Five types of books for better woodworking.
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Some of the best (and most under-rated) books about woodwork.
More video and exclusive content: / rexkrueger
Books in this video (Amazon links are affiliate):
Single-Topic Books:
Making and Mastering Wooden Planes (Finck) [In print]: bit.ly/2Q7Pube
Woodwork as a System:
Japanese Woodwork Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use (Odate) [In print]: amzn.to/36kLWIB
Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (Klein) [In print]: bit.ly/2ZDgMtq
Furniture Collections:
The Pine Furniture of Early New England (Kettell) [In print, but cheaper used]: amzn.to/36axW3N
By Shaker Hands (Sprigg) [Out of print, but easy to find and cheap]: amzn.to/2MHuOor
Early American Antique Country Furnishings (Neumann) [Out of print, but cheap and easy to find]: amzn.to/2Qv7cEF
Subversive Books:
Make a Chair From a Tree: An Introduction to Working Green Wood (Alexander) [Out of print; hard to find]
Make a Joint Stool From a Tree (Alexander, Follansbee) [Updated version of Alexander's other book; In print]: bit.ly/37nJKA1
Reference Books:
Understanding Wood Finishing (Flexner) [In print]: amzn.to/2tbRVAK
With the Grain: A Craftsman's Guide to Understanding Wood (Becksvoort): [In print]: bit.ly/2ZCQQOz
Other Favorites:
Country Furniture (Watson) [In print, but MANY used copies out there]: amzn.to/369Zvdr
The Practical Woodturner (Pain) [Out of print but cheap and easy to find]: amzn.to/35aMVtp
The Practical Woodworker (Jones) [In Print. Huge and cheap]: amzn.to/2rE31hi
The Handplane Book (Hack) [In print]: amzn.to/37n6Bvv
Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Construction and Use (Schwarz) [In print]: amzn.to/35bpcZS
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Хобби
Hand tools their ways and workings is my favorite and Also by Watson!!! The illustrations are out of this world good!!!
Yessss Rex. I hate looking up specific questions online. Total waste of time.
I like the light on your shiny head. And your videos.
And your style.
And your skills.
Alexander. Used duckbill drills in his brace n bits , one of the strangest tools I ever tried to use we worked with a man who was trained by him. Ill never forget that drill bit
Bravo, excellent vid! Yes let's get reading, well said Rex, Thanks for posting
4:47 "Sound familiar?"
I didn't know you were a minister.
DISCLAIMER: Don't try to buy Lost Art Press books on Amazon. It's far cheaper to order directly from LAP, or one of Chris's retail partners.
Thanks for the tip. Amazon has some poor business practices as well. They have good customer service, but don't use them to help market your books if you ever consider writing one. A lot of book stores hate Amazon because of their business practices.
I never thought about it before, but you are absolutely right about illustrations being clearer than photos. That is, if the illustrations are good!
Yep. That's accepted best practice in instructional design. That's why service manuals for lots of computers and other high tech devices have lots of illustrations and few photos, if any.
@@jbirkins Now if only we can get good illustrations for flat-pack furniture!
HI- if you are looking for books go to Lee Valley tools. I just put in their search "book" and got 450+ hits. They range from basic carpentry to bending, carving and green stick and reference. They have several of the books mentioned in the video. They also have books on many other topics like fences, bridges, gardens ect. They love to reprint traditional favorites.
Very very nice design 👍
Wow amazing ,
Great presentation skills, Rex. You could teach anything and have people pay attention.. Thanks for the bibliography.
Speaking of Books, I'd like to give a shout to Michael Pekovich's 'The Why & How of Woodworking.' Top notch material with amazing detailed color photographs. A must have for beginners. Trust me
At 5 minutes ill give you extra credit if the whole video narrative doesnt lead into an ad for your own book.
*highest mark! Great effin job man!
I was fortunate to have a great mentor, who remains the biggest influence on my 40+ years in the carpentry/joinery trades. He is gone but his influence is not. He didn't only teach me how to use tools and do the work, he taught me a philosophy to go with it. The more you move away from nature to tech, the more chance there is for error. Tools can be wrong, nature is not. Squares can be off-square, spirit levels are not 100% accurate. Also, in the field, you have to take account of landmarks in the immediate vicinity to make it look right (even if it isn't) to fit it into it's surroundings. When plumbing or levelling something, I will eye it up with other features in the area before fixing it; get it accurate, then see how it looks against the backdrop and adjust if required. Very often, I know a thing is not theoretically correct but looks right in it's surroundings - and that matters most...especially to customers. That is a centuries-old tradition that is lost and forgotten in the mechanised, modern world of perfection.
Thanks!
Mike Dunbar’s book on Restoring, Tuning and Using Old Hand Tools, is an incredible source. Also, Roy Underhill’s Series.
I'll second the Mike Dunbar book. Hand planes went from a source of frustration to an almost Zen experience once I learned how to properly sharpen and tune them. Hand saws, too. I found my copy of his book in an antique mall booth that dealt in old books, but you can find it used on Amazon for not much money.
You need to read David Charlesworth's books.
What are your favorite in the weeds books for furniture making? Pennsylvania Spice Cabinet, workbenches for small homes, six board chests, tool making, etc...
The impact of books on you are evident as I'm experiencing your knowledge and craftsmanship impact on myself..
(belated) HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Regards from Karachi.
