The Table Saw Book
by R.J. De Christoforo
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Book Reviews of The Table Saw Book
Book Review: Excellent First Choice
Summary: 5 Stars
I was lucky enough to buy this book before even shopping for my first saw. He doesn't actually recommend one model of saw over another (that would date the book very quickly), but instead explains the strengths and weaknesses of the various features.With the knowledge I gained, I was able to make a smart purchase. I wish I'd had a larger budget, but with this book in hand, I was able to align and tune my cheapish purchase to perfection. Taking his advice, I made a few choice accessory purchases (such as the Ripstrate) that improved accuracy and safety remarkably.
Two years later, this is still the only table saw book I own, though it's dog-eared by now. Mr. de Cristoforo is excellent at describing techniques, and the many accessory and jig plans he provides help turn my fairly-good machine into a precision device, good for just about anything 'cept mitering expensive 8' trim sections (as I found out today to my chagrin...)
A final testimony: I'm trying to switch my career to finish carpenter/cabinetmaker, and am now avidly in search of his out-of-print book "Woodworking For Beginners." I'm not a beginner any more, but I'm sure this man can teach me things I don't know.
Book Review: Excellent--especially when combined with Mehler's book
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent, very detailed introduction to the table saw. B&W photos are sharp and clear, and the explations are tightly written. You can tell that the author clearly enjoys not only working in the shop but helping others to share in that enjoyment.
While the book is almost 20 years older than Kelly Mehler's book of the same name, it's still current and valuable. Mehler's book is visually more engaging but just doesn't have the level of detail included in De Christoforo's book.
I bought both Mehler's and De Christoforo's books. I find myself referring to both of them--Mehler for high-level information and De Christoforo's for more in-depth explanations.
Book Review: Good information, but Bad Layout makes it a difficult read
Summary: 3 Stars
The information in this book is very good. What keeps it from being really excellent choice is the lack of COLOR photos and the frustrating layout of the text. There are numerous references to the black-n-white photos (e.g. "Fig. 4-5", or "Fig. 6-8") that are rarely found on the same page that references them. This results in a constant search - as much as 4 pages ahead(!) - for the photo that the text is refering to. In some cases, there is no reason for not including the photo on the same page. It's a maddening back-n-forth scramble all over the book.
Whomever put this book together was an ..., and did the author a disservice.
Book Review: Good content - poor layout
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to echo the opinion of the reviewer who complained about the layout of this book. While the content is good, with an abundance of illustrations, I found it quite frustrating to follow text passages that reference illustrations located 8 to 10 pages ahead. It appears that little or no effort was made to locate pictures and drawings on pages near the relevant text. While this may seem trivial to some, I consider it a serious flaw that detracts from an otherwise excellent tutorial on table saw basics.Book Review: The best Ideas
Summary: 5 Stars
My experiences with this book are great.
After reading it my skills with the table saw improved a great deal, specially because I was looking for accuracy tips.
No jigs in the whole book are dimensioned but at least for me were enough information to solve almost all my problems making big pieces of furniture
I strongly recommend this book if you want to learn table saw usage, jig making, and safety practices.
Good Reading!!! , best practice!!!