Big book of woodworking?

[Michael J Evans]

I am sure no such thing exists, but is there a big book per se of woodworking for traditional methods, joints,designs? That covers like everything when it comes to construction and design. It seems like everytime I watch a video I come along something new and interesting but it is usually only shown long enough for just how to do it and I don't always understand the reasons why.

Example I am building the Paul sellers desktop organizer. He talks about using drawer slips and then shows how to make them. But I don't get the back story on design considerations or when to use them. So I Google drawer slips and really come up empty handed except for Derek has a piece on his website, which a guy's kinda goes into depth about them, which now I'm even more intrigued.

I really like to know the when, where and why behind things, not just "use a mortise here". Obviously for some things it's pretty simple as to why.

So what is out there that is the big book of traditional methods? I don't really care much about tool info, as I know most of it and if not that's really easy to come by.

Thank you
Michael

[Kevin Jenness]

Ernest Joyce, "Encyclopedia of Furnituremaking".

[mike stenson]

Ernest Joyce, "Encyclopedia of Furnituremaking".

Was going to mention that, also Wearings "The Essential Woodworker" if more prose-y reading is your thing.

[roger wiegand]

Tage Frid's three volume set on woodworking fundamentals is pretty good.

[lowell holmes]

This site will help you find what you want.

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+woodworker+the+charles+h.+hayward+yea rs&oq=the+woodworker+The+charles+hayw&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i22i30i457j0i22i30.40005j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[steven c newman]

Wasn't there a series of books out there by a fellow named Hayward? may be a bit too British, though....

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on the Hayward compendium.

The drawings are clear and most of it is quoted in modern writing about "how to".

It is a collection of articles, so it might not be easy to follow.

[Michael Fross]

I have found "Illustrated Cabinetmaking" (https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Cabinetmaking-Construct-Publishing-Subassemblies/dp/1565233697/ref=sr_1_3?crid=21UQJSLWYQMFB&dchild=1&keywords=illustrated+cabinetmaking&qid=1605640691&sprefix=illustrated+cab%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3) by Bill Hylton to be a very useful book. It's essentially 365 pages of exploded furniture projects that give one a very good idea of how furniture is put together. There are no measurements, it is not a book of plans. If I want to build something new, it's the first place I look to give me an idea of HOW something should be constructed. You can then find plans or make your own.

Michael

[Jim Koepke]

I am sure no such thing exists, but is there a big book per se of woodworking for traditional methods, joints,designs?

There are books on making various joints. They come in different flavors. Some for for Japanese joinery, others for European or western joinery still others for green wood joinery. Some are for hand tool only, others are machine cut joinery and some are a blend of both methods. There may be three or more books on joinery in my library. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery by Gary Rogowski is a good choice.

Same with furniture making. One of my books Encyclopedia of Furniture Making by Ernest Joyce covers a lot of subjects from hardware to molding design. It might not be much use to someone when making a jewelry box or a work bench.

Books on chair making are specialized from Adirondack to Windsor styles.

There are specialized books on making everything from dovetail joints to customizing or copying moldings.

Audel's Carpenters and Builders Guide is a four volume set (later versions are consolidated into a single volume). It covers a lot of information useful to woodworkers even though it is directed at making things like houses and some cabinetry. It does have a lot of good information that one can relate to general woodworking. This was the first book found that taught me how to not bend nails while driving them. It also came in handy when building my first stairways while building two new porches.

There are also multiple books on hand tools and using them.

So rest assured, there likely isn't going to be one book to cover it all.

jtk

[Doug Dawson]

Wasn't there a series of books out there by a fellow named Hayward? may be a bit too British, though....

Another recommendation for the Hayward books:

https://lostartpress.com/collections/charles-h-hayward-collection

It’s a bit of an investment, but careful study will be repaid.

