New member intro & WW books question

[David Croteau]

Hello,
I've been lurking and I wanted to jump in and thank you for the interesting information I've already found here. Since I also anticipte having lots of questions, an introduction seems in order.

My wife and I are in our mid-40s and a few years ago we bought a run-down 1940s house (seemed like a good idea at the time!) on a nice 5-acre wooded lot (which is really why we bought it). For the last couple of years, we've been fixing it up--much of it gutted to the studs, two new additions, new electrical, HVAC, roof, etc. We designed the renovatins and contracted out the major work up to rough drywall stage. Since then, we've done ourselves the cedar siding, finish electrical work, two baths and utility room including tile floors, painting, finish trim work, a rehab of crawl space, etc. Right now we're installing wood floors (antique heart pine w/tung oil); half the house's floors are done, half will be done later this summer. We're trying to keep a bit of a rustic feel (e.g. window trim and an accent wall are recycled from house's old pine floor boards) and the texture and depth of these old wood floors are working out beautifully.

So far, I've mostly an armchair woodworker--always interested by never having the time or space to do much since other, more immediate, projects loomed. Now though, I'm about to go through baptism by fire. The shell of the house is nearing completion and I need to move on to building a houseful of furniture! (We like simple lines of rustic farm/ Shaker/ Arts&Crafts.) The list includes: bathroom vanity, closet organizer, kitchen cabs & island, built in bookcases, two fireplace surrounds with built-in shelves, one bed and one Murphy bed, complete office furniture, entertainment center, etc. Needless to say, this a long-term effort! While it's intimidating, I look forward to learning by doing and I hope this forum will help me to avoid some common (and costly) newbie mistakes.

I should mention that I have a workshop space a little smaller than a two-car garage along with a few basic power tools to get me started--Jet contractor table saw, DeWalt benchtop planer, Jet jointer, Delta dust collector, etc. I know I'll need to invest in some more/better tools to tackle the range of projects I'm contemplating, but I do have a modest budget.

I stumbled onto this site because of SketchUp. I read something in the paper about the free Google release and thought it might be useful for designing furniture projects--not knowing some of you were already experts at doing this! A few Internet searches later and I came across Sawmill Creek. I've been poking around in the archives and I really appreciate the fact that there seems to be a wide range of experience and ability welcomed here. I'm not starting from scratch, but I still consider myself a beginner.

Let me end with a broad question: In an effort to limit the number of dumb questions I ask here....given my background and upcoming agenda, are there a couple of "must have" reference/introductory books you would recommend? I know this varies by personal preference but any leads would be helpful in navigating the clutter of books out there.

Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to learning from this forum. (I promise future posts will be shorter!)

[Larry Norton]

Hey, David! For many, many years I've been a member of the Woodworkers Book Club. www.woodworkersbookclub.com . I've never had a problem with them. You get about 14 flyers a year, you don't have to order a book each time, just check "Send Nothing This Month" on the card. If you forget to send the card, you can return the book when you get it. You start out getting 4 books, but only pay for one. The club is operated by Popular Woodworking, one of the best woodworking magazine publishers. These aren't "generic" books, they are the same books you see at places like Woodcraft. I should be on their payroll, as many times as I've referred people to them, but I'm not.

[Chuck Trisdale]

I have really enjoyed my time on here as well. I dont think the regulars know how much they really help us lurkers (I still consider myself a lurker - although if I had anything to add I would post more. These guys just know everything!).

Just wanted to say welcome!

[Jim Becker]

Welcome aboard, David!

There are SO many books...in many categories. For basic things, I like books like Jim Tolpin's Measure Twice, Cut Once and Table Saw Magic, Bill Hylton's Router Magic, Mark Duginski's band saw oriented books etc. For "philosophy", George Nakashima's Soul of a Tree is a must read. Bruce Hoadley's Understanding Wood is a good reference as are Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guides to... series. I kinda like Taunton's Practical Design, too, if you can find a copy.

[tod evans]

welcome david! the one "must have" book that i would suggest is cabinet making and millwork by john feirer it`s out of print but you should be able to find a copy on ebay with no trouble. it covers pretty much everything you`ll need to know to outfit your entire house including the tools and layout...02 tod

[Corey Hallagan]

welcome to SMC. I belong to the WW Book Club. Selection is limited and they don't add new books often. You can go in and select online and decline the monthly specials with no problems. I have been doing that for 2 years and no problems.

