5 comments about Metal Detecting for the Beginner.

1. Enjoyed reading this book.
   Covers things you might have over looked, when in the field.
   Makes you want to discover more.
   Outines a lot of resourses for research.



2. Excellent "must-have" for all beginners. The hardest part of starting any new hobby is the trial and error learning process. That can get expensive. This book helps eliminate much of that.
   This book certainly explains the basics for metal detecting and the information on sources for products is invaluable.
   Great Buy!



3. I purchased this book for my husband based on the reviews I read, and I am really pleased with the choice.
   This book is not only easy to understand, but had my husband researching facts on the internet the very first day he recieved it. The author definitely points out obvious details that could very easily be overlooked by somebody who doesn't exactly know what to look for.
   I would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing the essential basics, and the steps to take following them.



4. This book is good a good basic one for beginners without getting into all the details of why it works like it does. It covers the topics well enough to let the reader know that they will need more study as they advance.



5. If you are looking for a book on Metal Detecting - this is the book. Has web sites, manufacturers, and other useful reference material - was my first book on the subject - and it gave me what I needed - and more... if it was metal vs paperback, it would be one of my talked about finds... worth writing a review about.

5 comments about Clock Repairing as a Hobby: An Illustrated How-To Guide for the Beginner.

1. 
   Part of the way into Goodrich's "The Modern Clock," I realized I needed to start with a text that didn't assume the reader already works in a clock repair shop. There being several options, I decided to check a few out of the library before buying. Kelly's "Clock Repairing as a Hobby" was one of the ones that was available. It is definitely better suited to the beginner than Goodrich. It defines many of the parts and describes the workings, and also gives basic advice on how to proceed in clock repairs. I'd rate it as useful, but uneven and insufficient. Some clock parts are mentioned in the text or appear in a drawing (e.g., "cannon pinion") but are never defined. There are drawings of several escapements or striking mechanisms, but the reader is left to imagine how the parts move relative to each other based on the description in the text. For a beginner's book like this one, a drawing showing several states of the mechanism would be much more appropriate. Several basic concepts, like how the "lift" is distributed between the pallet faces and escape gear teeth, or what is meant by the "run of the lock" are never touched on at all! If I hadn't already seen an Internet-based animation of the deadbeat escapement, I wouldn't have a clue how it worked based on the description in Kelly! So I'm going to keep looking for a better book.



2. Book seems fine unless you are looking for a book to repair cuckoo clocks...which I was. I searched for "cuckoo clock repair" and this came up. Seems like a fine book, but is useless to me.



3. The work being reviewed here is the 1972 Edition. There have been two or three reprints of this work throughout the years but about all that has changed is the cover.
   
   There are a couple of considerations that need to be addressed in reviewing this work. First, this is a work, as stated on the cover and in the preface, "....for the beginner." It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that a complete course in clock repair and building can not be covered in 124 pages, and that is 124 pages of a rather small book. Secondly, this book was first published in 1972 which makes it 37 years old at the time of this review. This is okay though due to the fact that most of the clocks targeted in this book are well over 100 years old and the principles and techniques that worked in 1972 still work just as well today. Hey folks, we are not talking about a book here that teaches you to change batteries in ten dollar digital watches. Good grief, throw the bloody thing away and buy a new one (after you properly dispose of the battery of course, and not just send it to the landfill where it will add to the poison that will haunt your great, great, great grandchildren). Once again...this book is strictly for the beginner and concept and theory has not changed in well over 200 years, much less in thirty. The information here is not outdated. Now that being said:
   
   I love this old book. I have been fascinated with clocks since I was a wee one and was the bane of my father's existence as I would dismantle every clock in the house as fast as he could replace them. The problem came in when it was found that I was unable to put them back together. I love niggle little work, fine work, and he use to take me to his office that he shared with my grandfather. It was a dental office and they use to let me practice making dentures, partials, filling pulled teeth, and repairing such. Again, the problem came when I started taking apart their expensive dental equipment (I wanted to see how it worked), and again,I was not real good at putting in back together.
   
   Over the years I have collected old clocks; you know the kind, the wonderful old windups that you found on your grandmothers mantel. I have only one requirement when I purchase these clocks...they must NOT be in working condition! A working clock is a wonderful thing, it is like magic, but it is even more wonderful and wondrous if you know you are the one to make it so, i.e. work.
   
   This little volume covers basic clock movement, both theory and design, and practical clock repairing. I found that the section addressing the pendulum and the various variations of particular use. The author uses simple and for the most part nontechnical language to explain the complex workings of these machines, and explains them at the level that a beginner can easily understand. Wonderfully simple schematic drawings are provided. In the section devoted to the chimes and chiming mechanisms the author has even provided the sheet music for several popular (Whittington chime as an example) sounds. This, to be quite frank, is rather unique.
   
