Classic Joints with Power Tools (ISBN 1579902790)

Engineered To Simplicity, A Powerful Book:
Classic Joints with Power Tools by Yeung Chan is unique amongst books on wood working. Logical, concise, and written by someone with a wealth of experience. The unique thing is how adept he is in explaining it; yes, an excellent teacher. When you see some of the pictures of work the author completed, which is included in the book in full color, as well as pictures of works created by others, you realize that this is the work of someone who practices what he preaches. Simple yet profound. One tip for example, is when cutting stock, cut it 1/4" oversize, then re-joint it, and re-cut it to final size. You know the problem of cutting a board, and the internal stress makes the board move a little. Then you have an edge cup in your piece. By cutting and jointing it twice, you eliminate that. What a great idea. This book is made for the master woodworker, and the beginner alike. For the master; so they can compare techniques, and glean a new bent on methods, and for the beginner, because they can learn the simple truth of the best way of creating the right joint, using the best procedure. I can't recommend this book enough. It makes for a great read, and a convenient reference guide, due to the fact that it is laid out so logically. Buy it you won't be sorry.

Joints with powertools:
This is a top book on joints. This books deals exclusively with joints and is full of information. There are some jigs shown at the beginning with plans that will allow you to create some of the common or not so common joints. The book is written simply and is attractive. If you use your table saw a lot you will like this book but a router and bandsaw are used in some of the joints. In the back of the book there is a small gallery. If you ever had any questions about joints they are probably explained in this book. I am pleased with this book you should also be.

Practical power-tool joinery - straightforward and easy to understand:
I have a lot of woodworking books. About 60 of them. Yeung Chan's book is one of the best and most practical of them all. He shows several ways to make each joint so even with a modestly equipped shop you'll be able to make quality joints. Yeung's jig designs are great too. They aren't complicated or hard to build and he explains how to make sure they are accurate. Gary Rogowski also wrote some great books about making joints - but if you get just one get Classic Joints with Power Tools.

Inventive machining:
This book is absolutely engrossing. Mr. Chan is inventive and does a great job of demonstrating how to re-create his designs.

First Hand Experience:
I would like to highly recommend this book. I recently had the opportunity to attend a class on Chair Design and Construction. The instructor was Mr. Chan. As a weekend workworker I have always dreamed of one day designing and building a chair but thought that day was still pretty far into my future. Mr. Chan's prop for the class was a classic reproduction of a Ming Dynasty chair he built. He described how he first understood the joinery techniques, then how he replicated those joints by hand then then finally with power tools. His book describes many of those techniques. I use this book as a reference to joint design and to remind me of the wonderful experience of the class.