Woodworking Projects for the Kitchen: 50 Useful, Easy-to-make Items

Provides instructions for making cutting boards, utensil racks, stools, shelves, stacking bins, plant stands, and cork boards

Woodworkers in need of ideas for Christmas gifts or simply for useful projects will find enough in here to keep them busy. Although a couple of the projects require skills and equipment beyond a beginner's, rudimentary expertise is all that's needed to successfully complete most. The planned products are mostly everyday kitchen items (including some--e.g., a spaghetti measurer and a wooden box for utensils--right out of a high school shop class); those who make a living from their crafts might find some saleable stuff here. The directions, it should be noted, are written for less experienced woodworkers; except for the especially complex projects, more experienced crafters will save time and money and make a better product by taking some logical shortcuts. Jon Kartman

Strom and Rankin ( Building Garden Furniture , LJ 5/1/93) force the reader to consider many of the common items in the kitchen that have the potential to beautify and increase the functionality of the area. They offer a plethora of projects of varying difficulty, from simple stands and boxes to a butcher block table. It is possible to start with the small projects and progress as one's skill level increases. The requisite items are all here: safety cautions, brief tool introductions, and straightforward, step-by-step plans. There are precise materials lists, as well as touches of humor and encouragement. Illustrations are bright, exact, and numerous. For woodworking collections.
- Alex Hartmann, Bloomsburg Univ. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.