What are your picks for woodworking mags?

[Harold Burrell]

If you were to subscribe to, say, 3 woodworking magazines...what would they be???

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Shop Notes is on my list... Well.. At this point it is my list.. So.. Ummm.... Yeah.

The rest is the intarweb.

[Mike Heidrick]

Woodworking, FWW, Wood

[Chris Friesen]

Woodworking (no ads, nice projects)
Popular Woodworking (mix of hand and power tools, some overlap with Woodworking though)
Fine Woodworking (the classic)

Currently I'm only subscribed to Woodworking.

[Jim Koepke]

I only subscribe to Fine WoodWorking.

Bought a copy of Popular Woodworking recently. I think I like the web site better than the magazine.

I am a bit picky at times and there was an article on one of the new Stanley planes.

A major faux pax was committed twice in the article. It said the Bailey adjuster on planes was invented by Stanley. Oops!

I know it maybe a bit overcritical, but little things like that tend to set off my alarms. Maybe that comes from working with small electronics at one time.

jim

[John Keeton]

This thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=110065) may help - or this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=50737&page=3) one. Personally, I like PWW and Woodworking. I cancelled FWW.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Lee Valley, Ball and Ball, and a Felder catalog. Ok, I'm in a mood this morning, but those catalogs get my imagination working better than any of the woodworking magazines.

[John Thompson]

FWW (years but may go on-line only in near future) and Furniture and Cabinet-Making from England. I occasionally pick up a PWW or WW'ing if I see something I feel relevant to pick it up for. I don't get as much from mags as I used too meaning just what can they tell me new after all these years?

[glenn bradley]

I did Woodsmith, Shopnotes and Wood for several years. I have just recently let them run out as I have more info than I can get through at the moment. I still keep my FWW online current.

The value of a given mag will vary (like so much of what we do) with how you work and what you make. I use power and hand tools, don't do kitchens, do work mostly with hardwoods and make items from pencil cups to dining tables. I am going to be drawn to mags that feed me info about these things.

When first setting up this shop I found a lot of the shop made stuff in Shopnotes valuable. As my interests changed I found (and still find) the projects in Woodsmith and Wood to give me good ideas for items I might want to make my own.

Much of the FWW items are beyond my current skill level and some things (like Queen Anne or Federal styles) will always be as they just don't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, theses styles are beautifully executed by some of the folks here; its just not my thing. Where FWW holds value for me is as an online reference over a wide array of tasks and techniques. Online members pics, demos by Rogowski, Gedrys, Peart, Van Dyke, Jewitt and more all at your fingertips. PDF articles you can print or save to your own folders for later review. It works for me.

[Montgomery Scott]

None. I have subscribed to Wood and FWW but don't get either now. I decided it's better money to buy a several excellent books than to have a shelf full of magazine where 50% of the material is useless ads. Book material is always much more comprehensive on a subject than a short magazine article and hence more valuable.

[Jacob Mac]

I am a big fan of both Chris Schwarz and Glen Huey, so I subscribe to PWW.

But I probably get the most enjoyment out of Wood. It is a nice reminder to me to focus on the what and not the how.

[Don Selke]

I get more pleasure and knowledge from SawMill Creek then any magazine I could read. You purchase a magazine and after two days, you never pick it up again. SawMill creek is a daily expanse of knowledge. I have been woodworking for a very long time but always pick up some tips here at the creek. I think that for the few dollars spent to support the Creek the pay back in friendship and knowledge is way more then the money spent.

[Jim Haddox]

Woodworking Magazine
Popular Wood Working
Fine Woodworking

I used to do more, but have dropped all of then except the three listed and Woodsmith.

Jim

[Cody Colston]

I subscribe to WOOD magazine and FWW online. Occassionally if I see something on the cover that interests me, I'll buy one of the others off the rack.

FWW online is the most beneficial to me because of all the archived stuff that is accessible.