   I love the section devoted to practical repairing. The author has given us a complete rundown on all of the tools needed for your hobby. We also provided with a very nice explanation as to what each tool us used for and how to use it. The author has even gone into quite a bit of detail as to the work bench which (and trust me here) is quite important. The book does discuss the lathe and grinding wheels, but to be honest with you, if the repair requires machining special parts I am way over my head in this area and I simply take that part of the task to a professional.
   
   Now most of what I have learned has been completely self-taught. The author has stressed the importance of cleaning and maintenance. I learned long, long ago that many fine old clock that do not work and have not worked for years upon years can be purchased from the unwary for the price of a few cups of coffee, taken home and given a good cleaning, which takes very little time, and resold for enough to buy whole bunches of other old "broken" clocks! I know, I am a terrible person, but you know, business is business. If this book has one weak area for the beginner or hobbyist, it is the fact that is does not put enough emphasis on cleaning or cleaning techniques. There are other books out there that cover that and of course there is the thrill of simply learning it yourself.
   
   Is this the only book you will need to pursue this hobby? Heavens no! Will this work turn you into a master craftsman or woman overnight in the field of clock repair? Nope! Is this the best book out there for the beginner? I haven't a clue as I have not read all of them or used all of them. Did this book work for me? Yes. It has given me all the basic I needed and I have found that if I need more information I need to find "clock specific" literature on the particular piece I am working on and in many cases have to go directly to the manufacturer. Or I find that being a complete pest pays off big time. When I get in trouble I simply pester local professionals and wheedle information out of them a bit at a time.
   
   Am I good at this hobby? Hardly, there is so much to know and learn, but I do enjoy learning it and I do enjoy fiddling with the things. It is a good thing though that I do not have to make a living working on clocks...there would be great hunger and poverty in the family if I did. Anyway, this is a good book and I do recommend it.
   
   Don Blankenship
   The Ozarks



4. i am sure this book will helpful just haven't got to it yet but sure it will do the trick thank you john



5. This was a Christmas gift for my husband whom is interested in the repair of watches and clocks. He just needed additional information on repairing clocks, and he said this was the perfect book! He was very pleased.

5 comments about Warman's Vintage Jewelry: Identification and Price Guide (Warmans).

1. This is a beautiful picture book, with lots of lovely shots of vintage jewelry. If that's what you're looking for then look no further. However if you want detail or descriptions or history or really, much text beyond the approximate value, then you should consider something a little more comprehensive, like :Collecting Costume Jewelry 101: The Basics of Starting, Building & Upgrading as this book may not have as many pretty photos (although it has plenty) but it has a wealth of information about the designers and the companies who made so much of this beautiful, wearable art.



2. I checked this book out from the library.. I just knew My Niece had to have it so I bought it for her. She loves it.



3. tHE BOOK IS TERRIFIC. iT HAS GREAT COLOR PICTURES AND GREAT BASELINE INFO FOR BEGINNER COLLECTORS. I SIMPLY ENJOY LOOKING THROUGH IT!



4. I would not invest in this book. Perhaps I was looking for something more instructive and for comparison than what this book offers. Before you purchase you should review in a book store or library.



5. If you're into jewelry with glass gems or the art deco look, this is an excellent resource. The text gives a good review of jewlery in the 1920s - 1940s, but on the level of an interested collector, not for a research paper. The photos are excellent and the pieces nicely categorized by type.

5 comments about Silverplated Flatware.

1. This is a wonderful reference book for anyone who sells or collects nice silverpalted flatware. The
   drawings of the patterns are very helpful and accurate -- it is well organized and easy to use! I particularly like the rating system that the author uses to place value on the patterns -- I highly recommend it!



2. Tere's book is an excellant resource for silverplate collectors. The patterns are clealy identified; listed by the original silversmith (not the company that owns the pattern now) and other valuable information is given, as well. A bargain at the listed price!



3. I received this book withing 2 days of ordering and innew/like new condition. It is an excellent resource for collecting and matching patterns of silverplate. Virtually all patterns that are available are represented. A very thorough resource that I highly recommend for the serious as well as the beginning collector.



4. This book has been very helpful in determining the many silverplate patterns I recently acquired. With the cross references it has for Rogers, Oneida, Williams, etc - it is a great book. A must have in your antique'ing library.



5. Please see my review of "Sterling Flatware Identification & Value Guide". This is a good companion guide, but for silverplated flatware. It's just a little more complicated to navigate, as there are so many silverplated patterns, and so many manufacturers. However, once you become familiar with the way it is set up, and with a lot of patience, you can ID silverplated flatware very nicely. I keep both right at hand..can't do without them.

2 comments about Warman's Sterling Silver Flatware: Value & Identification Guide.

