Power Tools

“It is not intended that this book should be a complete guide to Power Tools and their uses, but rather as a general guide and introduction to them.”

‘Power Tools’ by Geoff Peters, was a delight of a bookshelf acquisition, found on a rainy day, on the bottom shelf of the Oxfam in Perth last weekend. It is a solid little guide to common workshop tools that are still used today; providing step by step, practical information about the wonders of portable drills, sanding machines, jig-saws, routers, spindle moulders and sanding machines. The final chapter even goes into detail about the best methods to achieve an even spray paint finish.

The book was written from Barnstaple, Devon, by a keen woodworker in consultation with Power Tool manufacturers like Black and Decker and Stanley-Bridges. Published in 1964, the book was intended to feed a public “skill hunger”; the public need recognised by publisher, Arco, to develop hand skills at home. Other titles in the series included woodworking, practical electronics, pattern cutting and model making.

Whilst the straightforward writing is of timeless use, we are most admirable of the illustrations and diagrams. Clean-cut line drawings of machinery are spattered throughout the text, standing out clearly on the now-yellowing matte paper. These are back to back with close up power tool photographs and airbrushed three dimensional diagrams on a fading gloss.

As the Daily Telegraph reviewed at the time, the book is “all solidly bound to stand up to much casual consultation.” A book that is ideally placed to be frequently plucked from the workshop shelf, double checking how to best use your power tools.

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