Making Period Furniture (Fine Woodworking On) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was a bit leery of this book because it's a collection of articles. My previous experience with collections of articles has not been good - usually they're just a bunch of unrelated stories with no real continuity or theme.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Although this is a collection of articles that appeared in early issues of Fine Woodworking, they build on each other, with very few "junk" articles in the collection. The first article discusses the quality of period joinery and quotes a modern woodworker, Robert Emmertt, as having promised himself, "If I ever got to touch a piece of Goddard furniture, I'd never wash my hand. But now I have seen the back of a genuine Goodard piece and its drawers. And I wash my hands. My construction is better."
What the article points out is that our woodworking ancestors built furniture for a living - not for art. A modern woodworker, even one with a limited shop, can build period furniture that's as good or better than even Townsend and Goodard. The follow-on articles include pointers to books with measure drawings of period furniture, instructions for building Queen Ann Cabriole legs and Chippendale "claw and ball" feet, and an interesting article on "hidden drawers". It also contains instruction for building a blockfront chest, including a scale drawing of two pieces of blockfront furniture (at 1/4 scale).
There are a few "junk" articles, of course, (for example, "A Small Highboy") but there's not many in the collection. If you have an interest in period furniture, this is an excellent resource.
If you're just getting started in woodworking, don't buy this book - you'll be lost. But if you're reasonably proficient, this is an excellent book, especially if you're looking to improve your ability to build period furniture. Highly recommended!

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