Knitting with Wire: A Very Practical Guide to the Home Workshop

'Knitting With Wire' is a book designed to be a very practical guide for the Home Workshop. Andrew has had a lifetime of working with wood, initially making spinning wheels, furniture and joinery, then including various metals, acrylic and other media into his kaleidoscopes. While living in India for two years and seeing workers struggling to perform some quite fundamental tasks in very simple workshops, he thought it would be a good idea to write a book that passed on all the information, ideas and shortcuts he had learnt and developed over the years. Specifically, that it is possible to achieve, in a very basic workshop, things that are usually imagined to need expensive equipment, but that can be done easily and cheaply by thinking a little outside the square. His aim is to make workshop time more enjoyable, productive, and of course, safe. The book is not intended to be overly technical, but instead presents the reader with a host of simple advice and techniques to overcome production problems in a Home Workshop. Many of the ideas are just as relevant when working with wood or metal, and the reader is encouraged to build on and develop the hints to fulfil their own individual goals. 'Knitting with Wire' is written in an easy to understand and almost conversational style, supported by a large number of photos and diagrams to illustrate the various points and practices. From advice and tips on marking out, sharpening, drilling and grinding, using saws, planers, shapers and wood and engineer's lathes, 'Knitting with Wire' also has sections on a wide variety of fields that the hobbyist may meet; threading, welding, making and tempering tools and working with acrylic. Important issues such as electric motors, compressed air, dust extraction, laminating, gluing and finishing wood, powder coating metals, workshop layout and above all workshop safety are also discussed. Of course the key to competence in any endeavour is practice, but 'Knitting with Wire' will help the amateur by suggesting new possibilities to achieving a professional looking result. The Appendix has a helpful range of charts and specifications, and the book's large page size makes this an ideal volume to use as a quick reference guide, right there in the workshop.