Woodworking Magazines

I like Fine Woodworking and Wood.

While not on the list, I have also found some nice projects in Woodsmith.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Ah I forgot about Woodsmith thats also a good one. I know there are many mags to choose from those on the list are unfortantly the only ones they are offering. But I was hoping to hear what everyone likes and start a good discussion on each one. Plus I need help in deciding which ones to order. Like i said I really like ShopNotes

I have found that Fine Woodworking is the top of the line in magazines, followed by American Woodworker. I also have had subscriptions to Shop notes which I find very useful. All the iothers have had some interesting articles, but I would not suscribe to them any more. Best of luck to your Sons fundraiser.

Clement

-- Clement, from Longview in East Texas

wood or fine woodworking…its actually pretty cool that they seem to have decent mags. normally they are all sound alikes….I actually have subs to Wood, Woodsmith, and Shopnotes….its cheaper than getting them off the rack….I dont know if I would subscribe to fine…its a little upscale for me yet…maybe popular woodworking…Woodworkers journal is a little thin for me, though I really really like Chris Shwarz

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

The two things I like about Woodsmith and ShopNotes (both by the same publisher) are the lack of advertising and the detailed plans. The thing I don’t like about them (maybe it’s the same for all magazines) are the dire warnings to re-up your subscription even though you still have half the year left

I’ll second that thought Jeff. My current subscription to Wood does not run out until May, 2011 and I am already getting requests to renew.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

There is never enough information and ideas so ALL the mags! ; ) (Fine Woodworking is the only one I don’t get, it’s too high end for my skills.)

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

I used to get them all. I have whittled it down to Fine Woodworking and WoodShop News.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Woodsmith and Shop notes, My #1, All info no Advertsments.
Fine Woodworking too high class for me.
Wood , good mag, alot of ads but plans and patterns for some neat projects.
My 2 c

-- MARK IN BOB, So. CAL

While I like the ad free nature of woodsmith and shopnotes…I like looking through the adverts in wood to see what Im missing out on…and sometimes there are real gems like the Dustcollector on sale from Harbor freight for 139 this month….

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

I subscribe to Wood and I’m not impressed.

-- Joe

I tried your link but it was to set up fundraisers, not to order!

-- JohnnyP - Lindstrom, Minnesota

I like these:

Fine Woodworking
Popular Woodworking

Woodshop News is excellent, but concentrates more on the business of woodworking vs. “how-to” and the craft.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Ill second Woodsmith and Shop Notes. I have whittled down the magazines to those two…as most of the stuff in the glossy mags can be found online. Why pay a fortune for subscriptions full of advertisments that I can look for online if I am interested. Not to mention the stuffers and the stupid reminders about renewing…they are indeed a nuisance…Also, you have LJ’s here as a better resource then any of those magazines could ever supply.

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

“Ill second Woodsmith and Shop Notes. I have whittled down the magazines to those two…as most of the stuff in the glossy mags can be found online.”

Reggie, not to single you out, but you jiggled my thoughts. <g> I see exactly the opposite. Nearly every jig in those two magazines is online somewhere. “Shopnotes” tends to over complicate and invest too much time in a jig that is often more easily built. The furniture in the two is usually pretty basic, and in some cases, amateur looking in my eyes.

I like the construction articles in FWW and PopWood. Both tend to aim for a really well constructed piece, often historically accurate, properly incorporating wood movement. Both tend to reinforce the importance of hand tool skills to ease, speed, or improve machine work. The construction methods in some magazines remind me of Chinese factory work.

In closing, only one has Adam Cherubini, Bob Lang, and the Schwartz in the same rag…

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

I think I subscribe to all of those….

My favorites are; Shopnotes
Wood
Popular Woodworking

As to the jig question…I think most of the ones I see in magazines are just rehashes of jigs Nick Engler built in the 80s…....

-- Some people have a shop so they can build things, the rest of us build things so we can have a shop...

Cessna, I don’t feel singled out.

I agree with you on the furniture in those two….I’ve only built the machinists chest in 3 years of receiving their magazine. I scan the methods used for various joints..etc…and agree or disagree….and see if they offer any better ways of performing them that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

I mostly review the tips…and get ideas for my own jigs (I don’t recall if I have ever duplicated one of their exact jigs)....I’ve used one of the readers tip jigs for my laminated and segmented bowls and it is excellent (using a jack with plywood and threaded bolts)....I have extended that jig for a lot of clamping purposes also…

The only reason I still retain their subscriptions is the lack of advertising…and they are inexpensive. I think we all get different things from different sources…BUT I will stick to LJ’s as being the best source to date…and its interactive…

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

Yep…i like the readers tips too. In fact I am trying to get some plywood together to do that collapsible router table they had in the last issue…

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

I get several of those and find each one of different value. Fine Woodworking is definitely more oriented toward high-end artistic craftmanship. While I do very few of their projects, I do get numerous ideas from their pages.

Wood-is a little more practical and has a wider focus to include home repair and more fun items. They also go into very real ideas and projects for your shop.

I get American Woodworker and find it to be somewhere in the middle of the above two. Regretfully, I don’t get the feel that this magazine really knows what it wants to be. That may be good, that may be bad. It floats around a lot and I sometimes have a hard time knowing where they are coming from.

I got Woodworker’s Journal for a while but let my subscription lapse. It is very oriented toward the professional woodworker and not the hobbyist. If you want business related ideas and professional tips, this may be a good one.

Overall, I’m going to stick with Fine Woodworking and Wood. Any others I will pick up off the rack depending on what the features are that month.

-- Behind the Bark is a lot of Heartwood----Charles, Centennial, CO

I currently subscribe to Woodsmith, ShopNotes & Wood magazines. In the past I have subscribed to Popular Woodworking and Woodworkers Journal and I found that there was too much content in those two that didn’t interest me. I’ve viewed some of the older American Woodworker magazines online via Google Books but have never seen a real paper issue – what I’ve seen, I’ve liked, though, and their website has some nice projects but not very good availability… not available in PDF format.

I have an online subscription to Fine Woodworking, by accident, and like their website content. But, like others have mentioned, it seems intended for a more high-end, artistic woodworker than what I am. Great technique articles on a variety of subjects, though, such as box-making, different types of joinery, basic Building a * articles.

Jim