Frustrating manual, and mostly plastic instead of metal
583142
I learned to sew in the 80s on home ec Bernina machines, and with a Singer at home.  They were both sturdy, metal and workhorses.  This machine feels lightweight.  The foot petal is plastic and feels like it would break easily.  I do not like how the thread sits on its side.  It is frustrating and seems like a silly design (look at the handle on the top of the machine and you will see the spool of thread rests on its side).  The bobbin tray is a nightmare for me.  You have to press a small plastic switch and the little clean plastic door/window kind of pops off.  It is difficult to use the switch and it's also too small for larger hands.  And the instructions are not easy to interpret.  The photos are lacking, and without detail.  I've tried threading the bobbin three times, and all three times it was wrong and caused the thread to bunch/bird nest on the bottom of the fabric I was sewing.  I'm not happy with the machine, and doubt it will be used much.  The only positive is that it's much quieter than I expected.
3545137
This is an old manual, came in handily sometimes,  I have now graduated to the next system .. No longer need it
3400536
This manual is helpful, and might save me some money by helping me to do things myself.  But it is nowhere near a true shop manual. A lot of common tasks are omitted entirely, and others are covered in excessive detail.

They also try to cover a wide range of engines, and drives, and model years in a single book.  As a result, at least 2/3 of the book is irrelevant to you since it covers engines, drives and model years other than yours.  Procedures for newer engines are just lumped into a final chapter, rather than being inserted into the text where they apply.

I don't regret the purchase, but it is not what I had hoped for.
3201610
I think the calculator is a good one, but the manual that came with it was in Chinese or some other oriental language - just a flimsy and impractical fold out in English.  I returned the first one I got for that reason, with assurance from the Amazon rep that the next one should have a manual in English.  Unbelievable!  I don't really fault Amazon, but the seller, Port Trading US.  Product should have been clearly marked as having manual in Chinese, and not English.

My daughter is leaving for college in next day or so, so she'll just have to download a pdf and deal with it.
2793994
Pictures are grainy and hard to see what they are talking about. The trouble codes listed should reference a page number not just be listed. The text instructions are organized. I'll use the book because it's the only thing available.
431136
I was expecting better quality materials instead of plastic.
2937808
Despite much effort with sandpaper, steel wool, etc., all I ended up with is metal colored plastic. Doesn't look anything like metal.
1448686
Japanese camera makers display an unfortunate cultural mismatch with customers in the US or Europe. They produce tiny jewel-like hardware miracles with a superabundance of bells and whistles - but seem incapable of explaining them in their manuals and instructional materials in a way Westerners can understand. My new Olympus Pen F sets some kind of record for miraculous hardware along with a confused and incomprehensible menu system - accompanied by poor manuals written in poor English. Annoying.

David Thorpe earns a living by helping to explain the settings. His book is not perfect, but if it only gets me past one or two puzzles, it's well worth the few bucks it cost. Thank you.
1304596
There are some interesting techniques illustrated in this step-by-step art manual, but there are frustrating holes in the book's how-to-do-it instruction, too. A lot of pages are devoted to rather stingy content. It seems the world is still waiting for a truly good book on the techniques of making abstract art. Maybe -- just maybe -- it's something that can't be learned from a book. In any case, you'll find a few nuggets of gold among the dross, and that's enough to merit buying this book. If you get a few useful ideas, it's worth the price.
3800029
Wanted metal hinge.  While the hinge was metal, the connections were plastic
2354464
Okay belt, but a the plastic parts are a definite let-down.
4761783
As a young'un, I cut my teeth on the Chilton Auto Repair Manuals (the thick ones, that cover all American models for a seven year period) to aid in fixing my vehicles.  As I became more ambitious with my repair/modify projects, I required something more in-depth--enter the platform/generation-specific manual.  They were a big improvement, but still seemed somewhat lacking.  Eventually I discovered that the Haynes manuals were more comprehensive and in-depth (much to my chagrin, seeing as how Haynes is a UK-based publisher and I'm a dyed-in-the-wool 'Merican).  To this day, Haynes is my go-to reference for vehicle repair.

The thing is, these manuals are aimed at intermediate-level do-it-yourselfers, not the pros, and thus still omit a great amount of detail.  One specific example I can cite is the lack of specificity in trim attachment on the various models covered.  I had a dickens of a time figuring-out how to remove the door panel on my 1990 LeSabre because the manual described the procedure for the Oldsmobile, which is slightly different.  Once the panel was off, I was totally on my own as to how to fix the lock mechanism, which was the whole point of the exercise.  Other examples range from incomplete diagrams for evolving mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems (brakes and heater controls in my case) to inconclusive part locations and lack of images of said parts to aid in locating them.  Well, you get the idea.

Anyway, on the whole, while Haynes Repair Manuals are extremely useful for the person looking to do the more common repairs, if your project is somewhat more obscure, technical, or you just need a highly detailed resource, hit a swap meet and look for "chassis" or "shop" manuals.  Qualified recommended.
4089444
Not what I was expecting, it seemed like iron and its plastic
735093
After taking a intro to metalworking class over the weekend where Tim McCreight's book, this version, was highly recommended by the instructor, I ordered a copy immediately.  Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed in the book and its contents.  It is truly a reference book, and not a very detailed one either.  I looked immediately for info on using a rolling mill, and other than a description of leaf embossing using one, nothing else.  No info on what I am sure are a number of other uses, nor on the care of such a machine.  Also, no real mention of bronze, something that would be extremely useful in these times of inflated gold prices.

