The Beginner's Handbook of Woodcarving: With Project Patterns for Line Carving, Relief Carving, Carving in the Round, and Bird Carving

My daughter liked this book, very informative

The information in this book covers more than enough material for beginners. The item included are very well written and helpful for all levels of wood workers! I have been carving for many years and purchased this for my great-grand children.

Lots of great information in here. Some of it is quite dated though. Because this is the digital version you miss out on the patterns as they are not downloadable. But everything in the book was good information.

Bought for my 10-year old grandson who loves working with his hands ... on something else besides joy sticks & computer buttons! This is a great reference for him & his dad. Yes, the pictures are very dated & in black n white. BUT woodcarving is woodcarving. Nothing high tech about it so the information from the 1970s is still valid & useful today. The step-by-step directions, the designs & plans are very adequate, especially for beginners. My grandson has been carving for about a month now & still goes back to read this reference. That's a good recommendation

If you need an overview of woodcarving and were not very picky about the need for step by step assistance, this book would work for you. It does go over the basic cuts and offers text on a variety of topics in wood carving, i.e. types of woodcarving, tools, materials, painting, etc. It provides a number of patterns, many of them fairly cheesy and probably would not appeal to most starting out. There is a nice selection of bird patterns, but not much pictoral instructions on how to carve them. You would probably be better off with a different beginner's book with more appealing projects and then find books on specific woodcarving interests from there.

I already have a semi-hobby of carving relief and walking sticks. Highly recommend this for anyone who is thinking about starting such a hobby. Even though I subscribe to wood carving magazines and research on-line, I still loved the book for its presentation and patterns. Very good. Only caveat: There is no mention of necessary safety precautions for wood carving such as the use of Kevlar gloves, avoiding personal injury by improper cutting methods, how to grip the tools, etc. Otherwise a great starter (and experienced) reference.

this is the best book for anyone who would like to begin or consider woodcarving ..it gives the information you need to begin and many ideas to add to your selection if you are already a woodcarver..the thougth and experience in the book shows everyone the procees in an orderly way and will help anyone interested in woodcarving new or old.

Enjoy the examples of carving and learning how to car. It’s a great book for beginners too.

I think it's a good book for beginners. It includes some interesting background information on every aspect of carving, wood selection, tools, techniques, patterns. If your just starting out it's well worth the investment.

A good book !!

Good information

Fabulous book for a beginner such as myself. Since starting carving I've bought a number of books that have not quite hot the mark because they're mostly based on what an expert can do...but, this one, really satisfies,and I know I will get lots nice hours of carving practice from this ... Thanks to the author

This book actually teaches you ! I've found, in the past, that the the topic revolves round the authors expertise and is not directed at the reader.Excellent book.