Robert Wearing

I found Robert Wearing's "The Essential Woodworker" to contain a lot of valuable information. I've got some woodworking experience and familiarity with woodworking tools and techniques. Even with that, I still learned a few things. At the same time I'll say that even with that experience there were points in the book at which I was having to reread a little bit to make sure I understood what was being said.

Part of the issue with not fully understanding on first reading is that the late show more author used terms that are likely more familiar to a British audience. Another point that would have helped the value of the book is that the illustrations in some cases could have used more clarity.

Overall, a worthy read for anyone interested in woodworking. show less

Grab this book when you are standing at your bench scratching your head. This book has all the little details left out of the other books. Exactly what you need to know to fit a door or a drawer and a hundred other aspects of building fine cabinets. Dry, but essential. Beware of English jargon (vs. American).

My understanding is that Lost Art Press contacted Robert Wearing in his retirement home to get their sturdy edition into print. Thank you.

This book was well written and well organized and the drawings were done good enough to help understand what the text was talking about. However, unless you are going for a more traditional wood shop, this book is a little outdated. For many of the tools and aids in this book it would be cheaper and easier to purchase the aid from a store. There are still several I plan to make for my self and there are many great ideas but over half the book is not really worth it.

The biggest irritant was show more this book was British, and he would refer to Clamps as Cramps and sand paper as glasspaper plus a few other things like that. Overall I would suggest trying a more up to date book if looking for ideas on shop aids. show less

"The Solution at Hand" was published by Lost Art Press in 2019, and it contains 157 jigs and fixtures that the noted woodworker Robert Wearing (1921-2020) had written about in the 20th Century. Everything in the book is something that a woodworker might encounter -- some more frequently than others. The drawings provided are quite good, but I think in some cases additional drawings might have been added to better demonstrate the use of a particular device.