Has anyone purchased the Fine Woosworking USB? I am curious if it is worth the $100
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[OP]
Contributor
Has anyone purchased the Fine Woosworking USB? I am curious if it is worth the $100
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Member
Only you can answer that question. I wouldn't buy it.
Guest
That's a great deal. The early years, especially, of FW were and are a gold mine. If I didn't already have the magazines, I'd easily pay a lousy $100 for just the first ten years of the magazine, not to mention the entire forty-three years' worth.
It's a steal.
Contributor
I have the DVD, up to 2013. I loaded it on my laptop, and copied many of the pdf files to my iPad. It makes great reading on long trips.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Member
Yes, if you need it. I got mine (older version) from CL or eBay from a previous owner (disk version) for less than half the original price.Originally Posted by John Isgren
Simon
[OP]
Contributor
I wonder if someone could convince Popular Woodworking to do something similar!
Contributor
You mean like this?
Popular Woodworking Magazine 1995-2015 DVD
$129.99
SKU: R0095
Member
I just ordered it. I have an archive for Woodsmith magazine, and I find it very useful - I suspect FWW will be more useful.
If you decide to pull the trigger on it, there is a promo code available - SAVE20 - that will get you 20% off. Standard shipping is free, so $80, delivered.
Member
I have the DVD and it has been very disappointing. The user interface is clumsy and the search feature is quite crude. It seems that no matter what I am looking for, it isn't in the archive.
Member
The archive (disk or usb wouldn't make much a difference) does have its limitations, and some also complained about the resolution for the black & white issues. However, I have not had much problem finding what I needed with the search keys I used. It also allows us to search based on Department, etc. If your search with the archive does not get you what you want (even though it may be in the magazine), try Google. Often, I can pinpoint the issue #/date via Google and then access the content or details in the archive.
Original (second hand) archives on the auction site I just visited are asking for $25 to $40 depending on the years.
Simon
[OP]
Contributor
I guess it shows how my brain works. When I saw the “Shop” tab on PW main tab I assumed that was workshop projects and not a store front. They have this one also:
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Contributor
I had a complete collection of all the FWW issues some years ago. But they took up too much room. I donated them to the local school which had a woodworking class. I wouldn't be surprised if the students took the valuable issues and sold them but...
Then I purchased the electronic version of the issues. I copied the DVD to my computer disk so I could access them faster - it's pretty slow on the DVD.
I haven't purchased the updates since maybe 2011.
I did learn a lot from reading the early issues.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
I bought the the disc in 2015.
Like Derek, I downloaded quite a few of the PDF's to my tablet for reading on the plane when I was traveling a lot.
It has occurred to me more than once - I never could have imagined back in those days having the magazines to read on a computer. Pretty awesome to have all that information at your fingertips.
I credit FWW with really instilling a passion for woodworking in me back in the early 80's. I couldn't afford a subscription back then but bought a few issues at the newsstand most of which I still have. I thought the search feature worked fairly well.
Regards,
Kris
Contributor
If you buy a previously owned version of the FWW archive off the big auction site be warned that there are some sellers who will sell you a copy of their archive. A couple of years ago I bought what was advertised as the FWW archive on DVD 1975-2013 IIRC. Upon receipt it was a copied version. I let the seller know he was violating the law. I tossed the pirated archive and I can't recall if it was eBay or the credit card company who credited my money back. Oh yeah, I also contacted the folks with Taunton Publishing to let them know the guy was selling pirated copies of their archive. They said they appreciated the info. Who knows if they actually did anything. I'd suggest you explicitly ask the buyer if you'll be getting the original archive from FWW (Tauton Pub).
Last edited by Mike Manning; 03-01-2019 at 1:54 PM.
Member
Like shopping for anything else on that auction site, look at the seller's feedback rating first. A guy with a 98.7% positive score out of 19,230 transactions, for example, is probably a better vendor than many B&M stores out there. Having said that, I find the site's refund/complaint process so much improved that even if you dealt with a crook, you would get your money back with ease (as easy as if you would get money back for a fraudulent credit card transaction that hit you).
With close to 400 purchases (some sales) made under my belt, I had only one loss (10 years ago), but I decided not to file a complaint as the amount was so small. Half a dozen refunds received due to lost shipments, but everything else sailed smoothly. The bay offers more free shipping deals than amazon too.
Simon
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