 All entries are short and succinct but extremely limited in depth. Some people complain about the use of drawings, I actually like these, but the other factors are compelling shortcomings. One of which  is the binding.  Yes, it is a spiral binding, but the quality of the paper seems too thin for that format, it feels as though the pages would practically fall out within a very short time.  I was afraid to look at it for fear the pages would rip out.  I am returning it this morning and am going to try Jinks McGrath's book.  It looks a bit better on line at least.  She does seem to have a good description of the care and use of a rolling mill, and bronze is mentioned.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Complete-Jewelry-Making-Course-Principles-Practice-and-Techniques-A-Beginner-s-Course-for-Aspiring-Jewelry-Makers/dp/0764136607/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Complete Jewelry Making Course: Principles, Practice and Techniques: A Beginner's Course for Aspiring Jewelry Makers</a>
1349326
1. It is so hard to assemble this drum set following the manual. All the plastic bags do not show the letter A, B, C...., so that user do not know which part is which according to the manual when assembling. Very confusing!

2. The big ERROR on the manual is in Step 1, Bar F should actually be Bar E. Only after I assembled most of the parts until Step 6 did I realize that Bar F needs to be replaced by Bar E. Thus, I had to uninstall the whole thing and assembled it all over again.

3. The metal bar is not so fit with the plastic bolts and caps, which is another big issue. Every time I connected the bars, I needed to use the utility knife to carve the inner side of the plastic cap so that the metal bar or tube can fit in.

4. This is again refers to the first issue, in the manual, it shows item L (1), and M (2), but the final assemble picture only shows Hi-Hat, Crash, and Ride, so I don't know which one is L and which one is M, very confusing. In sum, the manual is not user-friendly, it takes the user so much time to figure out how to install the set, it is like working on a big puzzle.

5. I have tested the drum set, the Kick and the Ride are almost soundless compared with other drums. I am very unsatisfied with this product.

6. I also don't understand why this company Alesis doesn't response to customer's question. I submitted the question on their website 5 days ago (3 business days) and got no response.
3228041
As a life long fan of the GM F-body - '93 to '97 4th gen Firebird to be exact - I bought my copy of this manual after I started tinkering with my Firebird. This came highly recommended by all my mechanics friends. It's certainly informative and logically organized, starting with the basic maintenance and ramping up to the more serious repairs. I was a bit disappointed by the photos included. Photos are inserted seemingly randomly, sometimes multiple pics for a simple job but one or none for more complicated ones that actually need them. Some pics aren't even on the same page as the related repair. And finally, the pics that are there, well they are of very poor quality (fuzzy black and white). Many of the pics are essentially useless due to their low quality or even bad angle or perspective.

In the end, the manual is a pretty comprehensive reference for repairs for the 4th gen f-bdoy. However, it could certainly be improve and made much more useful with more photos that are higher quality.
2183738
The guide itself is made of a nice material and looks very presentable. That deserves 5 stars. The content inside however deserves 2. The character reference cards that come with the book can be really handy...when you get a card with all the right inputs listed.

The number one problem with this guide are the incorrect button inputs stated in the guide and on the character reference cards. What I mean is that for say Scorpion's Spear, in the book will be listed as down, back, 1. However, in the game, his Spear will be listed as back, back, 1. That move isn't actually an error, just an example of the type of error present. These types of errors are unacceptable because they are so huge. I can understand the occasional typo such as "there" instead of "their", however incorrect move sets is too much. My other gripe with the incorrect move sets is how they even differ from the guide and the character reference cards. For example, Mileena's ball roll is wrong on the reference card, but correct in the book. The point of the cards are to use as a quick reference when playing, without having to look up your moves on in-game menu's. These errors defeat the purpose of the cards and guide. It actually boggles my mind how the moves can differ from the reference cards and the book because they were made by the same people. How do they honestly not make sure they say the same thing?

My second biggest problem with the guide is the tier list, which seems to make little sense. The tier list works by matching fighters against each other a certain amount of times and then seeing how often each wins. Then specific numbers are color coated either green or red. There is absolutely no explanation of the color coating on the tier list. I assumed that red meant bad and green meant good, as is normally the case elsewhere, however inconsistencies in the color coating make that seem wrong. Some fighters will have a red coating, whereas worse fighters will have either no coating or a green coating, which would denote a better fighter. That does not make any sense. Also, at the end of every character's chapter, the book lists best and worst match-ups. However, these match-ups contradict what is said in the character's own tier list. The worst match-up stated won't actually be the worst match-up as stated on the tier list.

What I like most about the guide are the character reference cards, for those that have all the right move sets. Besides that, I will be looking online to print combos and the works for the character's I enjoy. This is a shame because I bought the guide for this very purpose, yet I now have a lack of trust in anything it says. I do not recommend anyone purchase this unless you want to read the Q@A about some of MK's history.