# Argument with the wife. What do you do with your woodworking/woodcarving magazines?



## thechipcarver

My wife and I are arguing what should be done with my woodworking/woodcarving magazines. She suggest to cut out the patterns and throw away the rest. I want to keep the entire magazine even if I don't make everything in the magazine.

What are your ways of storing or keeping magazines?


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## JCamp

HOw many magazines are we talking about? If ur wanting them in ur living room I agree with your wife If ur wanting them in ur shop or closet or something I don't know why she'd b fighting u over it. Either way I keep mine in a tote I've seen a few fellas hav there's on shelves which is easier to get at than how I keep mine


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## Mahdeew

I have a few hundred myself. They are in boxes and a stack of them in the bathroom. Every once in the while, the stack gets refreshed.


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## splintergroup

I like to keep the hard copies, much easier to study an article and have the issue out in the shop during the project.

Many magazines offer digital copies that you can access on your computer. These are great for searching and making a few compilations of articles for a shop reference, but once you find what you are after, you can go dig up the issue (stored out of the way in the attic, shed, etc.).

Others at least have online indexes that are very useful. Either way, it's a good way to get the hardcopies out of the house and still have access.


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## onoitsmatt

I have a bookshelf in my shop for books and magazines related to woodworking.


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## Clarkswoodworking

I have 100s and 100s and they live the in closet 
I re-read them over time
Scott


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## CaptainSkully

I scan the articles and drawings and put them in a woodworking plans folder on my laptop.


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## Gilley23

How do you know what information that you're going to use in the future?


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## TravisH

I run into this often. For me really only one or two magazines I care to have. Only subscription I have maintained has been Fine Woodworking. Could see getting Furniture & cabinetmaking aslo. I chucked everything besides those (kept a few "good" issues of others).

I also have a lot of magazines on the computer (Fine Woodworking 1975 to 2013, Woodworking 1984-2011, Woodsmith issue 001 up to 210, Popular Woodworking 1981 to 2013, and few specialty books/articles). I will grab a paper magazine anytime over scrolling through the ones I have digitally.


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## JAAune

I got rid of mine. Any info I want to keep is bookmarked or archived on the computer or written down somewhere in the shop. A central stack of magazines takes up space and takes too long to look through.


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## Rick Dennington

I built two big cabinets in my shop…..One is for all my finishing, such as stains, varnishes, paints, etc….The other is for all my hardback books, magazines, pictorials, etc….I prolly have 2000-3000 of them…Good reference…!!!


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## kelvancra

It was hard, but I took JAAune's approach. I did keep a few, but I figured others would appreciate them. I did the usual "cut the name and address off" thing and leave them for others.


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## thimmaker

Toss em fast. I did those projects already anyway.


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## Ripper70

Use them to wallpaper your bathroom. Then you'll have all the time in the world to study them. Paper over them every month with new plans for new projects.


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## cathode

... People still buy / subscribe to paper magazines? I didn't realize…

I've never built anything from someone else's plans in my life. Designing the project is 75% of the fun.


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## woodbutcherbynight

> Use them to wallpaper your bathroom. Then you ll have all the time in the world to study them. Paper over them every month with new plans for new projects.
> 
> - Ripper70


ROFLMAO, good one!


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## RonAylor1760

> Use them to wallpaper your bathroom. Then you ll have all the time in the world to study them. Paper over them every month with new plans for new projects.
> 
> - Ripper70
> 
> ROFLMAO, good one!
> 
> - woodbutcherbynight


No Lie … I had an uncle that did just that … with old Popular Mechanics magazines!


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## Kelster58

Funny this came up…...I stopped renewing all my subscriptions last year and just put all my magazines in the recycle. I'm going all electronic….online or in a database…....Too much clutter. Less magazines and more room for tools and materials…..


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## Dark_Lightning

I sort of have this problem, in reverse. My wife quilts. You should see what she has stockpiled, in terms of magazines, books and quilts. When she wants me to get rid of my woodworking magazines and books, the answer is, "You get rid of one, I'll get rid of one." I already only save magazines that I see a project in that I want to do. It's a lot smaller than one might think.