[Danny Thompson]

Easy. In this order:

1. FineWoodWorking online -- you get access to what seems like every article ever written, they are downloadable, printable, and reprintable, and accessible anywhere in the world you have an internet connection. The slickest of the woodworking mags.
2. Woodworking magazine -- pure woodworking, no ads, emphasis on hand tools. A little casual with the details, IMHO, but interesting.
3. Popular Woodworking magazine -- a mix of the 2 above.

Note: When Woodwork magazine was in print, it would have been #2, bumping PWW off the list.

[Joe Jensen]

If you were to subscribe to, say, 3 woodworking magazines...what would they be???

I think it depends on your skill level and if you like to work from plans that others have drawn, to design and draw your own plans, or if you like to free hand it. Most of the magazines are geared to the newer woodworker with simpler projects. I've been at this for 30 years and I've only subscribed to Fine Woodworking for the past 20 years. I find the others are covering more basic projects and tips. 20 years ago I was sooo excited when each new issue would arrive and I'd spend a couple of hours thoroughly reading every article. I'd learn so key things in every issue. Now after 30 years of learning, I find that I am lucky to pick up one new idea or tip in each magazine. I end up letting 6 months or so go undread and then I do a 3 or 4 hour session catching up.

The internet and web forums are my primary source of knowledge now days.

[george wilson]

I guess it isn't going to happen,but I am tired of magazines that seem to be largely geared to those who are cutting their first dovetail. Same deal in machine shop magazines. Simple,sometimes stupid projects that are for beginners.

Some of these magazines seem to rely too much on amateurs who take photos of every process,and write articles about them. Too often,the editors are not woodworkers or metal workers.

I got real tired of bogus articles by guys like Frank McLean,in Home Shop Machinist. I wrote the editor,pointing out glaring errors in some of his articles.Got a letter back that he(the editor) "had not labored in the vineyard!"

Yes,I know the cure is to write articles myself,but I cannot seem to get into it. There are people who write books,and people who make things. Usually they are not in the same person.

[Maurice Ungaro]

This thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=110065) may help - or this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=50737&page=3) one. Personally, I like PWW and Woodworking. I cancelled FWW.

++1
I used to enjoy FWW, but I think it has gotten too vapid. I also do not appreciate the haughty remarks given to some Letters to the Editor.

[tom coleman]

shopnotes, woodsmith and wood

[Steve Clardy]

I'm still taking Shop Notes.

I let the others lapse a couple of years ago.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I agree with Montgomerys comment way back there. I quit all my mag subscriptions, and buy books or DVD's. IMO ONCE in a while you get a mag with an article/project that interests you. The rest is too advanced (for ME) or too basic. So I invest my monies in books and DVD's. I can get specific information on what I'm doing. I don't need ads anymore, since my shop is now almost fully loaded. I can safely say I will never mak a laminated veneer box.

Plus, who needs a mag, when this place is FREE!!!!! And a truly awesome website.

Just my .03.

[Harold Burrell]

I really appreciate all of the responses. Thanks.

If you haven't already guessed, I am new at this woodworking thing. I do so enjoy it, however, and my wife is enjoying the stuff I am making for her (the list grows daily). ;)

I am trying to take in as much info as possible.

The only mag I subscribe to currently is PWW. It's "ok", however...I too feel as though it has too many ads and arcticles that are not really what I am looking for.

I do like books, though...when I can find them...

[Jerome Hanby]

Shopnotes
Woodsmith
Wood
FWW (online)

Thinking about
Popular WW
American WW

[Steve Mellott]

Historically, I've subscribed to FWW and Wood, but I am going to let both subscriptions expire. There is a lot of excellent information on the internet - You Tube, the Wood Whisperer, tutorials on various woodworking websites, etc. There are also some excellent DVDs and great woodworking forums like this one.

Steve

[Dick Sylvan]

The rest is too advanced (for ME) or too basic. So I invest my monies in books and DVD's. I can get specific information on what I'm doing. I don't need ads anymore, since my shop is now almost fully loaded.