[Jason Buresh]

I reference this book a lot. I have 2 hard copies but the link below is for a PDF which is free through Google. It was written in the early 1900's.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Essentials_of_Woodworking.html?id=JjieGfUYYE0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

Otherwise check out lost art press. They have copies of Joseph Moxon's The Art of Joinery, as well as many other good reads, and they are high quality books and very fairly priced.

I dont think there is a be all, end all book for woodworking.

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, there exists no better resource than the Internet. Any book, traditional or modern, that I've read has ended up being a pleasure or design inspiration read (having static pictures to look at is invaluable for appreciating subtle things in design). But for the how and why, the Internet is the best - exactly the way you learned about drawer slips. My advice (there are other equally valid approaches) is to:

1) Take it project by project. Build what you WANT and NEED - not what you think you are capable of; you are capable of any project you can conceive of.... This world is huge, and I found it more beneficial to go down individual rabbit holes - with specific projects setting the context - than trying to learn from a book like we're in 1950.
2) Watch your videos
3) Here's the key: when you have a particular question (e.g., where did drawer slips come from?) just start a thread here. You will get pictures, answers, debates that are frankly better than any text or class you can take. It's like going to office hours with professors. The threads almost always yield insightful historical context, and modern considerations. And then when you find a few people whom you respect and admire, you can PM them. I've met my best mentors here: Brian Holcombe, Jim Becker, Derek Cohen, John Ten Eyk, Glenn Bradley, John Keeton , John Jordan and a few others I am certainly omitting; could go on and on!

[Bill Carey]

An interesting and fun book is George Ellis' Modern Practical Joinery. But understand that "modern" is based on 1902.

[Rafael Herrera]

I recently found this book, a pretty opinionated author. The Art and Craft of Cabinet-Making (http://www.survivorlibrary.com/library/the_art_and_craft_of_cabinet-making_1891.pdf) by David Denning, 1891.

[Doug Dawson]

IMHO, there exists no better resource than the Internet. Any book, traditional or modern, that I've read has ended up being a pleasure or design inspiration read (having static pictures to look at is invaluable for appreciating subtle things in design). But for the how and why, the Internet is the best.

I have found that half of all Youtubers are below average. It pays to have a _curated_ resource such as some of the foundational woodworking books under your belt, so that you can decide which is which.

[Michael J Evans]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and PDFs. I ordered a copy of the encyclopedia and in the mean time have the free PDFs to read.

[Ben Ellenberger]

I got the Bill Hylton book too, and also found it really useful. Especially the first part of the book that shows multiple options for each type of joint.

[lowell holmes]

I have "THE WOODWORKER: The Charles Haywood Years II" pages 464 thru 888.

Check this site.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22THE+WOODWORKER%3A+The+Charles+Haywood+ Years+II%22&oq=%22THE+WOODWORKER%3A+The+Charles+Haywood+Years+ II%22&aqs=chrome..69i57.2138j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Brian Deakin]

Please see link below

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/FC12Essential.pdf

[Frederick Skelly]

I reference this book a lot. I have 2 hard copies but the link below is for a PDF which is free through Google. It was written in the early 1900's.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Essentials_of_Woodworking.html?id=JjieGfUYYE0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button

Otherwise check out lost art press. They have copies of Joseph Moxon's The Art of Joinery, as well as many other good reads, and they are high quality books and very fairly priced.

I dont think there is a be all, end all book for woodworking.

Thanks Jason!

[Jack Dover]

An interesting and fun book is George Ellis' Modern Practical Joinery. But understand that "modern" is based on 1902.

I second this! Advising a book is a really tricky thing, no one knows whether a book that "clicked" for me would do it for anyone else. But this one had most everything I wanted to know after getting past basics of cutting, sawing and chopping straight to a line - pretty much the only book that goes beyond simple rules of thumbs and explains not just "what", but also "why" and "how" in very specific details. A good example is a part on sizing a mortise with actula numbers and calculations.

[steven c newman]

I seem to recall Roy Underhill having at least 6 "Workbooks", all geared towards the handtool crowd...