This (in the UK) was pretty much the cabinet makers bible
between 1909 (1st edition) and 1938 (fifth edition).

The last (6th edition) came out in 1952,
but had been rewritten to emphasise man made
material and machine tools. Not the same at all.

It was succeeded by "Encyclopedia of Furniture Making"
By Ernest Joyce as the standard reference.

Back to the earlier book; this review is
of editions 1-5, which do not vary significantly.

This not a book for tool-a-holics; it does
indeed have good introductory chapters
on which tool is which, but is quite
brief (by galoot standards).

We then move to "work shop" techniques, which
is again brief, but with interesting points
"in passing".

The bulk and purpose of the book tells
you how to MAKE furniture.

It describes the design of furniture, with
fully dimensioned plans - in some cases the plans
are printed on separate glossy paper and fold out.

The joints and special constructional techniques for
each piece are fully described.

However, as the book progresses, techniques are
only described once (obviously?).

The furniture covers a wide range, including lounge, office,
shops, side tables, bookcases, panelling(!) etc.

The examples chosen are all fine, often taken
(with permission) from the catalogues of the best
makers in Britain at the time.

This was not aimed at amateurs; it was aimed at
either technical colleges, as a reference (*not* a tutorial),
or working cabinet shops (hence the quality of
the example plans).

In short, if you know how to use tools, and want
to make fine furniture, this is an excellent
book; all 384 pages of it.

It runs rather expensive in the s/h market, due
(I think) to rarity.

    BugBear
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