TS Tools (Train Sim Add On)
July 10th, 2008
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Collins Complete DIY Manual 
List Price: ?24.99
Used Price: ?1.86
Customer Review: Good for xperienced DIY ers
This book is an excellent reference tool for people with a modicum of common sense and a bit of experience. It has enough depth and breadth to cover the majority of things but if you are looking for something that will tell you how to build a block of flats from scratch using only lolly sticks then you will be dissappointed. It kind of gives you the confidence to do what you knew you wanted to do but didn’t know the detail (like using 10mm cable for a shower installation) I’m a miserable wotsit and I bought another copy for my son Buy it. If you save one tradesman coming in to do a job then it’ll have paid for itself.
Customer Review: Useless - the Readers Digest one is much better
This book is fairly useless, for several reasons: 1. It’s impossible to find what you’re looking for, and the index is hopeless. The only way I managed to find anything was by flicking randomly until I found what I was looking for. 2. Sometimes it is hopelessly patronising, but then most of the time it assumes you know much more than you would as an amateur DIYer. For example, we wanted to know how to put in a loft door, and it said ’shore up the size of the hatch to fit the door you’ve bought’. How do you do that? If it was covered elsewhere in the book, it was hopeless trying to find it. This is just one example from six months of frustration with this book. 3. It is rubbish at telling you exactly what you need to ask for when you go to hardware stores. Often B&Q had no idea what the thing was the book said I needed. (OK B&Q are also a bit rubbish) We’ve just bought our first flat, and are fairly competent at DIY, but having lived with this book for six months, we ended up buying the Readers Digest one, which is infinitely better. We’re not even going to bother keeping the Collins for a second opinion, it’s that rubbish.
The Big Book of Outdoor DIY: Over 75 Step-by-step Projects 
List Price: ?24.99
Used Price: ?0.01
Customer Review: Excellent DIY book for your outdoor room
This book provides excellent coverage of DIY for the garden. How to build sheds, climbing frames, pergola’s; how to construct garden paths, lay paving, put in a fountain and more. It gives loads of original ideas with clear instructions. Well worth adding to your library.
Yeah, I Made it Myself: DIY Fashion for the Not Very Domestic Goddess 
List Price: ?12.99
Amazon Price: ?9.09
Used Price: ?6.50
Customer Review: Fantastic
I bought this book having read all the reviews. I have sewn in the past using patterns but haven’t done anything in about 8 years due to having 3 small children who couldn’t help going through my sewing box every time I got it out! Now with the youngest at preschool I thought I would give it a go again. I love how chatty this book is and having read it from cover to cover I bought myself a lovely piece of linen with applique flowers on it and made the ‘My Favourite A-Line Skirt’ (page 111) in about 2-3 hours and it looks fantastic. I had developed a bit of a zip phobia when I was sewing before, but followed the instructions and even that looks great. I drew the pattern onto a piece of brown paper (making it a bit longer in the process) so I could keep it and I will definately be making more skirts. The only thing I would have liked in the book was a pattern for trousers, but I may have a go at that myself!
Customer Review: Dull and uninspiring
I couldn’t warm to this book for a number of reasons. Mainly because there is no real information contained within the book. There is a lot of writing and narrative by the author, but there just doesn’t seem to be any real substance. I was looking for a more technical book but this is very basic and the ideas just don’t appeal to me. Also, the lack of photographs is a real shame, maybe if there had been a visual representation of what the author was explaining then I would have found this book more useful. I was hoping for something fresh and creative but this seemed a little ‘dumbed down’ and is probably best suited to a young audience.
Dr. Tool Eye Training (Mac/CD) 
List Price: ?14.99
Amazon Price: ?12.99
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