Make: Tools: How They Work and How to Use Them (Make: Technology on Your Time)

This book is a gem. If you're lucky, you learned these skills by osmosis when you were young. Too many people (myself included) did not. This book is perfectly structured to teach a young adult, new homeowner, eager parent, or someone in search of an open-ended hobby. The chapters sequentially introduce new skills, with achievable projects that will lead to new ideas of your own. For the tools needed, specific manufacturers and part names are suggested, but the author freely admits there are several varieties, and favors none. There are well-written asides to add depth to your understanding, and direction for where you might gain even more knowledge. The style of writing is so good that you can picture the author sitting with you, talking you through a project and sharing what he knows--patiently, eagerly, and humbly. Children learn by playing--doing something, adjusting, trying again, not particularly concerned with the final result, just enjoying the process. It's harder for adults to learn. We don't like the embarrassment of being unskilled; we want the rapid good outcome, and we don't always have open-ended time to practice and explore. This book will make the most of your time, with a minimum of perceived embarrassment, and a make an achievable and respectable final product. This book is ideal for those who want these creative, constructive, and useful abilities. Maybe you'll work through these chapters and projects with your children. You can. Maybe you have dreams of making a wooden toy for your grandchildren. You will. Perhaps you have visions of attacking larger woodworking projects from those books that naturally assume you know your way around a shop. You'll get there. This book can be the beginning. I highly recommend it without reservation.

Na

Nice book

It's a basic starting point for working with tools and media, including woodcraft. Great for a beginner or if your just rusty

As an experienced builder and hobbyist I expected this book to be too simple for my tastes but from the first moment I opened it both the content and style have astounded me with their depth and approachability. Platt has written one of the most engaging how-to books I have ever read; he dives right into projects and encourages the reader to do the same, with pictures and text that do an amazing job of teaching concepts that simultaneously build confidence and skills you can use across a wide range of disciplines. His explanation and techniques regarding thermoforming plastic are incredibly unique & introduced me to a world of virtually limitless potential for hobbyist projects. Don't be fooled by the title, this book goes well beyond tool use and delves into template, pattern & jig making that are at the same time simple, useful and adaptable to even the most complex projects. All done with patience and humor that has left me satisfied, educated and entertained. Even learned a bunch about geometry & statistical randomness that has finally allowed me to make sense of all those concepts my 7th grade teacher failed so miserably to get across! Well done, Platt!

This book isn't what you expect from the Make! Series, because it's not really about high tech gadgets. It's not even really mostly about power tools (though it does give some information about a few). This is a book mostly about woodworking and hand tools. I do a bit of woodworking, though I am a tech geek at heart. Reading through the book I learned a few things I didn't know. Like most Make books, Make: Tools teaches you through projects. Most of the projects are simple: a few boxes, a book shelf, some puzzles and frames. However, even if you don't do the project, you can learn a lot by just reading through it. There is a little bit of information on working with plastics, which is kind of unique. They have a project that combines plastic and wood (a clock box) and then some plastic boxes. Since things like wood shop aren't taught anymore, it can be difficult to start woodworking simple projects. There are lots of hand tools, many different varieties of wood and then when you settle on a variety, there's 1/2 in, 1/4 in, etc. This book can help a beginner navigate some of this confusion. If you're looking for power tools or tech tools, it really won't help you. It gives about a paragraph description on most power tools, and it doesn't really give any advice on what to look for or how to pick them. That being said, it's a fun read. The author says the book is aimed at people aged 10-20 and that's a good age group for this book, but I would say if you are older and clueless about tools, but long to make something out of wood, this book would be a good starting point.

