I have been a subscriber to FINE WOODWORKING for some time, but I would like to start dipping into some other magazines as well. I stopped at a local newsstand, and the array of different woodworking magazines seems bewildering.
I would like to hear any opinions on magazines any of you might have — especially American Woodworker, Wood, Popular Woodworking, Woodsmith.
Which ones do you think are most reliable, interesting,and helpful. If I see a project I would like to build, can I always depend on the fact their insturctions are accurate,etc. If they recommend a particular tool, have you found their info credible — or are they holding back because they don’t want to offend their advertisers?
Many thanks.
Replies
Besides FW I subscribe to Shopnotes and Woodsmith. They only advertise their own stuff, which makes it easy to find things, kind of wish FW would follow suit but I suppose it would take a second mortgage to subscribe. The others I check regularly and if they have something that interests me, I buy the issue. Save alot of money that way.
I don't do much with power tools, so there isn't much in the others that interests me.
Peter
Edited 1/4/2003 7:13:19 AM ET by nhlett
You didn't mention my #2 favorite, "Woodwork". It is very well edited and produced with some of the same contributors as FWW. Photography and graphics are top quality. It is a California publication with a tad more emphasis on West Coast and contemporary designs. Their gallery section is always superb. It seems to me there may be less "how-to" than FWW, but a lot is there. Try a copy and see if it isn't worthy of a subscription. Jim
IMO, which magazines you'll find useful will depend on what level you are working at. I'm still a novice, and subscribe to FW, Amer. WW, Wood and Shop Notes. I find them all useful and educational. I suspect, however, that I may not renew my subscriptions to AWW and Wood in another couple of years, because the ideas, feature articles and tips start to recycle and become redundant. At that point they will be in the category of magazines that I buy only when I see something specificaly of interest, or when I'm just in a magazine junkie mood.
As far as tool reviews go, personally I don't think you can rely on any one magazine completely. They all have their flaws in review processes (yes, even FWW sometimes). However, if you read reviews on a particular type of tool in several different magazines, a general trend will usually appear -- consistent traits noted by the various magazines. Those trends are the most useful information to me when I'm checking something out.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I like workbench also
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
Nikkiwood,
It depends on your temperment, level of confidence/ability and to some extent your design ability. To elaborate, if you are good at design then you might subscribe to stuff with an emphasis on photos to give you ideas to start from, which you can then tweak to fit your personal style. If you like to build from plans and have the minute details and processes laid out for you, then it is hard to beat Woodsmith and Shopnotes. If you have half a brain and a few tools you can build a successful project using their mags. I find them a little too simple in design, with too much handholding going on to suit my tastes. However a number of years ago when I didn't know as much as I do now I used to buy them regularly. Another poster mentioned looking at the current issues each month of AWW and WOOD magazines which I think is a good idea. Only once in a while do I actually buy them as it does seem that a lot of their stuff is recycled. However since you mentioned you are a novice then you might find their stuff more useful, having not seen it before. Only you can make that decision but if you find yourself regularly picking up a copy, then you can always subscribe. Subscribing to FWW is a must. I have learned more from that publication than all the others combined. They are not perfect but no one else even comes close. Also don't overlook buying books on particular topics, especially those from Taunton. You can learn tons of information this way. Very helpful if you need particular information for a project. Put an emphasis on hand-tool how-to. If you learn to use them well you can tackle projects that might appear beyond the capability of the machines/equipment that you now have. There are books aplenty to teach you along these lines. No matter how many machines you get there are no substitutes for handtools in the shop. You will find a mastery of handtool use paying off again and again. Hope this helps.
Mark
Just keep perusing them each month and see what's consistent with your interest level and skill. You should also be checking out the books available. Seems most of the mags get a bit redundant about things like cutting dovetails. I was a charter subscriber to FWW and stopped getting it some years back. Sure I still check it out at the public library but the one I like better and I still don't subscribe to is "WOODWORK". Check out "American Craft" magazine as well. It shows some pretty interesting contemporary woodworkers. Only you know what's best for you. A good magazine will hopefully inspire you to take on more challenges and open you up to new ideas, possibilities and that there's many ways of accomplishing the same task.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled