I've narrowed it down to one of these two magazines. Your choice?

[Jim O'Dell]

If you have a preference for one of the above over the other, please vote and let me know why. I really consider myself a beginning + woodworker. So Fine Woodworking is a little beyond me right now, and stand alone furniture in general is not really where my interests reside. I like ShopNotes, but it's too much about jigs to me.
As a side note, let me know if you purchase magazines from the publisher direct, or if you use a discount house (and which one) on the internet to save a couple dollars, and even if they have worked well for you, or cost you time and money because they don't deliver. TIA!!! Jim.

[Van Huskey]

For me I would have a hard time between the two and thus didn't vote. The two mags I wouldn't do without are the two you didn't want. I think FWW is the best (not perfect) but it is the one I learn from and it inspires me. Shop Notes is maybe my favorite it has saved me more TIME than any other magazine.

Since we are talking magazines I think the FWW DVD with all the magazines on one DVD is an EXCELLENT resource and although pricey at $150 but I use mine all the time and my wife loves it... no magazine clutter!

[Cary Falk]

I personally like Woodsmith better. I think it is a little more advanced than Wood.

[Stuart Gardner]

I've never even seen Woodsmith. But I've gotten Wood Magazine for many years now and still have almost every issue. I also get This Old House and Fine Woodworking. It's not as snobby or advanced as you might think from the name. I also used to get Popular Woodworking and American Woodworker but I've let those lapse. Way too many piles laying around.

So - I'd recommend Wood or Woodsmith and Fine Woodworking.

[Steve Schoene]

My impression is that Woodsmith by and large has more attractive projects. Wood offers a lot of pretty tacky little projects that I wouldn't have in my house. But I never make projects from magazines. Mostly they have been too dumbed down.

[Justin Bukoski]

If you have a preference for one of the above over the other, please vote and let me know why. I really consider myself a beginning + woodworker. So Fine Woodworking is a little beyond me right now, and stand alone furniture in general is not really where my interests reside. I like ShopNotes, but it's too much about jigs to me.
As a side note, let me know if you purchase magazines from the publisher direct, or if you use a discount house (and which one) on the internet to save a couple dollars, and even if they have worked well for you, or cost you time and money because they don't deliver. TIA!!! Jim.

Jim, I doubt Fine Woodworking is beyond your level - its my favorite magazine. My second fav is Woodsmith.

[Dave Lehnert]

For beginning woodworking I would go with WOOD. It is a magazine that seems to hit most subjects in woodworking as well as tool reviews.

[Steven Green]

I subscribe to Woodsmith and I'm subscribed to FWW online Jim. They both are very good. I also buy Popular Woodworking from time to time. For what it's worth I like FWW online the best because of all the archived info.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm subscribed to Wood.
Last year my grandson had some magazine subscription thingie going on and Wood was the only one offered that I had an interest in.
It's ok I guess.
It does have a lot of little projects that I can't ever see myself making...
However..
I do gain something out of the techniques used to create those little projects, so, I guess there's some value there.

Wood offers a lot of pretty tacky little projects that I wouldn't have in my house

LOL!
Unlike Shop Notes - which offers a lot of pretty tacky little projects which I would have in my shop!

Shop Notes rocks.

[Will Overton]

Jim,
It depends what you are looking for. WoodSmith is pretty much all about projects. A great feature is that if they use a particular joint or technique, they usually have a separate 'how to' article on how too accomplish it. There is no advertising and is conveniently designed to store in a binder. Without all the ads, they don't take up so much room.

Wood has a wider range of projects, some real simple and some a little more complex. What I used to like about Wood was learning what new tools and accessories were about to hit the market. They still put a lot of ink to paper on those subjects, but with the internet, it's usually old news by the time they publish. As for tool reviews, I don't know if they are biased by advertising or not, but my experience with tools they review is often very different than what they write.

If I had to pick one, and was primarily looking to learn woodworking, it would be WoodSmith. But, I do read both.

From Wood




From Woodsmith

[Curt Harms]

Of the magazines i get, I like Popular Woodworking the best and you can find some pretty attractive deals on subscriptions. Wood magazine might hold more interest for beginners but I found it to grow stale rather quickly. Only thing with Pop Woodworking is they spend time & ink on hand tools. That may be to your liking or not. Of your two choices I'd go with Woodsmith.

[Al Weber]

Why not consider Popular Woodworking. Kind of a cross between FWW and Woodsmith. But of your two, I'd go with Woodsmith. It is a teaching journal.

[Tom Rash]

I actually get both of them, and FWW. I am a beginner too, but I prefer FWW out of all them even though much of it is beyond my skill level. Of the two you listed I can't really decide. I get alot of my magazines from the link below. This will search many of the low price magazine websites. I have listed it with FWW as I got a subscription for 18 dollars which is about 50% less than any other place I could find. They don't have woodsmith, but they do have a wood subscription for two years for $20 dollars.

Good luck with the decision.

http://www.magazinepricesearch.com/d...%20woodworking

[Troy Turner]

I like Woodsmith. When I started out, I went with Wood cause it was the only one I could find. Then I picked up a copy of Woodsmith. I like it cause there's fewer advertisements and more woodworking. Most of the time, what they're selling is out of my price range anyway....Whether it's how to's or the actual projects, I like the way their plans are drawn up. But that's just me

[Paul Johnstone]

I subscribe to Wood, although I like Woodsmith too.

Wood is trying something new, starting this month. They are trying to get readers to submit their ideas to publish. Like this month, they had a bread tray with bowls on it.. Now I probably won't make that project, but it's nice that they are making an effort to freshen things up a little bit.

Just about every month, Wood will have a "basic tool" project, which is kind of designed for the guy with only a circular saw, router, and a few clamps.. I don't particularly like those articles, but it's good for very beginners.