Build Your Own Entertainment Centers (ISBN 1558704361)

for the 70's:
This book is fine if you want to build old style entertainment centers, but if you want something a little more modern for your Big screen tv or sound system, this is not the book you want.

Old Style Basics:
If you have a big imagination, you might be able to build an entertainment center with style from this book. All of the plans a basically the same with a few changes to give it a different look. You could say it was not what I was really looking for. I have a widescreen TV that would by no means fit in any of these designs, nor do I even like the "look" of these designs. Too many changes had to be made to give it an up to date size/look.

Of limited use:
The description tells of different styles (Shaker, Mission, Country and Contemporary) - this is relatively untrue. They have taken a basic design and reworked it to have a few different designs. This book is good for non-woodworkers who do not want to spend the cash on an entertainment center (actually this is partially true, since you will need a router, a table saw, a band saw, a drill press and clamps... so you might as well buy the entertainment center!) It has an okay section on making cabinet doors and building drawers. I guess my major gripe about this book is that I really don't like the basic design, and all other designs are rehashes of this one. I have build my entertainment center without using this book.

Many errors and missing steps make for very poor plans:
I bought this book with the hope that by using somebody elses plans (rather than drawing my own) I would not have to worry about calculating all the dimensions and designing as I go along. Unfortunately, this book has so many errors and ommissions in the plans that you cannot trust any dimension he gives. Parts and steps that are necessary to complete a unit are missing. Don't waste your money on this book. They obviously didn't waste time proofreading it...