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## BigSteveG

I have magazines going clear back to the 80s (complete run of CoCo Magazine, among others, that has zero value to anyone but me). I would be a hoarder if I weren't organized and keep things on display. I figure that the size of the collection will be my daughter's problem to deal with some day.


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## Bonka

I tossed them all out. I seldom looked at the. At present I do not get any WW mags.


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## Holt

+1. Almost all the magazine content gets recycled after a while. Other than the product information, one from ten years ago is about as useful as one from last month.

With apologies to fans of the magazine, if I had to cut down on the number of magazines I retained, I'd probably throw away Wood Magazine first. Funny thing, as much as I love it when the new Popular Woodworking comes in the mail, it would probably be number two on my trash list. It typically arrives with some kind of damage to the cover, the actual quality of the paper seems inferior to the other magazines, and as good as the content is, once I've read it, I rarely return to it.

Of course, you can have the best of all worlds, get the digital archives! Then just hold onto issues that have patterns or similar that you need.



> I have a few hundred myself. They are in boxes and a stack of them in the bathroom. Every once in the while, the stack gets refreshed.
> 
> - mahdee


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## kelvancra

For the last few decades, the only thing I kept magazines for was project ideas, and the rare tip or technique.

Forty years ago, magazines were gold for their information. Today, they are, mostly, repeat, repeat. Then there are ones like Handyman that offer a lot of bogus advice.

Of course, that an article shows a chest of drawers and all the details of building one does not mean that is the only way it can be built. If you've made sawdust for a while, a photo may be all you need to get to Dodge/Rome.

I think I'm down to about seven magazines now and subscriptions are all but non-existent in my home.


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## Mike_D_S

I split the difference, I keep some of the magazines which have a specific project or other article that I think I will want to refer to later.

As I decide to keep one, I add the description and a few comments about the project or article in an excel sheet. This gives me an easily searchable reference so I don't have to sort through dozens of magazines looking for a specific thing.

The rest get shared with friends.

While I'm ok looking something up on the computer, I still have a preference for tactile feel of the printed magazine. Also, I like to make notes for projects I have done or have thought about doing in the margins of the article.

Mike


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## Oscar87

Since I built my very own 'carving room' separated from my house I keep all of books, and carving magazines on
book shelves that I built. So in reality I have no problems with my wife asking me to clean out my messes!
Oscar


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## ArlinEastman

"cut out the patterns and throw away the rest"

My wife said the Exact same thing a few years ago. I now put all my books and magazine's in my work area and no longer in the house taking up her room.

I always say the house is hers and the shop is mine and I love it that way.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

First rule: Wife doesn't see them. If she does, it becomes 'our' problem to solve vs. mine. Pretty much an echo of Arlin's point.


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## Jon_H

> I scan the articles and drawings and put them in a woodworking plans folder on my laptop.
> 
> - CaptainSkully


Same here. Although, I rarely get any hard-copy magazines any more. I only scan stuff I think I might want to revisit in the future. After scanning, the mag gets recycled. If I wind up throwing away something I need later, a quick Google search will find something identical, or better.


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## LesB

I have subscribes to several different magazines over the past 40+ years and usually "recycled" them after a month or two. If there is a particular article or plan I deem worth keeping I tear it out and put in my woodworking plan file….and seldom go back to use them. LOL
I do have every single issue of Fine Woodworking that are stored in wood boxes (too heavy to lift) in the attic. However I seldom go back to those old magazines.

Others comment about storing copies on their computer which works well but the technology keeps changing. I had old plans in my computer files that I could no longer open because the program that created them was no longer available. So for some things paper is still a great media for long term storage. I now try to convert a copy of everything I want to save on the computer to a PDF file as back up. PDF seems fairly universal and should be around for a long time. 
In addition most computers no longer have CD/DVD players built in so they are slowly becoming a problem….not to mention that the media on them breaks down over time (5-15 years on average); except for the newer M discs which are rated to be good for 1000 years. Again by then there won't be any way to play them or read the data on them. 
Apple is currently in the process of changing the way it will stores files on the SSD drives as they phase out hard drives on their computers.


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## MT_Stringer

I have several years worth of Wood, Woodsmith and several tips, tricks, and traps magazines I need to purge. I have the ShopNotes CD, so I am good there.

