Woodworking Wisdom & Know-How: Everything You Need to Know to Design, Build, and Create

I think this book is one of the best published on working with wood, but it does have flaws.The pictures are not good. They were probably taken for publication on slick paper, like Fine Woodworking Magazine, and were not changed when they went to newsprint for this book. Newsprint requires a much lighter photograph with less contrast to print properly. In woodworking, photographs are important in understanding the process being described. “One picture is worth a thousand words” is no joke.Nonetheless, the pictures are not totally black. They are just hard to decipher in some cases.The size of the book in inconvenient, making it hard to read and hard to put on a bookshelf.Now for the good part. The information is nonpareil. I can’t think of another book on woodworking where so much information – both basic and advanced – is compiled in one place. While a bit of the information may be questionable, after all it is a series of articles expressing each person’s point of view on how to do something, the vast majority of the techniques and ideas presented are excellent.One article in particular is worth the price of the book. Fine Woodworking tested the strength of wood joints. They were all glued with Tightbond 3 and the testing procedure was first-rate. The half lap joint was the strongest tested, which surprised me. The complete list is remarkable. The half lap took over 1000 pounds of force to break the joint. Many other joints are tested and the results will improve your woodworking.Get the book.AD2

This book is an excellent reference for any woodworker at any level of experience.

The paperback book is large format(13 5/8 x 10 1/2). It's layout is in progressive sections from tree to projects that you can build and everything in between. Pages 7 - 308 are from the wood(tree) to finishing. Pages 307 - 516 are projects for the beginner to the master craftsman. If you was to know what the best woods for the outdoor, its there. If you want to know how to setup a band saw, its there. How about using a spray gun, its there. Want to know how it make an inlay, its there. I liked the section on hand tools as my dad left me some of his old hand tools. He had two hand planes and I thought I could use them but I did not know how to use them. The information in the book was good enough to me to determine that the planes were not in usable condition. The screws holding the frog on one are stripped and the other was welded back together at the throat. The information is timeless and appears to be articles written and published in the past issues of Fine Woodworking magazine all in one place.

First, this being a compilation of items that may have appeared previously in Fine Woodworking is a good thing, as that assures the content quality. Second, some have commented negatively about the print format (large book and paper grade). I view this as an asset, as with the typically low Amazon price, one is not apt to protect this book as a collector item! It is meant to be read, put down & then opened wherever and read again! It is meant to be taken into your shop, to try some of the techniques!I'm a very experienced woodworker-well over 45 years now, having served a 4 year carpenter's apprenticeship, then serving 15 years as a journeyman, before leaving the trade to start a manufacturing business (still there). I have a very well equipped shop and spend my spare time there. I have built most of the furniture in our home and also many for others. In this volume, I've found much that is still fresh to me, for just handtool users, for powertool users and for hybrid woodworkers. Cheap price, so who cares if it gets some tattered pages, saw dust in the binding or stains on the cover or pages! It is meant to give you ideas and if a single idea saves me from screwing up a $50 piece of lumber, then the $16 Amazon price has paid me quite the return!

Love this series of books and was very happy to see the reaction of the family wood worker when I gave this as a gift. I don't recommend this for anyone that has trouble reading small print. The book is a big, slightly floppy (because of paper quality) treasure trove of woodworking information. Written in a way that it is enjoyable to read and easy to understand.

Brilliant wood working book. It seem to capture every subject on tools, how to, and projects. This is a great beginners book. Written by experts that explains each and every detail so it is clear. I wish they were my teachers in high school shop.

Almost too much information overload. large book (10 1/2"x13 1/2"). Has 525 pages, printed on newspaper thickness paper. The content section is well itemized to almost anything wood related you can think of, Good diagrams, Good black and white pictures. Has front and back page areas to make notes. Covers the workshop, Wood (types, strengths, choosing), All types of woodworking, carving, wood tools (hand and power), Routing, gluing, clamping technique, joints(types, strength and weaknesses), molding, milling, jigs, sharpening tools, scraping, Sanding, Finishing and refinishing technique, Making tables-dressers-chairs-cabinets-bed frames-drawers and more, honing your skills, LOTS OF IDEAS, TROUBLE SHOOTING and TIPS (too many to list here). They tried to put as much info in here as they could, and they did a good job.

My husband refers to this often and loves it!