Interesting Woodworking Find

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Not sure what the total value is, probably not much but interesting nonetheless.

Anyway the guy I work with is kind of a collector of junk so when he said he had some "carpentry books he wanted to get rid of," I was not to gung ho about the whole thing. He was insistent on grabbing the box tonight, so I was surprised to find it was not books that he had, but a great big box filled with Fine Woodworking Magazines.

I always liked that magazine and found no matter if they are old or new you can get some good information from them. He also said that they were in good shape and "in chronological order." Wanting to see how far back they went, the first magazine I grabbed was simple labeled "1975, Volume 1, Number 1.

The box is filled with the first 10 years of what I would call a great magazine. (winter 1975 to December 1985). All are in good shape...perhaps a bit dusty and as my 2 year old says, "mells like cow poop daddy." Probably from being in a garage for 30 years. They are very much readable though,and in good shape with no water stains or nothing. A pretty good find I would say all things considering. No big high dollar value by any means, or say a 1909 Stanley #140 Plane in mint shape, but the information within holds some value.

Well I'd love to chit chat but I got some reading to do now. :)
 
Don't be so quick about the value. I once bought a box of "WOOD" magazines at a yard sale thinking they would be good reading. After getting into them, I found that is was also the first 40 or so issues starting with the very first issue. Just for the heck of it, I posted the first 3 issues on Ebay, (its was 3 or 4 years back). When the dust cleared at the end of the auction, I got a total of 167 dollars for them :eek: The guy who won them was happy, I was very happy as I only give 2 bucks for the whole box! Just a thought.

Randy
 
Great find! :thumb:I used to save all my magazines and had shelves full of them. Then we moved to Hawaii and they all got given away.:( It was either bring all my tools or leave some and bring the magazines:rolleyes: that was a no brainer:D. I had most every issue of WOOD magazine and an assortment of others. Funny thing, I haven't started a subscription to any magazine sense I got here in Sept. 2005:dunno:
 
Don't be so quick about the value. I once bought a box of "WOOD" magazines at a yard sale thinking they would be good reading. After getting into them, I found that is was also the first 40 or so issues starting with the very first issue. Just for the heck of it, I posted the first 3 issues on Ebay, (its was 3 or 4 years back). When the dust cleared at the end of the auction, I got a total of 167 dollars for them :eek: The guy who won them was happy, I was very happy as I only give 2 bucks for the whole box! Just a thought.

Randy
WOW.
I'm a charter subscriber to WOOD and have every issue ever published. Maybe I should be thinking eBay!:D
 
WOW.
I'm a charter subscriber to WOOD and have every issue ever published. Maybe I should be thinking eBay!:D

Naw - think retirement annuity... probably more valuable than the stock market.

I have a friend who worked to complete his collection of Fine Woodworking, and was paying $25 or more each for missing issues. The first issue is even more valuable.
 
When I cleaned out my mother's house after her passing, I found stacks of my fathers very old Fine Woodworking magazines. I kept two or three to read and trashed all the rest. Oh, well....
 
The Stock Brokers must be dumping their old issues of Fine Woodworking on Fleabay so they can buy toilet paper as I looked, and the first 10 issues are going for 30 bucks buy now. :(
 
WOOD MAG Had a flood several years ago and they lost all there earlier issues. I was trying to fill out my collection 4 or 5 years ago and was buying them on eBay. I never did get issues #1 and 2 as the were going for around $200 buck at the time.:eek:

I wish I would have had a good flatbed scanner when I had all my old Magazines...... I would have scanned in only the best articles of each issue and could have brought it with me when I moved:dunno:

20/20 hind sight:thumb:
 
WOOD MAG Had a flood several years ago and they lost all there earlier issues. I was trying to fill out my collection 4 or 5 years ago and was buying them on eBay. I never did get issues #1 and 2 as the were going for around $200 buck at the time.:eek:

I wish I would have had a good flatbed scanner when I had all my old Magazines...... I would have scanned in only the best articles of each issue and could have brought it with me when I moved:dunno:

20/20 hind sight:thumb:

I might have them. My Grandfather was a charter subscriber to Wood Magazine.
 
Okay, I lied. I forgot that in the early years they only had 4 issues per year and that Fine woodworking now is not a 12 issue yearly mag. The pot has grown sweeter because so far I have every issue from #1-#158 including all the special publications. (1975-2002).

I've been glossing them over but I think today (babysitting my daughter) I will inventory everything a bit better and see what I got. This unintentionally turned into a stealth-gloat, but even I was amazed at this turn of events.

Interestingly, the only additional info I have on this box of mags was that a former machinist at my work place, collected them, gave them away, who then gave them away again, who later gave them to me. This original collector has since died but his only request was "if you give them away, give them away as a set".

Obviously 25 years of magazines means there is a lot of style, info and features, but I think the greatest interest for me is the 25 years of "methods of work" that populate the volumes. Its readers submitting home-made how too's that make the box of mags valuable to me. Home-made carving vice anyone out of a trailer ball? How about a home-made ball turning jig for the lathe? Perhaps a self-propelled flute router/combination on a taper might be of interest? This is what excites me. (well among many other things :) )
 
Okay, I lied. I forgot that in the early years they only had 4 issues per year and that Fine woodworking now is not a 12 issue yearly mag. The pot has grown sweeter because so far I have every issue from #1-#158 including all the special publications. (1975-2002).

I've been glossing them over but I think today (babysitting my daughter) I will inventory everything a bit better and see what I got. This unintentionally turned into a stealth-gloat, but even I was amazed at this turn of events.

Interestingly, the only additional info I have on this box of mags was that a former machinist at my work place, collected them, gave them away, who then gave them away again, who later gave them to me. This original collector has since died but his only request was "if you give them away, give them away as a set".

Obviously 25 years of magazines means there is a lot of style, info and features, but I think the greatest interest for me is the 25 years of "methods of work" that populate the volumes. Its readers submitting home-made how too's that make the box of mags valuable to me. Home-made carving vice anyone out of a trailer ball? How about a home-made ball turning jig for the lathe? Perhaps a self-propelled flute router/combination on a taper might be of interest? This is what excites me. (well among many other things :) )


I with you on this Travis. I get the best value out of the tips etc. Especially at this stage of my woodworking evolution. But I have come to appreciate the quality of the crafstman whose work Fine Woodworking always displays in their pictures. Man these guys are something to aspire to. So I guess it all depends where you are on the good old L curve.
 
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