
   
   Hope this info helps.
   
   Furniture Repair & Refinishing (Creative Homeowner Ultimate Guide to...)



2. This book is a great place to start for anyone either wishing to resurrect fantastic old pieces or just make the most of the ones they already have. It's packed full of diagrams and should have something for both amateurs and the experienced alike. It basically tells you how to deal with furniture restoration and maintenance from simple polishes to complete overhauls. A great resource to have around.

1 comments about T-Bird: 45 Years of Thunder (T Bird).

1. This book contains whatever it is you want to know about the nameplate that took tranquil Eisenhower America by storm, weathered the 70's oil crisis and came full circle to find its roots again in the new millenium. It is packed with detailed information but allows you to also breeze through with highlights and pictures of the different eras of T-birds (such as the "Square Birds" or the "Bullet Birds"). Especially fascinating is the contemporary reviews of each new T-Bird model from the car magazines of the time. I would highly recommend this book to any car buff but especially those lucky people who have ever had the pleasure of owning one of these truly classic American automobiles.

No comments about Antiques - Their Restoration And Preservation.

No comments about Care and Repair of Furniture.

5 comments about The Shaker Legacy: Perspectives on an Enduring Furniture Style.

1. This is a truly excellent book that should be on the shelves of all who work with wood, even those of you who, like myself, are not particularly keen on shaker furniture.
   
   The first part of the book overviews the Shakers and their attitudes to working with wood, their seeking of elegant simplistic functional beauty and their enjoyment of the process of working with wood - these are an inspiration to the modern woodworker, all of whom I suspect share the same enjoyment of the process and attention to detail, regardless of their chosen style. The Shakers themselves are quite interesting, and their attitudes of constantly improving and making work easier, more joyful and freeing time for better pursuits than toil are a mantra we all should live by, perhaps. Although the Shakers were very minimalist, I believe many other great craftsmen of the past shared their attitudes and enjoyment of the process of making furniture.
   
   The second part of the book details many fine examples of Shaker furniture. These are great items, well made, well designed, and even if the style is not your preferred one, they still may inspire you.
   
   Note that it is NOT a "how-to" book as another reviewer pointed out, although if you have some skill you could easily reproduce the items in it ? more importantly, be inspired by them.
   
   I have an extraordinary library of woodworking and furniture books covering all styles and all ages and I would definetely recommend this one as being in the top 10% - but I have to stress, it is not a how-to book, look elsewhere if you are looking for that.
   
   Finally, thanks to all the other reviewers here who convinced me to purchase it, I had seen it in the shops before but passed it over (not preferring Shaker style). I will now go tick all your reviews as being helpful.
   
   Did I mention it is absolutely full of colour photos, sidebars of interesting information and very readable and interesting?



2. This book is an interesting and pleasant blending of American history, philosophy, furniture design, and woodworking.
   I have read/studied several other books concerning Shaker furniture. This hardcover printing of Mr. Becksvoort's book has, by far, the finest and clearest photography and printing.



3. I have many books, new and old, on various styles of furniture, their designers, and construction techniques. This was a great addition to my library. I have learned much from it. I appreciate the detail the author went to in this work. It is not your typical lightweight coffee table book, but shows an understanding of, and respect for, the various Shaker communities and their many contributions to our way of life, not the least of which is their beautiful furniture.



4. Aways had an interest in making Shaker Furniture;and it's origin .Found this Book very formative and informational;enjoyed.