I have buiult a number of projects that I found in magazines that were too "advanced" for my skill level at the time they were published, but later my skills caught up. Also, I tend to focus on projects at hand , but later decide to try a project I read about several years before. So, as a consequence , I have a number of magazines that I keep which may or may not be valuable to me sometime in the future. As more and more can be found on the internet, maybe I will do differently in the future.

[george wilson]

I refuse to subscribe to a magazine with a fallacious title like "Woodsmith." A smith is a hammer man,like a black smith,who hammers things into completion. Everybody has to be a "smith" these days. We have a Bike Smith shop here.

If a magazine's staff hasn't the sense to correctly name what it really is,I am not encouraged to think its contents are going to be correct or useful.

[Dave Lehnert]

I refuse to subscribe to a magazine with a fallacious title like "Woodsmith." A smith is a hammer man,like a black smith,who hammers things into completion. Everybody has to be a "smith" these days. We have a Bike Smith shop here.

If a magazine's staff hasn't the sense to correctly name what it really is,I am not encouraged to think its contents are going to be correct or useful.

So my ShopSmith is a hammer:D

[Tom Blodgett]

Shopsmith and Shopnotes

Tom

[Matthew Hills]

I really appreciate all of the responses. Thanks.

If you haven't already guessed, I am new at this woodworking thing. I do so enjoy it, however, and my wife is enjoying the stuff I am making for her (the list grows daily). ;)

I am trying to take in as much info as possible.
Sounds like a good setup.

Your subscription to PWW should cover a lot of bases -- my impression is that most of the print mags cycle through the basics over about a 2 year span (dovetails, review of table saws, router jigs, etc...)

What are the articles that you *are* looking for?

Some ideas:
- keep the one subscription, and then graze at the magazine rack for any issues that catch your eye...
- Shopnotes/Woodsmith -- I think both of these offer a free issue from their site
- FWW Online -- there is a free 14-day trial. Definitely worth getting when you've got a few evenings to browse around and see what's there.


Matt

[derek sikes]

When I got to my current ship (Navy Aircraft Carrier) I was excited to find that one of the shops I would be responsible for was the carpenter shop. Most of what I knew about woodwork prior would be considered "Construction Grade". We have a pretty expansive library of woodworking magazines (you'll be amazed at what you'll read when you spend 9 months out of the year at sea) and I've read every article multiple times. I think they should start a new magazine and call it JIG. It can be full of plans for jigs that take more time to build then the actual project you're building. :)

My top 3 are

Fine Woodworking
Popular Woodworking
Woodworkers Journal

I found a lot more useful information in old books I've downloaded from internet archive sites. The Woodworking Slojd's and Cabinet Maker/Joinery Apprentice books are awesome. I wish I could have a library of those books in print, but I never come across them.

If I am looking for inspiration for a project I normally go to an antiques store and bring my digital camera (no one has complained about me taking pictures or measurements yet). I also look through my wifes country living and better homes and garden magazines.

[Steve Rowe]

If you are a beginner to intermediate woodworker or just want plans or ideas, they are all about the same. Over the past 30 years or so, I have subscribed to every WW magazine at one time or another. Based on my recent experience, they are all about the same with little to differentiation between them.

If you want advanced woodworking - subscribe to none. They are all pathetic for advanced woodworking. FWW used to be really good but started dumbing down about 7-8 years ago. I got fed up and let all my subscriptions expire.

[Jeremy Polk]

Wood, Woodsmith, and Shopnotes

[Mark Elmer]

Hi all,

Let's see..... I currently subscribe to Wood, Shop Notes,Woodturning Design and Woodworker's Journal.

Today I just sent off a check to Woodcraft Magazine (they were offering two years for the price of one year)

I also just got a sample issue of ScrollSaw Woodworking & Crafts which I may take for a year as I am getting familar with my new scrollsaw.

I have a subscription to Workbench that cost me $6.00 for a year but I am not going to renew it.

I know that's quite a list and more than I need. But my work takes me away from home for days at a time and I like to have some reading material with me.