Best woodworking magazine to subscribe to?

[Luke McFadden]

I'm interested in subscribing to a general woodworking magazine, but I'm not sure which one. I'm new to woodworking, so something on the general side would be nice. I've mainly got hand tools right now, but I would like to get some power tools soon when my budget allows. I'm interested in building shelves, tables, boxes, and the like.

Recommendations and why?

Luke

[Pete Brown]

"Wood" and "Popular Woodworking" are both good and general. American Woodworker is good too.

Fine Woodworking and Woodwork both tend to be inspiring. My favorite tends to be Fine Woodworking.

There are tons of others, but those are the ones I see around the most.

Pete

[Karl Stewart]

As a relatively new woodworker myself, I would recommend Shop notes. Good tips and excellent illustrations. mostly dedicated to building your shop. Methods, joinery and usually budget concious with NO advertisements.

You've already made the best move by joining the creek!

Karl

[Jim Thiel]

As a general woodworking magazine, I think Popular Woodworking is a fine choice. I just reached into the archives (botton drawer of the filing cabinet) and pulled out June 2005. "Build better bookcases" looks like what you are wanting to build. A box with selves.

Jim

[Larry Anderson]

I like WOOD as a general type mag and subscribe to Woodsmith for projects.

Larry

[glenn bradley]

I've only been at this about 2 years and I still enjoy Shop Notes and Woodsmith. they are put out by the same people and have a common look and feel but do not overlap. They deal with a lot of shop tips, organization, tool tips, etc. They also have projects for the beginner and have a hierloom quality piece now and again. Best part? No ads. Completely subscription supported. Check 'em out on the web.

No association, just like the mags.

P.s. I dropped Workbench as it has slowly moved into more of a DIY homeowners sorta thing, IMHO.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Wood Magazine for me. A nice balance of tips, projects and informative articles.

[Mark Singer]

Fine Woodworking and Woodwork....those are the only two I get

[JayStPeter]

I think Wood is good for starting out. When you outgrow it, move on to Popular Woodworking and Fine Woodworking.

[Joe Unni]

Fine Woodworking and Woodwork....those are the only two I get

Ditto. I actually let the rest of my other subscriptions run out.

[Greg Stanford]

Popular Woodworking runs tool reviews fairly often & if you're going to be buying it's good to know what's out there. Shop Notes will have plans for jigs & small projects that are good to get started on. After you're pretty confortable w/ what you're doing, Fine Woodworking.

Just my 2 cents.

g

[Jim Becker]

Fine Woodworking and Woodwork....those are the only two I get

Ditto for me at this point. I used to get more, but there was a lot of duplication of articles/reviews between them and the type of projects were not things I was interested in. So I discontinued my subscriptions to them as they ran out. 6 years ago, FW wouldn't have stuck with me, but as I've progressed in my skills, it's a much closer match now to my interests. As much as I like the people at WOOD Magazine, some of whom I consider friends, I was finding too much redundancy with past issues as well as with competitors. However, I think it's a great magazine, especially for those who are new to woodworking or are doing basic skill building. It's also great for folks who want project ideas and plans, rather than "rolling their own".

[Bob Hoffmann]

All of the suggested magazines are good -- but they all depend on where your skill are and what you are thinking about at the time.

I would just go to the local book store -- Borders, Barnes and Nobel, Books a Million -- are good choices. Then look through the magazines and buy the one that you want to keep and has the articles that fit your skill.

If you always buy on magazine and do it every month, then a subscription is right. But you may find that different magazines have articles that you want to have -- so your collection will grow with what you want -- not necessarily what a particular magazine has decided to publish.

[Chris Dodge]

Woodsmith is the best for beginners. It is full of good projects to teach you basic methods of work and explains very well every step you need to take in order to complete the project.

[Rod Sheridan]

I think that Fine Woodworking is the best publication. You won't outgrow it, and it will always teach you new things, and inspire you to become a better woodworker.

Regards, Rod.