nb

"news.verizon.net"

29/08/2003 3:28 AM

Woodworking Books

Hi, all.

Just to get this out of the way up front, I did a google search. (lol)

I figured that since I was a newbie, and since this topic doesn't seem to
have been covered very well here since 1999 or so (which surprises me, given
everyone's enthusiasm about recommending posters to read, read, read), I
figured I'd be the sacrificial lamb to ask: What top 10 woodworking books
would you recommend? So far as I can see, "Understanding Wood" (by R. Bruce
Hoadley), and "Understanding Wood Finishing" (by Bob Flexner) are both
widely recommended.

I was wondering what other books you all would recommend. For example, is
"Woodworker's Hand Tools" (by Rick Peters) a good pick? I was also planning
on buying at least one good book each on making jigs, woodworking (general),
band saws, table saws, joinery, & routers (although I hear that Pat warners
book is limited to individual routers rather than technique-- even though I
love his website). Do you think these types of books would give a good
background, or do you feel there is more essential reading material I should
consider first?

And, yes, I have a library card. I have been reading quite a bit, actually,
and am simply asking to see what people consider to be essential to a
library. (Also, yes, I am looking into taking a local class in
woodworking. -- Did I steal too many people's thunder? lol.)

So, top 10, anyone??

-Barry


This topic has 4 replies

JJ

[email protected] (Jack-of-all-trades - JOAT)

in reply to "news.verizon.net" on 29/08/2003 3:28 AM

30/08/2003 2:23 AM

Fri, Aug 29, 2003, 3:28am (EDT+4) [email protected]
(news.verizon.net) claims:
Just to get this out of the way up front, I did a google search. (lol)
<snip>

Ah, but you didn't say what you searched for. LOL

At last, someone that has done the homework assignment. Having
said that, I don't have any recommendations of books. I figure that is
a personal thing. What I may like, you may not, etc.

What I do recommend is, that you actually hold the book(s) you are
interested in your hand, and thumb thru it, and be sure it is one you
really want, before you lay out the cash. One way is see what your
library has, then, if they don't have it, go to a bookstore, and thumb
thru it. If both don't have it, ask your library to get a copy on loan.
It will cost a bit for that service, but it's better than paying full
price for a book, and then finding out it only has one article of
interest to you. That can get expensive fast.

I also highly recommend used book stores. I got a lot of pretty
expensive books for usually about $4-5 US, and a few a bit more. Older,
out of print books, I have gotten a lot of them at about $1-2 each.

JOAT
If we're all God's children, what's so special about Jesus?

Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT
Web Page Update 28 Aug 2003. Some tunes I like.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/SOMETUNESILIKE/

JG

"John Grossbohlin"

in reply to "news.verizon.net" on 29/08/2003 3:28 AM

29/08/2003 10:45 PM


"news.verizon.net" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, all.
>
> Just to get this out of the way up front, I did a google search. (lol)
>
> I figured that since I was a newbie, and since this topic doesn't seem to
> have been covered very well here since 1999 or so (which surprises me,
given
> everyone's enthusiasm about recommending posters to read, read, read), I
> figured I'd be the sacrificial lamb to ask: What top 10 woodworking books
> would you recommend? So far as I can see, "Understanding Wood" (by R.
Bruce
> Hoadley), and "Understanding Wood Finishing" (by Bob Flexner) are both
> widely recommended.
>
> I was wondering what other books you all would recommend. For example, is

I've taken a different track here... Instead of looking for definitive
works, typically written by a single author, I've gone the route of buying
pretty much everything I can find from remainder vendors. I'm looking for
variance across writers in techniques and ideas. From the multitude of works
I pick and choose what works for me given my current task and the tools I
either have or can buy at that moment.

The result of this approach is that over the past four years or so I've
added 150+ books to my shelves. The remainder vendors sell cheap so the
dollars involved here are not too bad... and there is always at least one
useful item in a book no matter how good it is overall. If nothing else,
some books are useful as a way to identify other works that may be
better--particularly the more scholarly books that have citations. As an
example, I paid about $7-8 for the 2nd Edition of Hoadley's book in hard
cover whereas Amazon gets $28.

John






EL

"Eric Lund"

in reply to "news.verizon.net" on 29/08/2003 3:28 AM

30/08/2003 5:42 AM


"news.verizon.net" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, all.
>
> Just to get this out of the way up front, I did a google search. (lol)
>
> I figured that since I was a newbie, and since this topic doesn't seem to
> have been covered very well here since 1999 or so (which surprises me,
given
> everyone's enthusiasm about recommending posters to read, read, read), I
> figured I'd be the sacrificial lamb to ask: What top 10 woodworking books
> would you recommend? So far as I can see, "Understanding Wood" (by R.
Bruce
> Hoadley), and "Understanding Wood Finishing" (by Bob Flexner) are both
> widely recommended.
>
> I was wondering what other books you all would recommend. For example, is
> "Woodworker's Hand Tools" (by Rick Peters) a good pick? I was also
planning
> on buying at least one good book each on making jigs, woodworking
(general),
> band saws, table saws, joinery, & routers (although I hear that Pat
warners
> book is limited to individual routers rather than technique-- even though
I
> love his website). Do you think these types of books would give a good
> background, or do you feel there is more essential reading material I
should
> consider first?
>
> And, yes, I have a library card. I have been reading quite a bit,
actually,
> and am simply asking to see what people consider to be essential to a
> library. (Also, yes, I am looking into taking a local class in
> woodworking. -- Did I steal too many people's thunder? lol.)
>
> So, top 10, anyone??
>
> -Barry
>
>

A hard question to answer, because it depends on what you like to make and
what style you prefer. Tage Frid teaches Woodworking is always highly
recommended. If you are particularly interested in hand tools, then both
Garrett Hack's and Graham Blackburn's books are good. David Charlesworth is
a very practical British author. There really are so many. Just to add
names: Doug Stowe, Andy Rae, Ian Kirby, Kelly Mehler, James Krenov, Toshio
Odate, Scott Landis and many more. I really don't know if I could narrow it
down to 10 books. Some of these authors, you really couldn't go wrong with
3 or more of their books.

Cheers,
Eric

LJ

Larry Jaques

in reply to "news.verizon.net" on 29/08/2003 3:28 AM

29/08/2003 4:28 PM

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 08:09:08 GMT, "Groggy" <[email protected]>
pixelated:

>Larry,
>
>having problems with my network router so the site has down-syndrome. It
>should be back next week, if DLink can get their act together, they've had
>it a week already.

Suckage.


>There is an alternate site that has the info at
>
>http://www.wood-workers.com/users/gregmillen/
>
>This is somewhat emasculated due to space restrictions but it does have the
>reference books, see the menu on the left.

Thanks. I'll bookmark it, and let's hope bkeane sees it.

- - -
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---
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