Woodturning: A Foundation Course

This is one of a couple of books I read cover to cover and over again before I bought my first lathe. The information is fantastic and easy to understand, although it would have helped if I had a lathe at the same time when he was explaining tool techniques but it was easy enough to pick up quickly once I got started. The projects are good as well giving you a place to get yourself started if you are looking at that chunk of wood with only a blank picture in your head. A month later I am going strong with my lathe, turning bowls, goblets, coasters, dibbers etc but I still constantly refer to Keith's book when I need a little help so it has been well worth every cent To all people thinking about woodturning as a new hobby, this book is an absolute must.

I am just beginning setting up to do turning. This book is terrific . Starts with what woods are good to use. The must know about different woods. Covers tools and their use. Sharping of tools. and instructions for the use of each tool. pictures in color of how to use the tools. Complete with projects to start out with. I think this is perfect for amatures in turning. I use it every day to study .

Great book. The DVD is very useful - I keep playing it and every time I hear something new or get reminded by something that I see but was half forgetting. I'm just learning to turn, and don't have too many people looking over my shoulder to correct me, so the book and DVD will have to do the trick. So far, progress is good.

I choose this rating because I have never turned wood in my life. I found the DVD pretty informative. I have to admit. I also bought the compainion book that goes along with the DVD. I watched the DVD first and then read the book and then watched the DVD again. The combination gave a pretty thorough and enlightening understanding all all the parts and processes of woodturning. This book not only is great especially for the beginner, but there are some insightful things in both the DVD and the book (same title as the DVD) for more experienced turner's as well. It is well worth the money I paid for this product. If you are considering getting into turning as I am I would hightly recomend that you get this DVD. It will answer a lot of your questions. I am sure I will be watching it over again as I get into turning, to make things easier as I gain experience.

If you want to learn to turn wood, this is the book for you. Keith's explanations on tool use, the illustrations, and sharpening instruction are top notch. Most woodturning books sound like some 4 dimensional game of twister when describing the use of a tool. Keith keeps it simple and easy to understand. Sharpening turning tools is one of the most daunting tasks a beginner faces, but Keith makes it simple to understand. I HIGHLY recommend this book (and I have a ton of turning books to compare it to).

This is an excellent woodturning book and contained exactly what I was looking for - this book had a heavy focus on the precise tool movements required to safely and confidently perform the various turning features one will commonly use. As a beginner at woodturning, catches are my biggest fear and this book provided me the confidence to safely perform all of the turning techniques I wanted for my projects. Included various good project ideas. Even came with a DVD, although I have yet to watch it.

Perhaps I simply don't understand the material, but I find some of the information in the book to be conflicting. For example, Chapter 4 "On Sharpening" pictures a parting tool on page 35 that is described as "unsuitable" due to the fact that its bevel is far too acute. Then, in suggesting sharpening equipment, the author writes "My grinder is equipped with two 7in-diameter ... wheels ...". I have never been able to grind an edge on a parting tool, except perhaps for miniature tools, that does not develop an accute bevel using a wheel with a diameter as small as 7 inches. I built the sharpening jig described in the book and find it to be a very useful tool.

A very good book on my first skim through of the pages. I will normal flip through the pages of a new book to become familiar with it. IMHO it's designed for the beginners crown, which I a proud member. The author keeps my interests. The chapter on sharpening was informative. IMHO we (woodturners) must get good at sharpening your tools in order to make high quality wood products. The video was a little dry. There's no fancy setup here, expect no bells and whistles. The author is a true Englishman, but I didn't find his writing or speaking difficult to understand. Personally after reading this book and taking from it the most important points, I will be a better wood turner. Hopefully this helps.

This is a great book for those starting out in wood turning covering all of the fundamental aspects of the hobby including some progressive projects which will help develop your skills. The accompanying DVD is also very good, however I feel that no prizes will be won in terms of dynamic presentation, it felt like a woodworking lesson from a 1950's classroom, having said that the information is very useful, and well worth watching. What is nice is that it is a British guide unlike so many others that come from America. Highly recommended

As a noob, this book is full of the information you just can't find on YouTube. Very well written, well laid out, and it progresses through the necessary knowledge and skills in a well thought out manner. I recommend it for anyone new to woodturning - like me!

Très bon livre pour les autodidactes ou les apprentis tourneurs. Très bon rapport qualité-prix (livre + dvd inclus) par rapport aux ouvrages français. Le contenu du DVD est un peu vieillot par rapport a ce qui se fait maintenant mais ca peut aider. J'ai particulièrement apprécié les règles à suivre pour bien tourner et les explications schématisées des erreurs à ne pas commettre. C'est ce qui fait que ce livre restera une de mes références sur le sujet.

i liked this book so much i had to recommend it for a friend who is just starting to learn how to use a wood lathe she and her husband are enjoying it too

Dit is een uitstekend informatief lesboek voor houtdraaiers. "Goede wijn behoeft geen krans", en is zijn geld dubbel waard. Wie slim is koopt het, en krijgt er geen spijt van!. En je leert jezelf ook nog eens gratis technisch Engels. Doen dus!!