These days, You can't hardly give them away. :-(


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## Bill_Steele

I keep all my woodworking magazines. I'm always flipping back through them to re-read and/or get inspiration for projects. I keep them in magazine file holder organizers. I also have the ShopNotes and WoodSmith CDs-but I don't often look through that unless I'm looking for something specific.


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## jacksdvds

How many pairs of shoes does she have?


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## thechipcarver

> How many pairs of shoes does she have?
> 
> - Jack Lewis


Funny thing is, she doesn't buy shoes, purses, jewelry, clothes or makeup. It's kind of a blessing and also a headache around the holidays.


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## MT_Stringer

I just shipped two boxes of magazines to a friend in NY. More shelf room for other stuff.

Well, maybe I did scan a few pages.


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## dhazelton

Someone gave me a huge box of 10 year old woodworking magazines. After hanging on to them for a couple of years I finally realized that all the machinery reviews were outdated, many of the patterns (from WOOD especially) were plain goofy and that anything I really HAD to keep I could pull out and put in a small binder,


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## MrRon

I take my old magazines that I no longer want with me when I go for a doctor's appointment or visit a hospital. Leaving them there is a welcome addition in any waiting room. It sure beats 3 year old copies of newsweek or Sports Illustrated. Old woodworking magazines may spark an interest in a waiting room or hospital patient. When I have made a return visit, the magazines I left have disappeared, but the 3 year old NW or SI are still there.


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## jimintx

These days, I don't have any active subscriptions. For me, the internet in general, this site, and youtube has vastly exceeded the usefulness I used to associate with magazines. For me.

I might pick up a mag at a woodworking store, or even an airport, from time to time. At the Rockler store, they sell the old issues for 2 to 3 bucks, so it can be a pretty good deal if something looks worth reading carefully.

When I bring one home, I read/scan through a time or two, let it sit around my desk a bit, and then discard. If there is something i see that i decide I want to keep a while, it goes on a bookshelf in my shop. I don't let my space there sit overstuffed for long, so after a while without use, it will end up in the recycle bin.

Otherwise, wives can sure be a pain at times, can't they?!


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## EarlS

I still have a number of old Woodsmith magazines that have projects that I liked and want to build, or have built. Their plans are pretty good.

I also keep some of the FWW issues if there is a project that I like. Otherwise, if I really want plans for something, I can buy them on-line from Taunton, Woodsmith, or any number of other outlets. There are also a lot of books with shop drawings in them.

Of course, I bought Darrell Peart's books on G&G because they have plenty of good history as well as a couple of projects and plenty of tips on how to make the G&G elements. Same goes for Bob Lang's books.

All in all, I have one or two storage bins that I keep them in. Any more than that and I purge. I no longer receive Woodsmith and decided not to renew the FWW since a subscription is $30/year for 7 issues.

There are plenty of ideas to be found here so I doubt I will ever run out of ideas. I can draw up most things I see on SketchUp or else look through the SketchUp online warehouse to get someone's model and use it.


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## bondogaposis

Compromise, tell her you will throw away one magazine for each shoe she throws away.


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## Jon_H

> I now try to convert a copy of everything I want to save on the computer to a PDF file as back up. PDF seems fairly universal and should be around for a long time.


Yep, PDF works great now and should be pretty future-proof



> In addition most computers no longer have CD/DVD players built in so they are slowly becoming a problem….not to mention that the media on them breaks down over time (5-15 years on average); except for the newer M discs which are rated to be good for 1000 years. Again by then there won t be any way to play them or read the data on them.
> Apple is currently in the process of changing the way it will stores files on the SSD drives as they phase out hard drives on their computers.
> 
> - LesB


I use Google Drive to store all of my files. Photos, scanned woodworking articles, videos, budgets, letters, everything. My laptop automatically syncs all my files with the "cloud". Everything is backed up, almost instantly after it's created or updated. I don't have to worry about physical media getting lost, damaged or wearing out.

I also have access to all my files from my phone, tablet, PC at work, library computer…anywhere there's a device and an internet connection. Amazon and Microsoft have similar products as well. If Google ever goes out of business, I could be screwed, but that seems pretty unlikely at this point


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