"Metalworking 101 for Beaders" was written by Candie Cooper. She has written books on designing jewelry, hosted the Public Television series Hands On and appeared on Beads, Baubles and Jewels. Full color, step-by-step photography helps to illustrate numerous metalworking techniques and projects.

Metalworking 101 is divided into six sections: Introduction, metals, tools and materials, basic metalworking techniques, jewelry projects, and templates. The section on "Metals" discusses different types of metals and the characteristics of each metal. The chapter on "Tools and Materials" illustrates a complete list of tools and explains how each is used. Basic techniques cover eight frequently used techniques in metalsmithing. Twenty-five different jewelry projects along with templates and patterns make up the last two sections.

I thought the book was very well written. The layout and organization made the book very easy to follow with detailed step-by-step photographs. Consistent headings make it easy to identify and follow the technique used in each project.

The "Basic Metalsmithing and Technique" chapter is organized by how the tools are used. For instance, you will find sections on Marking Tools, Forming Tools, and Smoothing Tools, among others. The explanations and descriptions help you quickly understand the tools and how the they are used.

The bulk of the book is devoted to jewelry projects. Each project is consistently formatted with materials and tools needed, and highlighted steps and instructions. Each project shows “From My Sketchpad," her original drawings of the piece. My eye was drawn to these easy-to-read summary sections of each project. They served as an informative snapshot of the project.

I enjoyed the book very much, but thought it could be improved with a glossary and reference tables. The beginning metal smith worker may also benefit from having a list of resources at the end of the book. Overall, I would recommend this book because it teaches many techniques that are used repeatedly in metalsmithing.

The book is a softcover, 128 pages and was published in 2009 by Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Company. It is reasonably priced at $19.99 and available through larkcrafts.com, amazon, and can be found in bookstores.