NDR - Reference books?

G

george wilson

Active member
would like to get into woodworking and am starting to acquire tools/parts/stuff for doing such --- however would like to get a "how to" book to reference -- how to do various joints, jigs, etc. ---- since most or many of you are craftsmen of some sort or another - maybe you can suggest good reference books for a neophyte.

thanks in advance
 
You are at the edge of a very slippery slope my friend.

If you have a large used book store then hopefully you can cruise the craft/woodworking shelves and find something that you like. A lot of books repeat what can be found in other books so it is hard to pick out any best book. You want books that go step by step and don't leave you to figure out what happens between each one. After awhile all you will need is a picture.

Nick Engler makes some OK books for starting out. I stay away from Sunset or Time-Life books as well as Popular Mechanic books, but they do have good basic knowledge in them that you may find useful.

Here is a link to a book store here in Anchorage, AK that has a huge wood working section. You will pay shipping to the states, but you can save lots of money over the publishers price. They also sell new books at market value and sometimes get new books in a bulk discount and pass it on to the buyer.
http://www.wavebooks.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=wood+working

I have been reading Fine Wood Working and Fine Home Building for the last 16 years and get most of my inspiration and "how to" from those sources. The pubisher (Taunton) might have the largest selection of wood working source books in the US. They make DVDs as well.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/

This is a list of their basic starting out books.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/store/pages/getting-started-in-woodworking.asp

The best way to learn wood working is to read your tools owner manuals and then "play" with the tools just to make some saw dust and shorter pieces of wood.

The most important thing to learn is how to sharpen chisels and plane blades. There are dozens of ways to do this. However the best way for the beginner is to buy a honing guide from Lee Valley Tools (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1,) get a small sheet of plate glass or stone tile, some spray glue, and some wet/dry sand paper. Fine wood working has a couple of the best articles about this system. Of course this won't hollow grind the tools, which if you get real serious you will end up wanting to learn how to do.
 
Ray -- went to the fine woodworking website -- when i get home tonight i think there will be a subscription ordered and i like the book on setting up a workshop

as you slide down that slippery slope i guess you leave it littered with green bills????
 
If you never have anything with woodworking before or very little, I would suggest you contact your local community college. Generally they offer a couple night class per week, from the most basic to "open" shop time, where guys know what they are doing, just don't have the tools.

The other thing I would recommend more than books, is see if there is a Rockler or Woodcraft store near you. Both offer various classes, some very specialized. I have taken and taught classes over the years, always thought the money spent was a good investment. The other bonus is you get to use various tools before spending your money. I for one do NOT trust tool reviews in the mags. Just cann't get past how you honestly evaulate a tool from someone that advertises in your magazine?

I would agree that Fine Woodworking is a excellent magazine, probably the best for higher end work out there. Wood is good for more basic projects, but FWW is inspiring, always trying to raise the level of work.
 
There are a bunch of good books out there. I cruise the local used bookstores and find some gems occasionally. When I buy new, the Taunton Press usually has good books. Popular Woodworking Press is another publisher that has soom good stuff. I'd recommend books on machine tuning for your bandsaw and table saw if you have those tools. If you can find a friend that knows their stuff, like Eric P here, you could probably buy some used stuff and recondition it to better than a new machine. They don't make things like they used to...

Beware the slippery slope...

Charlie
 
as you slide down that slippery slope i guess you leave it littered with green bills????
Click to expand...


Well, if you watch the garage sales, and ads in local papers, and can beat Eric P at the eBay game, you can leave less green bills behind you on the slide down. Most of my large tools are used ones bought at large discounts. Only the table saw required any serious work to get it up and going after 20 years of abuse by the contractor that owned it. And even at that it was still 2/3 less than buying new.

I had forgotten about those in store classess at Rockler and Woodcraft. We don't have them up here in AK. The Home Depot will teach you how to paint a wall though.

I also recommend getting Shop Notes. I have a large collection from the 1990's that are full of good tips and projects. There is another shop notes type tip sheet that is put out by Woodcraft, of which I also have a few years worth. The one thing I noticed with both of these is that after about 4 years they started to repeat each other with similar projects from prior issues.
 
After several decades of working with wood, I still consider myself a beginner. You have received some good advice above--to which I'll add my two cents. Likely worth dramatically less than what you paid for it...

Trying to learn from books can be frustrating. A few courses, perhaps as suggested at a community college or local woodworking store, can advance your skills dramatically. I've found the best way to build skills, jigs, and acquire tools is to do so on a project basis.

With that said, there is one general joinery/jig book that I have found very helpful:

Classic Joints with Power Tools
by Yeung Chan

It is available used on Amazon for $11 or on Abebooks for $12. When it comes to buying woodworking books used is most often the way to go given you'll likely have it out in the shop. The two sites above are often good sources for used books if you can't find them locally.

Enjoy the journey.

Errol Wentworth
 
now thats what i'm lookin for --- am really not that lazy - i have looked at books on woodworking - just figured most of you here who have been doing it for a long time have seperated the useful from the useless -- since all my money is being left on the slope - i don't have spare change to wast on worthless books.

i have no stores by me that offer classes in woodworking - will investigate the comunity college - but odds are they won't since there have been many $$$ issues regarding their operation.

thanks again for all the good suggestions!
 
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