1. As a collector of sterling flatware, I found little I could use in this book. I'll have to admit that I loved the introductory pages. Phil Dreis is very knowledgeable about the silver market. He also lists most patterns and supplies pictures, but he does not include the most collectible serving pieces. You won't find ice scoops, tomato servers, olive spoons, horseradish scoops, etc. He does show profiles of such pieces at the beginning of the book. In the actual listings under the pattern names, he does not refer to the difference in cost due to the age of the item although he does make mention of that in the introduction. This might be a good resource for a novice but not for a collector.



2. This is the finest price guide ever written on silver. It identifies more patterns than any other book out there in an easy to use format. SUPERB!! As an avid silver flatware collector, I use this book every single day. This book is a huge improvement over the first edition.
   THANK YOU PHIL DREIS from ANTIQUE CUPBOARD! Your expertise is appreciated!!

5 comments about The Book of Wagner & Griswold: Martin, Lodge, Vollrath, Excelsior.

1. I suppose I'm being a little unfair to write a three-star review of this volume, seeing as I only collect Griswold and only purchased this book for that section alone. A person shouldn't berate a screwdriver, for instance, because it makes a poor hammer, and when you get right down to it, the red book is primarely a Wagner price guide, not a Griswold one. But still, in their zeal to write a second guide with a low percentage of repeats from the first, the authors have presented a Griswold section that feels more like a collection of leftover snippets from the blue book than like an independant guide of its own. One of its most serious flaws in my opinion is its lack of complete price lists for referenced series. The authors show a picture of an unlabled p/n 755 size 8 skillet, for instance (and then incorrectly attribute it to the Iron Mountain series in the caption,) but they neglect to give any pricing information for the size 9 and size 7 skillets in the same series. In the blue book, whenever they showed one size, they were pretty consistant with listing pricing for all sizes of that type. Here, they mostly just price exactly what is pictured. Being partial to the non-Griswold logo products, I'm glad that they included more pictures of Best Made, or Merit, or Good Health products, but I wish that they had included more price ranges on those products, rather than only pricing the size that they show in that particular picture. For instance, a picture of a #10 Merit skillet is shown without giving any pricing for #s 3-9 of the same series. (Ironically enough on that note, even though Merit and Puritan skillets have the same p/n and are essentially identical skillets, his price for the Merit #10 is only about 60% of his blue book price for the same Puritan skillet. That, I don't understand - it indicates that Merit and Puritan skillets don't share common prices, but fails to fill the rift in with a complete Merit price range.) Another issue with the Griswold section is that many of the pictures shown are cast aluminum products -- again, while it's true that they aren't duplicates from the blue book, they aren't necessarily what I was expecting to compose about a third or half of the material in a Griswold price guide. I might have liked to have seen more pricing information on pre-1957 small logo cast iron, too. I realize a lot of collectors avoid it, but it's nice to know how much less it's worth than its large logo elder siblings. And, a little more editing of captions would have been nice. Here and there they call something by the wrong name (for instance, a skillet cover is called a skillet, and so on.)
   
   Maybe I'm just being picky, or maybe I was expecting too much Griswold information from a book that was published primarely as a Wagner price guide. But, speaking for the Griswold portion only, I was hoping for something a little more useful. What I got just felt like a loose grouping of everything that was left over from the first time out. It felt like the "deleted scenes" section on some DVD movies. I was expecting an out-and-out sequal.
   
   Having said that, what I've glanced at of the Wagner portion looks good. I don't collect Wagner, so it doesn't really interest me. The same is true for the other non-Griswold brands covered in this book: I can't really rate them, because I haven't really tried to use them. Overall, I'd say that this is probably an excellent guide for Wagner collectors, and an interesting if not entirely useful guide for Griswold collectors such as myself.



2. This is the second book you should buy if you have any interest in collecting classic American cast iron goods. Collectors call this the "Red Book". The first book, "The Book of Griswold & Wagner", is called the "Blue Book", although it looks kind of turquoise to me, and is by the same authors. This edition, with a copyright of 2001, is getting a little out of date for catalog values, but still is a good indicator of relative value. It covers Wagner, Griswold, Martin, Lodge, Vollrath, and Excelsior. There is little duplication between the Red and Blue books, but together they are just a treasure chest of good clear photogrpahs and information that is not available anywhere else. The author is active in the major collecting societies and solicits information, including photographs and corrections, as each edition is prepared. (As an aside, it's hard to comprehend how someone could be critical of a book full of pictures and descriptions of collectable iron.)
   
   It is really unfair to be critical of the catalogs values in such a work. They are useful in determining relative value and rarity, but the current marketplace must looked at to get the best indicators of value.



3. Unlike steve (ca) review, this book is considered the second book that all cast iron collectors must have. While some discrepancy on some values in the book may be present, values on most items are completely accurate. It is unfortunate that the other review destroys the credibility of this fine book. The "RED" book is the most complete and accurate book on the market for Wagner Ware collectors. This book and the "BLUE" book should be in every serious cast iron collector's resource library.



4. Both this book and the "blue" book mislead readers by listing "price values" that are blatently low,-on the very uncommon items listed, even though the pricing errors were brought to both author's attention years ago. Many revisions later, they remain for the most part unchanged.
   Shame on them.



5. If you like collections of photos, this book is great ... Hollow.

2 comments about English Silver Hall-Marks: Including the Marks of Origin on Scottish & Irish Silver Plate, Gold, Platinum & Sheffield Plate: With 500 of the More Important Makers Marks from 169 (Dealer Guides).

1. This is a very handy, easy to use guide to the main English, Edinburgh and Dublin Silver Hall Marks in good quality paper-back form. It covers also a good deal of Silverplate, Gold and Platinum & Sheefield plate. A Dealer's and Collector's "MUST HAVE".



2. There are two books on English silver hallmarks available on Amazon, the other being Pocket Ed. Jackson's Hallmarks, and of the two books, this is my favourite. Both books are almost identical in content: both provide illustrations of English, Irish and Scottish silver, gold and platinum hallmarks, and illustrations of the more important makers marks, which allow for the dating of silver, gold and platinum items. However, this book is the easier to use of the two, with the information presented in a way that makes it easier to find what you are looking for. This book also includes a section on Sheffield plate marks and an index of the makers marks, which are not included in "Jackson's Hallmarks".
   
   The periods of time covered by these two books are slightly different. This book gives hallmarks for the period from 1554 to 2004, whereas "Jackson's Hallmarks" covers the period from 1300 to 1991. However, as I have never had any need to date items made prior to 1554, and most of the items that I have dated have been more recent items, I find the period of time covered by this book to be the most appropriate for my needs.
   
   Although both books are very useful and both are likely to satisfy the requirements of the average silver collector, if you are only going to buy one of these books, then this is the one to buy.

5 comments about Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This is an excellent source for those seeking information regarding their silver marks and the history of the company. This guide makes your search much easier, both for the dealer and the customer. Thank you.



2. This book is an invaluable resource for any business or collector dealing in silver (coin, silverplate, or sterling). This was a gift I purchased for a collector's library and the third reprint I've purchased over the years. A must-have book for the silver research library.



3. I got this book through inter-library loan on the advice of an online silver seller and hobbyist? expert? We are restoring an 1800s farmhouse in New York state, and have found various bits of silver and pottery and other things. Everything is quite worn and dirty from being underground for decades. I did a number of online searches but it was this book which enabled me to identify, just in the course of one afternoon, two pieces of cutlery -- one old silver, one less old silverplate, and be fairly secure in the ID because this book tells a bit about some of the marks, such as their locale.
   
   No resource is infinite. This book shows many, many marks, and the text tells of the history and relationships among many of the manufacturers. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone else doing research. Don't forget your loupe or other strong magnifier!



4. This is a good book for American Hallmarks BUT, it is extremely out-of-date. Also, many entries do not have a picture of the mark, making identification difficult. There must be a better book out there somewhere!



5. This is a "must have" for anyone who collects, sells or loves sterling silver.

1 comments about HOW TO HUNT TREASURE: A Guide to Adventure and Profit.

1. I metal detected with the author for years and never found as much as he did; I thought that he was just luckier than me. After reading his book, I know the secrets of his success.
   
   Along with the author, I found my share of civil war artifacts and coins; but I was never as good as he was with a metal detector, and he found much more than me.
   
   Every metal detector user, who wants to be very successful at finding treasure, should read his book. The author's metal detecting techniques are explained fully and will help you to find even more treasure.
   
   I wish he had written his book years ago; I would have found much more.
   
   Thanks, Malcolm. We had some great times together hunting and finding treasure.
   
   Art (Pete)
   Big Canoe, GA

3 comments about A Passion for Metal: Reflections and Techniques of a Metal Sculptor (Schiffer Art Books).

1. This is a great book for beginners, which I am. They really do have a passion for metal. He explains the techniques in an easy to understand manner. I really enjoyed this book.



2. This book is very readable, not just a look at the pictures. There are many techniques used and discussed, with a new fluxing tool I'd never heard about. I've actually read most of it because of its interesting writing style. The work is high energy and enthusiasticly made.



3. A Passion for Metal is truly an apt title for this book. Mr. Harvey writes with wit and a clarity of thought about his 30-plus years as a sculptor. The book is part instruction manual, part art criticism, and part philosophy text backed by truly beautiful photographs of the work from Harvey Gallery on every page. You can sit down and read it from cover to cover or open it up to random pages and get enjoyment out of it.
   If you are a sculptor, an art lover, or just want to know what life is like as a professional sculptor in the present-day, this book is for you.