Classic Joints with Power Tools
Excellent reference shows alternative methods depending on what tools you have for cutting different joints.
Clear, thorough, beautiful
You will notice that all the reviews so far are 5-star... So why add another perfect-score review? To make it an even "ten?" No... to stop the bickering.
Yeung Chan is widely known for his excellent craftsmanship with hand-tools, so it surprises some people to see him write authoritatively on this subject. I believe that if you knew him, you would see he is a practical man. He understands the value of both worlds. That isn't so surprising considering his background; a Chinese-born immigrant who "made-good" in the USA through hard work and dedication to his art. He brings a refreshing light of common sense to the craft, and extols no pre-conceived bias against hand-tools or power tools.
You would be hard pressed to find a better single volume book on this specific subject. I say that as a man who has been around woodworking ALL his fifty-five years. I literally grew up in my father's violin shop, so my primary experience was exclusively with hand tools. So for certain operations I naturally prefer hand tools. But I believe when you read this book it will end, once-and-for-all, the ridiculous debate between the two camps. Each style of woodworking has its merits and nobody should shun or kowtow to the other.
To seek mastery you must also practice hand-tools methods, a fact that Mr. Chan readily states in several places. To make a living, with fast, repeatable, precision joinery, power tools are our friends. Even for the hobbyist, power tools are necessary if he wants to create that present in time for a birthday.
When I hear people denigrate power-tool methods in favor of hand craftsmanship, I ask them if they used a horse and buggy to pull the log back from the forrest where they cut-down a tree with an axe to then saw and mill it by hand themselves. As a guy who has done that, I can tell you it is NO WAY to make a living.
Most woodworkers buy boards from a mill, so they are already taking advantage of power tools in the production process. They drive home in their cars and turn on electric lights in their air-conditioned homes. Those are ALL power tools. EVEN MOST HAND TOOLS are MADE WITH POWER TOOLS!
So... the only argument then is how far do you want to take that process?
To further quell any debate between power-tool vs. hand-tool camps, the forward is by Frank Klausz, an acknowledged hand-tool master.
For practical people, power tools are necessary. This book shows all the standard machine-methods and shows advanced methods and jigs for joinery that are hard to find elsewhere. The photos prove these are practical ideas and there are clear instructions with every concept.
Like others here, I recommend this book as the best of its kind on this subject for content and clarity. But I also recommend it as a practical guide to anyone who is confused about the power-tool vs. hand-tool debate. It does not make you less of a craftsman when you choose to use power-tools, any more than it makes you more a craftsman if you don't. It WILL make you an effete if you exclusively use one method to the exclusion of the other.
If you have ANY interest in woodworking with power tools, it makes sense, in a Zen-like way, to learn from an acknowledged hand-tool master. Yeung Chan is The Man. This is The Book.
Practical power-tool joinery - straightforward and easy to understand
I have a lot of woodworking books. About 60 of them.
Yeung Chan's book is one of the best and most practical
of them all. He shows several ways to make each joint
so even with a modestly equipped shop you'll be able
to make quality joints.
Yeung's jig designs are great too. They aren't complicated
or hard to build and he explains how to make sure they
are accurate.
Gary Rogowski also wrote some great books about
making joints - but if you get just one get Classic Joints
with Power Tools.
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