This is a different sort of how-to book than i'm used to, for two major reasons: 1) The philosophy is, basically, that power tools and fancy modern 3D printers and stuff have their place, but knowing how to use basic hand tools properly is a skill set useful far beyond building your own bookshelf or block-puzzle. 2) It's snarky. Hidden here and there are lovely little quips, bits of dry humor that make the book so much more interesting than 'cut this to such and such size, nail to it that...' I'm not saying any normal person would just sit down and read it for the pleasure of reading, but if your goal is to acquire the skills this book teaches, i'm not sure i can think of a better way to do so than with this book. The projects start at a fairly simple level, just a dowel and a saw and glue (ok, fine, and clamps), and incrementally increase in complexity as they go. When each tool is introduced, there's a couple-page spread on what it is, how it works, common variations and what the differences are, and so on. Each project builds on the previous ones as well, so you're motivated to do each one well instead of just dumping the jagged mess into a corner and moving on to the next because it looks more interesting.

This book would make the perfect gift for a grandpa to give to his grandson or granddaughter prior to a hands on workshop lesson in woodworking. The book is full of pictures and easy to understand chapters on the basics of tools and how (and why) they work. This book is back to the basics – no fancy schmancy 3D printer stuff here. The kids will learn about sawing, sanding, gluing and clamping. There are projects galore that will be within the skill range of 9 year olds up. They’ll learn about mitered corners and framing. These are skills that the child will carry through life. I remember my first apartment where I built simple bookcases because I couldn’t afford to purchase any. All of the projects in this book also serve a purpose in expanding the math and cognitive skills of young builders. With a flat board and 145 nails they can visually see how marbles are affected by uncontrolled variables. They can build their own bean machine (think Pachinko) and bring the bell curve to life. They will learn about drilling and fitting while making a Swanee Wood Whistle. Box building turns into simple furniture. I could go on and on about the projects presented in this book – all simplified for the beginner – yet without talking down to them. This is a good book for any child from about 9 up or for that matter, any beginner into the world of building with basic tools. A scout leader would benefit, any adult in a position of teaching skills to our next generation will find this a necessary addition to their reference library. I'd give this book more than 5 stars if I was able.

All of Charles Platt’s books are great and this is no exception. This is a project based book with the intent on learning how to use basic hand tools. Some of the projects are a bit basic for the more advanced learner. However, one often finds that he or she can be taught a new trick or two (or maybe never learned the proper way to use a certain tool). I like how there is an “errata” - basically a website that has corrections for the book. That way confusion is kept to a minimum. A really high quality and interesting book.

I was not sure what to expect from this book. I have enjoyed getting into maker culture but I have no background in using tools. I learned about tools as my cub scouts did, just as I learnes about electronics with them through Platt's excellent Electronics and More Electronics books. This book is covers the basics on common tools, and gives projects to practice with.

This book is a gem. If you're lucky, you learned these skills by osmosis when you were young. Too many people (myself included) did not. This book is perfectly structured to teach a young adult, new homeowner, eager parent, or someone in search of an open-ended hobby. The chapters sequentially introduce new skills, with achievable projects that will lead to new ideas of your own. For the tools needed, specific manufacturers and part names are suggested, but the author freely admits there are several varieties, and favors none. There are well-written asides to add depth to your understanding, and direction for where you might gain even more knowledge. The style of writing is so good that you can picture the author sitting with you, talking you through a project and sharing what he knows--patiently, eagerly, and humbly. Children learn by playing--doing something, adjusting, trying again, not particularly concerned with the final result, just enjoying the process. It's harder for adults to learn. We don't like the embarrassment of being unskilled; we want the rapid good outcome, and we don't always have open-ended time to practice and explore. This book will make the most of your time, with a minimum of perceived embarrassment, and a make an achievable and respectable final product. This book is ideal for those who want these creative, constructive, and useful abilities. Maybe you'll work through these chapters and projects with your children. You can. Maybe you have dreams of making a wooden toy for your grandchildren. You will. Perhaps you have visions of attacking larger woodworking projects from those books that naturally assume you know your way around a shop. You'll get there. This book can be the beginning. I highly recommend it without reservation.

Na

Nice book