Showing posts with label beginners guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beginners guide. Show all posts

Auto Upholstery & Interiors (HPBOOKS 1265) Review

Auto Upholstery and Interiors (HPBOOKS 1265)
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This book covers too many topics and does not provide adequate detail on any specific area of auto interiors. For example, the book states that seat foam should be replaced with the proper density foam, but does give any information on density specifications or typical foam types and densities used in auto seats. The book also devotes considerable space to subjects such as: painting, rust treatment, polishing and cleaning. These subjects are too general to be included in a book specific to upholstery and interiors. Many of the photographs are "before and after" pictures which do not aid in explaining methods or techniques. Not recommended for the do-it-yourselfer looking for complete step by step procedures. The book contains only 136 numbered pages.

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Featuring information on steering wheels, trunks, dyes and color changes, Auto Upholstery & Interiors presents a helpful, user-friendly guide to replacing headliners, laying custom carpets, repairing dashboards, making custom seats, and more.

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Chairmaking Simplified: 24 Projects Using Shop-Made Jigs (Popular Woodworking) Review

Chairmaking Simplified: 24 Projects Using Shop-Made Jigs (Popular Woodworking)
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I bought this book because I was interested in learning how to make shaker chairs, and wanted a thorough, comprehensive treatment of the details. This book comes very close to achieving all I had hoped for it, but it has a fatal flaw. First, let me explain the good points. The book does provide a comprehensive and thorough treatment of building shaker chairs from turning legs and rungs on the lathe through mortising the legs, shaping arms, rockers, and weaving the seat with shaker chair tape as well as rushes. The book is well organized and the author's approach seems quite appealing. The author does a terrific job of explaining nearly every phase of shaker chair building. Now for the fatal flaw. The author's approach relies completely upon two clever jigs: a front mortise rung jig (FMRJ) and a side mortise rung jig (SMRJ). The book provides (on page 67) drawings for the two jigs as well as some photographs of them on other pages. Unfortunately, the jigs cannot be built with the information provided in the drawings. In the SMRJ, for example, there is a trapezoidal shaped piece. The drawing provides the height of the longer leg of the trapezoid, but not the height of the shorter leg. Since the relative dimensions of these two legs determine the critical angle at which mortises are drilled, you really need this information to build the jig. This dimension cannot be determined by other information in the drawing nor can it be determined from information given in the text. Furthermore, the critical angle is discussed in general terms in the text, but nowhere specified (had it been, the dimension needed could have been worked out with elementary trigonometry).
The situation with the FMRJ is not any better. One of the dimensions in the drawing is missing. Furthermore, the photographs of the jig in the book do NOT correspond to the drawing. Thus it is pretty well impossible to determine exactly how to build this jig. The only thing that alleviates this situation is that, in this case, the jig is used to drill mortises at a 90 degree angle. Thus, one can see exactly what is intended and, I believe it would be pretty straightforward to design a jig to accomplish the intended task.
One final caveat. The section on turning and sharpening may be a questionable inclusion. Other books dealing solely with turning (Darlow's books, for example) provide a much more comprehensive (and better) treatment of turning and sharpening. I suppose its inclusion can be justified on the basis of providing a complete reference under one cover.
Without the two jigs, however, the author's approach cannot be carried out. While some experimentation (involving wasted time, material, and money on the reader's part) may resolve the dimensioning problems with the jig drawings, it irks me to have to spend my time and money doing so when a competent editing job could have obviated the necessity of doing so.
The author came very close to having a true classic here (one which would have rated 5 stars easily, and was prevented from doing so only by a careless editor. My advice to the author: find a way to get an addendum to the book out on the web correcting these errors.


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"Chairmaking Simplified" offers the complete chair experience for woodworkers by providing not only step-by-step instructions for an in-depth education on chairmaking but also a history of chair design and a section on how to design a comfortable chair.Other titles have covered very specific chairs such as Windsor or Shaker, but this is the first title to break the chairmaking process into simple steps with jigs that can be used to create a variety of chair styles and configurations (with many never before published). At least one favourite for every woodworker is guaranteed. Kerry's jigs simplify the process of chairmaking, and his voice offers clear, easy instruction.

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40 Fundamentals of English Riding: Essential Lessons in Riding Right (Book & DVD) Review

40 Fundamentals of English Riding: Essential Lessons in Riding Right (Book and DVD)
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Hollie McNeil's new guide is essential to every rider who wants to master English riding. Her fresh and unique approach has spurred me on to new levels of exploration and learning. Whether you are a casual rider or a highly competitive one, this book will elevate your experience. It has for me.


