Cabinetmaking: From Design To Finish
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Introduction | Table of Contents | Back Cover

Preface

The most impelling reason for anyone to work with wood is probably the satisfaction they get from seeing the finished product. So much of our everyday work is often cloaked in mass production methods that we never see an end product created by ourselves. Each of us may perform a single step or a group of steps in a manufacturing process, and often our work is fatiguing and dull. So we look for an escape.

Woodworking often fills this need. In addition to its function as a relief valve for tension, it produces a product-lasting and often quite beautiful. By careful selection of materials and designs, the finished product takes on its beauty. It incorporates the qualities of the materials and the skill of the craftsman.

This book provides you with basic knowledge of woodworking joinery so you can increase your skill, fashion a finer product, and create furniture that is structurally sound, is functional, and has lasting quality and beauty.

The book is divided into five homogeneous units that examine parts of the woodworking field. Unit I explains, and attempts to develop an interest in, the shapes, styles, and characteristics of furniture and cabinetry. Unit II develops methods of making individual cabinet joints in a variety of ways so that those who have only hand tools can make the joints. There are also descriptions for those who have some portable tools and for those with a full or partial shop of bench tools. Unit III details and illustrates how to combine the usual joints into combination joints that ultimately go into many cabinets. Each chapter in this Unit includes full-page preferred sequence instructions and illustrations so that the book may be set on the work bench as a ready reference. Unit IV presents a methodology for cabinet construction. In hopes of making the study more meaningful, a sample project is designed, planned, assembled, and finished. Unit V is a gathering of reference data that should prove very useful. A short chapter on fine woods is presented, followed by an appendix containing tables showing screws, nails, plywood, and other common building needs, and by a glossary of terms.

I wish to express my sincere thanks to all of those persons in the industries for their assistance in providing me with data and illustrations that have made this book more meaningful.

Unit I

Unit I consists of three chapters concerned with developing a sensitivity for the beauty of fine woodworking. We start by examining cabinets and furniture, studying six major styles in detail. Chapter 2 discusses the planning and designing of a modern kitchen, with emphasis on efficiency, safety, and style. Chapter 3 then defines cabinet shapes, using shop methods rather than engineering methods. Some of the tools featured in Chapter 3 are the square, dividers, twine, and the straightedge.

Introduction | Table of Contents | Back Cover