How about a Book Review Section?

Jay Lock

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I suspect that there are some others on the forum with backgrounds similar to mine -- who have never had a lot of formal training nor the opportunity to work with anyone else so they dive into books to help them learn. (OH, and I suspect they spend some time on this forum as well :rofl:)

So, what are you reading that has helped you develop you skills?

I'll start it off

We visited the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte NC last week http://www.themintmuseums.org/

In their bookstore I found

Turning Wood into Art -- The Jane and Arthur Mason Collection.

This is a catalog of an exhibit they had several years ago. If you want to have a source of absolutely beautiful turnings to inspire you (or absolutely intimidate you from ever picking up a a turning tool) this is one book you should get. It wasn't expensive, I think $12 in paperback, magnificent photos. There are no "how to" sections, just page after page of outstanding work.


It is pricey on Amazon, but at least you can see the table of contents and excerpts

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08...5993740?ie=UTF8&qid=1191357474&sr=1-1&seller=

You might be able to order it from the museum's gift shop or get a inter-library loan.

Jay
 
I recently bought a book version of the first 7 issues of Woodworking Magazine. It's published by the same people who public Popular Woodworking, but it has a different focus and no ads. I find that I take away quite a bit of their tips and techniques, especially as it relates to hand tools.

Jack
 
Jay,

You know I have a similar background as you. I'm an ex corporate management geek, with no formal training in ww'ing, nor any experience as an apprentice.

Aside from the forum(s), and every copy of Fine Woodworking I could get my hands on, one of my favorite set of books are the Taunton Press "Complete Guide to..." series.

I have the two box set, (vol 1 and vol 2) which includes the book Glenn referred to..as well as Shaping Wood, Joinery, Construction, Using Woodworking Tools, and Finishing. I find that I go to those books more than any I have in my not-so-small library.

Best thing of all, I got the two book set on Amazon when they were more than 50% off the prices shown in the above links! :thumb:

There are a few others in that series that I've been watching for a price drop. They're good books...but they sure are pricey!

Hope this helps...
- Marty -
 
The Time-Life series (31 volumes) that came out a number of years ago is also a fountain of information. We also have the Nick Engler 20-volume series, the Time-Life "The Art of Woodworking" series (10 volumes), the entire Handyman Club of America series (43 volumes), about 7 put out by Woodsmith, the Taunton boxed set of the Complete Illustrated Guide to... (Volume 1, I guess), as well as a myriad of other books. That's not counting just about every issue of Wood, Woodsmith, Shop Notes, and at least 12 years of issues of Fine Woodworking. LOML is a book/magazine junkie! These get used too!

Nancy (80 days)
 
Wes, I've had Tage Frid's series for over 20 years, and refer to it again and again. Now that he's passed on, I feel like his good work is going on still.
Jesse, the misteak book is a keeper too. Funny though, I read it carefully, and still make more than my share of oopses.
Ken
 
Great idea for a thread!
Last year I purchased Greene & Greene: Design Elements for the Workshop by Darrell Peart.

I've been through it several times and I'm planning on building a sofa table this winter using many of the items included in the book. There is a good deal of historical info on the Greenes as well as (I found these fascinating) x-rays of the original joinery showing how it was originally done. Really neat.

 
i`ve found "a treatise to stairbuilding and handrailing" and "circular work in carpentry and joinery" to be informative.
 
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