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Master the 40 basic elements essential to all riders in the classic disciplines of dressage, jumping, and eventing with this book and 90-minute DVD showing action sequences for each fundamental. These fundamentals include correct seat, leg, and hand positions for the rider; the three basic gaits of walk, trot, and canter; how to perform halt and half-halt; how to direct a horse's movement correctly and energetically; the stages of the training scale (rhythm, looseness, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection); and how to perform basic schooling figures in the arena, from circles and serpentines to diagonals. Each fundamental is defined and explained in text and photos throughout the book, as well as in the 90-minute DVD, with an emphasis on how to avoid common errors. The DVD won a Telly Award for excellence in video production.

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Automotive Upholstery Handbook Review

Automotive Upholstery Handbook
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This inexpensive handbook introduces many key methods for making and installing automotive upholstery. The focus of this text is on restoration (stock replacement) projects and covers everything from carpeting and seat covers, to headliners, door panels and convertible tops. Basic projects for trucks, vans and boats are also included.
This is probably the best introduction to auto upholstery sewing techniques that I've come across. This text is packed full of photographs and the steps outlined very clearly to take you from beginning to end of an upholstery restoration project as smoothly as possible.
A few minor criticisms on this text: all photographs in this text are black & white, and some of them are not as clear as they could be; pattern making is relatively bushed over (in favor of working on the actual fabric to be used); and a few very commonly used techniques are left out (although you will find them in Taylor's "Custom Auto Interiors" book).
All in all, this is an excellent introduction to auto upholstery techniques, a great time and money saver, and will get you off to a very good start. This book will tell you everything you need to know to restore your car's interior, making it look brand new.
If you are interested in creating custom upholstery and interiors, however, you'll need another book, as this text does not cover custom auto trim work. "Custom Auto Interiors" by Don Taylor and Ron "The Stitcher" Mangus beautifully covers custom auto upholstery/fabrication techniques, and together with the Automotive Upholstery Handbook, will provide you everything you need to know to create an incredible custom interior for your next custom project.

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In this revised edition, learn to make and install complete interiors in your car, truck or van. The author teaches you how to sew like an expert, and avoid costly mistakes. Learn to recover and build bench bucket seats, make headliners and carpets, plus how to build boat seats from scratch. Materials are described with specific recommendations for vinyl, cloth, velvet, leather, Nimbus, panel board, etc. Indispensable for anyone interested in upholstery.

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Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies Review

Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies
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This is a very good book. I am a teacher and a parent and of the many books I have read about teaching children to read this is the one I recommend most to parents. The author includes all the important things to teach a beginning reader and presents it in a way that is easy for any parent to read. She also emphasises that reading should be fun which is especially important in these early years. A good buy.

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You're thinking of teaching a child to read. What a great idea! Now all you need is exactly the right blueprint. This easy-to-follow book is written with two people in mind; you, and the child you're thinking of teaching. Mother and children's reading specialist Tracey Wood gives you all the down-to-earth, honest information you need to give a child a happy, solid start with reading.
Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies is for parents of young children who want to give their kids a head start by teaching them to read before they enter school or to supplement their children's school instruction, as well as teachers and caregivers of young children. Filled with hands-on activities that progress a child from sounds to words to sentences to books, this friendly guide shows you how to:
Prepare a child to read
Sharpen his listening skills
Correct her errors graciously
Choose the right books
Have kids read out loud
Find help if you need it

Whether the child you want to teach is two or twelve; fast paced or steady; an absolute beginner or someone who's begun but could use a little help, this empathetic book shows you how to adapt the simple, fun activities to your child's individual needs. You'll see how to make activities age appropriate, how to add more challenge or support, and how to make gender allowances if that's relevant.
Plus, you'll discover how to:
Lay the foundation for good reading skills
Tell the difference between a reading delay and a reading problem
Help your child build words from letters and sounds, advance to short and long vowel words, and conquer syllables and silent letters
Select entertaining workbooks, recycle them, and make up your own reading activities
Get your child ready for sentences
Keep your child reading — with others or on his own

Complete with lists of word families, phonics rules, and reading resources, Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies will help you make learning fun for your child as he or she develops this critical skill!

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Home Knits - Luxurious Handknits For Every Room Of The House Review

Home Knits - Luxurious Handknits For Every Room Of The House
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I admit I'm not a fan of knitting odd objects just for the sake of knitting, but even so, I found this book surprisingly uninspiring. The colors range from white to beige, with a little cream and brown thrown in for variety, which some might find soothing but seemed just dull to me. As for the patterns, most knitters who are not total beginners don't need a pattern to do a square stockinette pillow or, for pete's sake, a coaster. The items that do need patterns are not things most people knit and for good reason - who needs to spend hours on lampshade covers, vase cozys, or shoe bags? Chair cushions, sure - except these had big buttons on them - so NOT comfortable. Last but not least, each and every pattern calls for the author's own brand of yarn. I'm not thinking that this book is going to sell much of it for her.

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