The Bottom Line
The Illustrated Guide to Cabinet Doors and Drawers by David Getts (Linden Publishing, (c) 2004) bills itself as a guide to design, detail and construction of cabinet doors and drawers. While the book is loaded with informative pictures and drawings that are great for finding ideas for designers, the book really is short on how-to information that would help the novice woodworker build the doors and drawers shown in the book.
The book does have merit - I found some really interesting ideas for projects I'd like to build, but I'd have to look elsewhere if I needed help in learning how to build them.
The book does have merit - I found some really interesting ideas for projects I'd like to build, but I'd have to look elsewhere if I needed help in learning how to build them.
Pros
- Plenty of pictures and drawings
- Contains a 20-page door and drawer gallery, which includes over 150 different styles
- Useful contact information for suppliers in the back of the book
Cons
- Book is long on showing styles, but short on instruction.
Description
- Interesting chapters include a look at door styles throughout history or a pictorial tour through a commercial wood shop.
- Includes a useful chapter on installation of hinges and drawer slides.
- With hundreds of pictures and drawings, the book is great for designers looking for ideas, but short on how-to info.
Guide Review - The Illustrated Guide to Cabinet Doors and Drawers
As I mentioned earlier, The Illustrated Guide to Cabinet Doors and Drawers is a book that would really appeal to designers and homeowners looking for ideas to implement in their homes. And while there is some limited instruction for some of the items shown, it is quite limited.
Instead, the book seems to focus on touching on a wide variety of subjects without going into a lot of detail on any of them. For the very beginning woodworker, there might be some good foundation tidbits throughout the book (such as descriptions of different styles of doors, explaining the basics of raised-panel doors, etc.), but not a lot of meat beyond that point.
As a design guide, I found it quite interesting, and well worth the purchase price. As a how-to guide, I found it wanting.
Instead, the book seems to focus on touching on a wide variety of subjects without going into a lot of detail on any of them. For the very beginning woodworker, there might be some good foundation tidbits throughout the book (such as descriptions of different styles of doors, explaining the basics of raised-panel doors, etc.), but not a lot of meat beyond that point.
As a design guide, I found it quite interesting, and well worth the purchase price. As a how-to guide, I found it wanting.
