Shopsmith Forums

Hey all,

I am not as experienced as most of you are. I am wondering which magazine subscription to begin getting. I received my sample copy of Woodsmith. It even came with a book on routers. I like that it has plans and other articles on techniques. The plans have sections that explain how to do things as well.

For my experience (or lack there of ) I am wondering if this is a good choice.

jawa_sparky wrote:Hey all,

I am not as experienced as most of you are. I am wondering which magazine subscription to begin getting. I received my sample copy of Woodsmith. It even came with a book on routers. I like that it has plans and other articles on techniques. The plans have sections that explain how to do things as well.

For my experience (or lack there of ) I am wondering if this is a good choice.

I think that Woodsmith is a fine magazine and that you would get a lot of enjoyment and education from it but only if you read it for fine detail. It really is not a text book for beginners. But then maybe none of them are. I would recommend Wood and Woodsmith. Wood presents a lot of elementary information while at the same time presenting the craft as it exists today - a rapidly growing hobby.

Wood does have an extra ordinary amount of commercial advertising.

The best magazine (in my opinion) is Shop Notes. Not only for the great articles on how to make woodworking shop jigs and storage ideas, but because there's no advertising whatsoever! The whole magazine is devoted to woodworking with plans, jigs, shortcuts, ideas, etc. You can find their website at http://www.shopnotes.com.

Check it out.

Jim in Tucson, Arizona

You can't go wrong with Wood, Woodsmith and/or Shopnotes.
Also, you can't go wrong in reading about the members of this forum and their work. Some really good pictorial essays on jigs and other projects.

Gene Howe wrote:You can't go wrong with Wood, Woodsmith and/or Shopnotes.
Also, you can't go wrong in reading about the members of this forum and their work. Some really good pictorial essays on jigs and other projects.

Well said, Gene.Best advise I ever got, for my hobby, was to join this group! I get WOOD and like it a lot, but these guys are the best. If something does not fit, compute or other wise soak in, you can ask here.

Oh, ShopNotes - I forget that one because I don't subscribe. I go to Barnes and Nobel to read it when my wife makes me go to the mall. I get to read the magazines there two or three times a month. A big hot cup of coffee from Starbucks, a big easy chair with a reading light and all the magazines I haven't seen yet. You can't beat it with a stick.

Thanks guys! I have learned a lot from all of you here in the forums. I hope I can return the favor one day and help others like you guys do.

I am just looking for a good magazine to read on trips or in the evening. I do like Woodsmith and will probably get it and Wood. Dusty - I like the idea of reading Shop Notes at B&N over coffee while my niece looks for books (usually an hour).

Thanks for all of the input.

I also subscribe to all three that were mentioned and agree that they are all well worth their cost. These are all keepers that I hang on to.

beeg wrote:Yep I vote ya get WoodSmith. But why don't ya go to a bookstore or library and look over the different mags out there.

My local library doesn't have any of them. I'll have to go to B&N. Since I got my Nook I haven't had to go there for a while.