5. " author Christian Becksvoort, a contributing editor of Fine Woodworking magazine and an experienced custom furniture maker and restorer who's worked for the last remaining Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, examines the Shakers' faith in relation to their furniture." ~Amazon review
   This attractive volume does not attempt to give directions on how to build Shaker style furniture. What it does do, and does it very well, is to describe the philosophy of the Shakers in relation to their work. The book has as its focus the Shaker's most visible and well-known product - their furniture. Each piece in the book was carefully examined by Mr. Becksvoort and photographed by Mr. Sheldon. Some pieces are not available to the public. Construction, finish, and accurate description of each piece distinguish this work. Mr. Becksvoort knows what he is looking at, he has had the privilege of restoring and closely examining the furniture of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Village. What he does not do is tell you how to build each piece. But if you are a clever and intelligent woodworker, perhaps you will be inspired to design your own project with an eye to the timeless design of the Shakers. Take the challenge, inspire yourself!

2 comments about Conservation of Building and Decorative Stone (Butterworth-Heinemann Series in Conservation and Museology).

1. This is that kind of books that tell us everything about a scientific topic that we need to learn with basic knowledge. The authors help us to understand the nature of stones and the better way to conserve its characteristics for the future, everywhere you need to apply it: museums, buildings and particular collections. Perhaps the most important contents are the necessary methods and materials you must to apply in order to conserve and/or restore the original values of different kind of stone works. It is definitively a great help for architects, conservators and owners of stone collections.



2. This is that kind of books that tell us everything about a scientific topic that we need to learn with basic knowledge. The authors help us to understand the nature of stones and the better way to conserve its characteristics for the future, everywhere you need to apply it: museums, buildings and particular collections. Perhaps the most important contents are the necessary methods and materials that you must to apply in order to conserve and/or restore the original values of different kind of stone works. It is definitively a great help for architects, conservators and owners of stone collections.

5 comments about Good Gifts from the Home: Oils, Lotions & Other Luxuries: Make Beautiful Gifts to Give (or Keep) (Good Gifts from the Home).

1. This book has some good recipes, but not as many along the lines of what I was looking for. I stick mainly to organic and natural recipes, and this book does not have as many along those lines. That is why I gave it 3 stars...but for those who don't mind as much with the ingredients they use, this is a pretty good book.



2. This book is probably as helpful as her other book that I bought. None of the recipes work. Kelly would have you believe that adding 1/2 teaspoon of table salt to 1/4 cup of shampoo concentrate and 3/4 cup of distilled water will be transformed into a product that you would be delighted to use. You are also expected to be able to grate a bar of Ivory soap (highly improbable that you will succeed). The Ivory soap is to be mixed with other ingredients to end up with a product you will be happy to give or to use.
   I have bought many books on soapmaking and other bath and body products.
   There is nothing in this book that makes it worth the $12.00 that I spent. Save your money and look for books written by authors who really have excellent credentials regarding bath and body products one can make at home.
   One author I particularly like is Susan Miller Cavitch.
   Other authors I would highly recommend are Ann Bramson,Norma Coney, and Melinda Coss
   I would not even give this book a 1 star rating; actually a minus 5 would be closer to how annoyed and disgusted I was by the book I bought.



3. Kelly Reno has done a great job of writing books that are helpful for those just starting out. It is amazing that you can make your own lotions and change the scents to match yourself or your friends. The lotions are heavy and greasy, but I think its because our idea of lotions are those that are so heavy with lotions (with alcohols) that we expect it to soak right in instead of using the healing properties of the oils.

   The bath beads turned out great. My first batch was great, but all the rest (go figure) I had to add a little more dry product to it so it wasn't so sticky. Its like cooking, its all an experiment and you just have to "season" it the way you like it.

   Highly reccommended!




4. A great little book of recipes to pamper body and soul. Good recipes with readily available ingredients and easy to follow directions. The end results appear almost as if by magic.



5. I find the the lotion and cream recipes to be far too heavy and greasy. Also, the solid rose and milk bath tablets did not work well when actually used in the bath. I get the impression that the recipes need some adjustment.

No comments about Old Glories: Magical Makeovers for Vintage Textiles, Trims, and Photos.

No comments about X-Radiography of Textiles, Dress and Related Objects (Conservation and Museology).

No comments about Architectural Tiles: Conservation and Restoration.