recomendations, not endorsements, needed for subscriptions

[aurelio alarcon]

how about you guys recommend some woodworkers magazines that are well written and well ilustrated to help out this somewhat of a beginner. You know, shop jigs, furniture and finishes.

[Mike Leonard]

Take a look at Woodsmith and Shopnotes.

http://www.woodsmith.com
http://www.shopnotes.com

[Julie Wright]

Wood Magazine. Lots of projects, easy to understand instructions.

[Mark Singer]

Fine Woodworking is very good.
Mark

[Todd Burch]

The only subscription I have today is right here with SMC! (The price is right too!)

Todd.

[Jim Becker]

I take a bunch of woodworking mags; my favorities are the first three:

1) WOOD Magazine (Great, all around general mag for all abilities)
2) Fine Woodworking (Didn't like at first, but really love it now)
3) American Woodturner (AAW (http://www.woodturner.org) Journal)
4) ShopNotes (Good project ideas and no ads)
5) Woodsmith (Good project ideas and no ads)
6) Woodwork (OK, but probably will not renew)

I bagged American Woodworker some time ago after Readers Digest bought the publication from Rodale Press--things were never the same after that transaction. 'Never liked Popular Woodworking, Woodworker's Journal or Workbench, although this is largely a subjective thing.

I also get This Old House magazine which sometimes contributes to my woodworking and HI ideas.

[Joe Suelter]

Wood Magazine
Woodworkier's Journal
Fine Woodworking
This Old House Magazine
SawMill Creek Online!

[Kent Cori]

In order of personal preference:

Fine Woodworking (I got three years for $48 on eBay. You can't beat that!) :D
Wood Magazine
Woodsmith (I was going to let it lapse but I could renew for 2 or 3 years for about $2/issue IIRC.)

The rest I look at on the magaizine rack. If the issue has a couple of feature articles or projects that I like, I'll buy it. This usually happens 2-3 times per year for all the others combined.

SMC (my favorite) and a couple of similar forums are still the #1 source of practical information for me. I've leaned more here at SMC (and the Pond before it) than I have from any magazine or book. :)

[Doug Littlejohn]

FWW (Fine Wood Working)
Wood
WoodSmith
ShopNotes

I really like the combination that these give me. Everywhere from esoteric artsyish to down and simple stuff. From mad power tool usage to Neander hand tool use.

Sherwood

[Chris Padilla]

Hmm, not a lot of votes for American Woodworker as that was, for a year or so, the only wood mag I ever got. I even went and bought a few years' worth of back issues, too.

I now get Better Homes & Gardens' WOOD to compliment AW.

I like them both and I haven't really looked at any of the others too much...guess I better! :D

Chris

[aurelio alarcon]

American Woodworker Chris, and I like it. I also get Popular Woodworking. I am going to possibly add Fine Woodworking (most expensive), Wood magazine and Shop Notes. Is Shop Notes a magazine or some kind of supplement? Will check into Woodsmith. I must add that I have received most of the important untold information here on SMC. This is where I first come whenever I encounter a problem of some sorts. There is so much information here ! And the members here never fail to respond in droves to many of the questions that I post however trivial they may be. Thanks! I am starting to feel more and more like a member of a unique community. I can definetly say that I have never enjoyed something in my life as much as I do woodworking. To me it is not just a hobby. I am also constructing small projects and getting paid for them! Sorry about the tangent. Thanks for all your guys input to this post!

[John Piwaron]

At this point in time I subscribe to Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding and Woodwork.

Over time, FWW will cover just about everything that can be done with wood. Woodwork has a lot more of the artsy wood stuff.

I've subscribed or bought on the newsstand most of the other publications. Wood, Popular Woodworking, Woodsmith, ect. Most of the time the projects aren't to my taste or seem to be recycled from mag to mag. Reader's Digest owned mags seem to be most guilty of this. American Woodworker was a great mag befor RD bought them. If you can get back issues before the buyout happened, they're worth reading.

I sort of "cut my teeth" with Woodsmith. When you don't know how to do much, Woodsmith will go step by step through a project showing how this or that is done. It's a good place to learn some basic stuff. But my ambitions have moved beyond the scope of what they're about.

[Kevin Murdock]

All,

What's the story behind Woodsmith and Shopnotes?

No ads and even the physical format (meaning non-glossy) is different.

What is the driving force behind this publication? I really like it, along with Fine Woodworking, and it stands out from all the other publications for the reason mentioned above and a few other.

Is it run by a few fellows not in it for the money?

Thanks,
/Kevin

[Jim Becker]

What's the story behind Woodsmith and Shopnotes?...No ads and even the physical format (meaning non-glossy) is different....What is the driving force behind this publication?...Is it run by a few fellows not in it for the money?

August Home (http://www.augusthome.com/) has three woodworking publications that I know of...ShopNotes, Woodsmith and Workbench plus two other mags. They also have a major league woodworking store in Des Moines and recently moved into a much larger space. I hear that the store is a real treat. The publications aren't "big" in pages, but are chock-full of good content and a lot of very good projects that normal humans can make. Only Workbench accepts ads; the other two are funded by subscriptions. However they do it...they do a nice job. They must have something going, too, as they just hired one of the graphic artists away from WOOD Magazine! You can read their whole story at their web page listed above in the "About..." area.