Woodworking Magazines - How many of your subscribe to any?

[Brian Henderson]

I don't subscribe to any. I did for years, but honestly, there is nothing in any of the magazines that I haven't seen before or I can't get online for free. They tend to be cyclical. Once you've been through the cycle a couple of times, what's the point?

[Bill Carey]

FWW, woodworkers journal, woodsmith, woodcraft, and 1 or 2 more. All for the grandson's school. He said "please, Grandpa?" What are ya gonna do? The only ones that sometimes avoid the recycling bin are select FWW.

[Chris Parks]

There is such easy access to information these days I think magazines have lost their reason to exist, that much is obvious and I think the better question might be which one will be the last one standing. I have always liked FWW for the quality of the mag itself but the contents can only say the same thing so many times before it becomes boring.

[Charlie Jones]

I subscribe to Fine Woodworking online but no prints.

[Jacob Mac]

If a magazine has an article on Greene and Greene, I will buy it. Otherwise I pass. So no subscriptions for me, but I will buy magazines when the content is of interest.

[Dave Lehnert]

I use to get Popular Woodworking on my Kindle but have not renewed. Keep looking for a deal but one never comes along. Kinda bugs me you can often get a deal on the print version but not the digital.
Like someone said above, you often can order the print and get the digital for free. But just the digital cost more ?????
Something else that bugs me is if I subscribe to the digital its like they don't even know I'm a customer already. Keep getting a notice to "Come back" for print.
I stopped getting magazines just because of the clutter in the house. I have 15 years worth of Wood magazines in totes.

[John Terefenko]

I use to subscribe to way too many and have weeded them down to my last issue of wood came last week So no more and now I have a ton of magazines I want to get rid of with no place to do this. I hate to just throw them out. But magazines got so rediculously redundant. They all said the same things and sold the same tools and the projects are one in a year maybe worth the effort. I scan them in the store now and if i find something I like I will purchase.

[Derek Cohen]

Mine often wind up in my waiting room. I claim them as a practice expense

Question for all: why do you read them? For the builds, for the tool information, seriously as in a learning medium, light-heartedly .... ??? This will influence the reason to purchase magazine. As I mentioned earlier, they are like reading the magazine in the weekend newspaper: some interesting titbits, the occasional serious or thought-provoking article, but mostly light-hearted pages to turn.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Andrew Seemann]

I used to have FWW and PW. Quit PW almost 20 years ago, just lost interest. Cancelled FWW about 6 years ago. There is only so many times you can read an article about cutting the perfect dovetail. That and the article titles started to sound like something out of Cosmo: "5 hand planes you can't live without" "3 surefire finishing recipes" "Why you need a bench top sander" "Half blind dovetails in half the time" (actual titles). I liked the articles more from the 70s and 80s and even 90s more than what started coming out in the 2000s and 2010s.

[Simon MacGowen]

No subscription to any magzines but have access to many ww magazines. Only FW is of interest to me for the quality photos and occasional quality projects.

I spend no more than 5 minutes on any other magazines in general and would not subscribe for them even though some offer huge discounts.

Simon

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I used to get Woodsmith, Shopnotes and FWW. Stopped FWW and changed over to Fine Homebuilding as I started my contracting business, but when I wound down, I stopped everything.
I have enough ideas and not enough time, unlike Derek I can't deduct the cost of magazines, and if I see something I want to persue, I'll check it out in the supermarket, but rarely will I buy another magazine.

[Michelle Rich]

I'm so old, I want to still have the luxury of print. Sit in my recliner, and read, and look at pictures without eye strain and eyeball squinting into a computer monitor. I still get FWW, and Popwwkng. They are my excuse to stop and smell the roses.

[Simon MacGowen]

I used to have FWW and PW. Quit PW almost 20 years ago, just lost interest. Cancelled FWW about 6 years ago. There is only so many times you can read an article about cutting the perfect dovetail. That and the article titles started to sound like something out of Cosmo: "5 hand planes you can't live without" "3 surefire finishing recipes" "Why you need a bench top sander" "Half blind dovetails in half the time" (actual titles). I liked the articles more from the 70s and 80s and even 90s more than what started coming out in the 2000s and 2010s.

Don't forget the tool reviews! Do ya really think someone could tell you how great a new tool was after it only came out for weeks?

If you said yes and entrusted your decision to an editor or another woodworker, you are pretty naive.

In the old days (eg Woodwork), profile articles were insightful. Nowadays they cover people because they are better known on social media!

Would I spend money on ANY magazine? Nope.

Simon

[Marshall Harrison]

Mine often wind up in my waiting room. I claim them as a practice expense

Question for all: why do you read them? For the builds, for the tool information, seriously as in a learning medium, light-heartedly .... ??? This will influence the reason to purchase magazine. A
Derek

I liked the articles more from the 70s and 80s and even 90s more than what started coming out in the 2000s and 2010s.

I only have the digital version of FWW as I got that when I took out the online subscription to their videos.

Derek, I would have more but I don't have the funds. I love woodworking and when I love something I want to devour everything I can about it. That's why I read most of the forum posts and I have lots of WW books. I didn't learn the alphabet until I was in the 1st grade and once I did that and learned to read I have had a life long love affair with reading. I often find a book that looks interesting and once I start reading it I find I have already read it before. I have one book that I have read almost every year since the 5th grade.

Andrew, I think people these days especially the younger generations are geared toward small bytes or snippets of info as well as a visual interface thus the short articles you are seeing. No real attention span.

[Ron Citerone]

I still subscribe to FWW and PopWood. Both are good mags, although very little of the build content is meaningful to me - I prefer to design my own pieces and draw up my own plans. I do like looking for ideas and appreciate those of others. I also like looking at the techniques. There is always something new to learn ... even when one feels comfortable.

Much of the content is aimed at intermediates, and it gets a bit monotonous. After 20+ years of membership, it is hard to break the habit and sense of family. In the grand scheme of things, the cost is miniscule, and the bonus is that with 3 minutes reading in bed, I am fast asleep!

Regards from Pert

I only do FWW, but agree completely with this..........especially the sleeping part!