Corey

[Dave Boxmeyer]

I'm a big fan of this series, solid illustrations and they focus on skills rather than projects. In particular, I've enjoyed the illustrated guides to cabinet construction, joinery and finishing. I think they are on sale at Rockler these days as well. If not, Amazon is about 35% cheaper than the local Borders.

I was fortunate enough to have a whole collection of Woodsmith magazines loaned to me (all the way back to the first issue!) I've found this an excellent way to learn new skills as well - a little more casual than a book too. you might want to look around for old magazines collections.

Finally, I joined finewoodworking.com. They have a ton of their old articles archived and you can download them in .pdf. It's a wealth of information for those starting out (like you and me!)

Good luck and let us know if you find any really good ones out there!

[David Duke]

Welcom to the Creek David, I know you will be able to have most of your questions answered here (if not it probably shouldn't of been asked in the first place :D :D ;) ). One thing you probably already know is:

WE LIKE PICTURES!!!

[David Croteau]

Thanks for the welcome and the leads. I'll certainly be investigating some of these.

As to pictures, well, no furniture projects yet, but here are a couple "before," "during," and "after" shots of the house rennovation. I hope I've attached them properly.

41022

41023

41024

41025

41026

[skip coyne]

The books byTauntan press (fine home/woodworking) all are excellent .

I suggest checking out the public library , Ive read most everything ours has on the subjects , ours also has a interlibrary loan arrangement with other libraries in the state . I was able to read to of Gary Katzs books that way each coming from librarys on the far end of the state.

ours has a website so I can search the card catalog and resrve books right here from my lazyboy.

like Tod said cabinet making and millwork by john feirer is excellant , I have a copy on the headboard that I read a few nights a week

[Al Willits]

What about DVD's on woodworking, some of us old farts that made it though the 60's need to be shown what to do..:)

They tell me I had a great time, back then....:confused:

Al

[Hank Knight]

David,

You have done a very nice job with your house. The rustic look suits the location - very beautiful.

Many of us here cut our teeth on a three volume set: Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking. Frid was one of the giants of our craft. He passed away in 2004. I think his book was first published in the 70s, but the techniques he taught are timeless. I still refer to it often. The books cover the fundamentals and some (relatively) advanced stuff in a clear, easily understood style with good photographs. Frid is very down to earth and takes a practical approach to woodworking. The three volume set is available now in a single volume. Check Amazon, Highland Hardware and probably many other places.

Hank

[Jake Helmboldt]

You could spend more on books than your shop, and many aren't worth the paper they are printed on. I have been getting a lot of stuff from the library, and if I find it useful I'll go buy a copy.

There is a back issue of FWW that had 27 recommended books covering virtually every topic. I use that as a starting point when considering a particular book. PM me and I'll look for the issue number.

Jake

[Jim O'Dell]

Welcome! Glad you found us.
On the books, I've seen many of the ones listed by the others at the local library. I got a few of the tool books to see if I wanted to buy the book. Great source if you have a good library close. For me, this way I only add books into my shelves that I find are truly useful to me.
Great looking house. I see a workshop addition in your future! Jim.

[Doug Whitson]

Hi Dave and Welcome! I have seen the many replies you have on books, personally, I prefer videos. I learned much of what I know from watching The New Yankee Workshop. Norm really started it all for me. His early videos and plans are on his site. It sounds like you have a pretty good starter shop and would be able to start making some of his shaker, mission and arts and crafts style furniture. It's one thing to read about a technique, it's another to watch it from start to finish. I'm not saying books are not great, I'm just trying to give you other resources. Keep us posted.
Later,
Doug in AZ.

[Dan Forman]

The Frank Klause (spelling?) videos are great. The one on mortise and tenons covers both hand and power tool use, and several different variations of mortise and tenon joints.

Rob Cosman and David Charlesworth both have very good vids on handplane use. Taunton press has a good series of DVD's dedicated to power tool use and maintenance.

I just ordered copies of "The Complete Woodworker" and "The Practical Woodworker", based on the high opinion of them voiced by Joel on his website at Tools for Working Wood. The first of these is currently out of print, and the second may be as well. I ordered them both used from Amazon. Amazon still has them listed in their "new" category, but the shipping time has been static at "2-4 weeks" for well over 4 weeks. It's my understanding that both of these books are focused mainly on hand tool use.

Dan