Sharp Tools Work Better!If you've never experienced the pleasure of using a really sharp tool, you're missing one of the real pleasures of woodworking. In The Perfect Edge, the mystery of the elusive sharp edge is solved by long-time sharpening expert and tool maker Ron Hock. You'll soon find how easy and safe hand tools are to use.This book covers all the different sharpening methods so you can either improve your sharpening techniques using your ...

Hand and Power Tools Work Best TogetherIn today's world of more-power-is-better, it's easy to overlook the value of hand tools. What most woodworker's don't realize is that combining both hand and power tool worlds is the best way to produce the highest quality woodworking.In Hand Tool Essentials you'll learn how to choose and use hand tools for chopping, cutting, paring, sawing, marking, drilling and more. Many of the tools are familiar, but other...

Open this book as an absolute beginner, and come away as a proud portrait artist.Mark and Mary Willenbrink's Absolute Beginner books have helped thousands of novices tap into their inner artists. In this book, Mark and Mary help the beginning artist take on portraits, showing that absolutely anyone can draw faces. Their encouraging, easy-to-follow instruction style makes learning fun—you'll be amazed by how quickly you achieve impressive results.

Written for those who want to enhance the quality and performance of their composite projects, Composites Fabrication Handbook #2 focuses on what it takes to truly optimize a composite lamination for high-performance use. Basic mold-making is covered in this book to help fabricators produce effective mold systems from a variety of molding materials. Several advanced molding techniques are demonstrated in-depth so the reader will be able to create their own parts using compression molding, ...

Discover the artist within and create beautiful stained glassBeautiful stained glass isn't reserved solely for church windows-it can be used to create intricate patterns in home windows, decorate cabinet doors, patio doors, ceilings, skylights, mirrors, lighting fixtures, garden decorations, and much more. Stained Glass For Dummies provides all the information you need to express your creativity and spruce up your home with this timeless art. You'll get a ...

The art of soldering—permanently joining metal components with a torch and solder—can open up a new world of creative possibilities for jewelry makers.In Hot Connections Jewelry, award-winning jewelry designer Jennifer Chin guides you through every step, from choosing a torch to basic techniques like sawing, filing, and riveting, as well as more advanced techniques like creating surface textures, setting stones, and using inlay.With 23 in-depth lessons and 15 stunn...

Teach yourself the lost arts of blacksmithing, tool design, and tool repair.Design, forge, and fix your own tools, hardware, and household accessories with master craftsman and teacher Alexander G. Weygers. The Complete Modern Blacksmith contains clear, step-by-step instructions and hundreds of the author’s own detailed drawings, bringing scores of time-honored techniques to modern artisans – experienced craftsmen and beginners alike.This unique re...

Building with straw bales is being embraced by amateurs and professionals for its versatility, comfort, environmental friendliness and high insulation. New methods should expand its growing worldwide popularity. In Practical Straw Bale Building, Murray Hollis uses simple, easy to understand language to describe the established techniques of straw bale construction and ways in which they can be improved. He also presents a new straw bale construction system that has substantial benefits over c...

The best book on the market that covers text on smithing, including the general principles of metalwork, types and properties of metals, tools, and techniques. Numerous diagrams, photos and illustrations enhance this in-depth, how-to book on silversmithing.

From learning about the right tools for the right jobs to looking at a plan and beginning your own project, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Woodworking teaches the novice woodworker all there is to know about this wonderful hobby.This step–by–step book takes you through the workshop, whether it's a shed in the backyard or a three-foot space in a one-bedroom apartment, showing you how to create beautiful pieces of furniture and decorative items with the right tools. You'll l...

Build quality furniture fast and simple!Beginning woodworkers (or experienced woodworkers who are looking for a weekend project) can accomplish these builds quickly.• Each project requires minimal woodworking experience and only hand and portable power tools--no need for expensive equipment.• These projects use only readily available materials that are easily found at your local home center, saving you lots of time and a few headaches.• Within...

Find extra room in your home and "inspiration for the storage-impaired" with these projects from the master carpenter and DIY Network host.Karl Champley offers fifty home improvement projects to maximize space in any dwelling, no matter how big or small. Keeping an eye on style and economy, Champley outlines tools, materials, and techniques for searching out and using hidden-away space to achieve incredible results.Learn how to carve out shelving niches betwe...