I too like books. For the most part, I find, at the very least, they make excellent companions to a good RUclips instruction. I've ordered at least 5 of the books on your list. Especially looking forward to the turning and green wood books. Thanks kindly for all your hard work on this channel, my favourite for learning.
Great suggestions there Rex and I've added a couple to my own wish-list.
Rex: Thanks for the reminder of Watson’s “Country Furniture”. I followed your link and recognized the cover as a book I’ve had since the early 2000s, but haven’t cracked it open in years. Lots of great material.
I’ve been considering “Hands Employed Aright” for some time, but your review sealed the deal for me. Thanks
*TopFineWoodworking. Com* , is a very comprehensive woodworking book! It breaks every little thing down, utilizing words, drawings, real pictures, and different diagrams. It`s unbelievably informative and helps me feel like I could help my sibling while we make our furniture together.?
Thanks for some great books I wouldn't have known about. I was surprised at no Paul Sellers. His book and accompanying videos on how to use each hand tool correctly is worth every penny. Many of of us owe our start in the hand tool way to Paul.
John Alexanders, Make a chair from a tree was my first woodworking book. I still have it. Excellent.
I came into woodworking from a bushcrafter's perspective many years ago. The Woodwright's Workbook, by Roy Underhill was the book that got me into actual woodworking. I love the spirit of it. I learned so much from it. (I've been away from the hobby for several years and now at 74 I'm just getting back into it.
In reply to my own comment (LOL), here's an interesting bit of research: www.closegrain.com/2010/07/intro-hand-tools-references.html#primaryReferences
Very helpful and informative !
Already ordered the bob Flexner 📚
I was able to get 6 of your books used for $43 and free shipping. I am building my library for when I retire in a couple of years. Thx for this unique video of go to books.
I don't know how in the world I missed this video a year ago, but what a delightful surprise! I very much appreciate your approach of looking at books through categories. The amount of woodworking books available can be staggering, and when you're starting out you really have no idea what to look for. I inherited one of those "Time Life" book sets about woodworking that had like fifteen volumes...and I never once read them. But I blew through the Anarchist's Workbench in two days. That has probably been the most eye-opening book I've read thus far, and it's given me a thirst for more.
Also, as a cash-strapped woodworker in a rural area, I can't recommend the library system enough.
I completely agree with your assessment of many of the internet “resources “. I have a copy of Aldren Watson’s book “Hand Tools, Their Ways and Workings”. Learned a lot from this book. Been learning quite a bit from you as well. 😊
Ya know I've been needing a good book.
And these sound like a really great place to start
I’m a new subscriber. Love your stuff! Getting back into woodworking after a 10ish yr hiatus. Your approach is awesome.
Thanks Rex, just bought Country Furniture online, looking forward to going through it.
Hope you enjoy it!
@@RexKrueger I'm sure I will. 🙂
Allow me to recommend one back, www.waterstones.com/book/illustrated-cabinetmaking/bill-hylton/9781565233690#:~:text=Illustrated%20Cabinetmaking%2C%20by%20Bill%20Hylton,dimension%20and%20ergonomic%20standards%20presented. Absolutely fascinating book, covering furniture, techniques, history, etc. Wonderful illustrations, really engaging and well put together. I think it will be right up your alley if you haven't seen it already. Cheers!
Good video. Like the structure and thought provoking.
I really enjoyed this.
Thanks so much!!!
Thank you so much for all your great information!
Thank you vor showing Your Favoriten books, for me, you are the first who shows his books
Books are always great. Even when the internet doesn’t work, printed books still do. That said, the Gutenberg Project is a great source for non copywrited books, ie out of print and historical. Once downloaded you won’t meet the internet. You may produce a printed copy, or choose to print only a few relevant pages.
Thanks for another great Rex.
I really enjoyed this video! I’m definitely going to get a some of these books. Thanks for sharing!
Many thanks Rex.
That's a great book list!! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that, Happy new year
Thanks for a great look at types of books. I find myself looking forward to the list
I'll have it early for Patrons!
This is one of the best videos of this kind that I've seen, and the books all look amazing. I watched a few other videos after this one and only felt interested in buying one of the books...which you had snuck onto the list w/o discussing.
Thank you, this video and your list of books, Got me kicked to the next level of woodworking, Thanks rex
Thank you, Rex, and happy new year!
I look forward to every new video, so interesting :)
I was seriously waiting for you to mention your book at the end there.
Another good resource is seminars from tool stored like Lee Valley. I took a 6h seminar on wood finishing instructed by a man who was an expert in the field and learned more in that time than the previous months of internet searching. They fed me lunch too! Best $120 I've spent on my hobby, and I've since taken a few more seminars. Way better than youtube or the internet in general.
I am a book addict. I even pull old encyclopedias out of the trash sometimes. I will find them stacked most of the time by a dumpster. After basic book binding cleaning methods they are like new. I have a lot of hobbies in my over all craft. I create imaginative creations. I have books on sewing, needle craft, large shift-loom weaving, many types of traditional art such as painting with acrylic and color pencil work. I even have an entire book case dedicated to math and science in the electronics engineering. One thing is for sure. You never can go wrong with finding useful information in a book. Personally I find instrument making my favorite of my combined craft. Weather it is a guitar, cello, or an electronic modular synth, instruments really achieve my goal in imaginative creation. Books are life. LOL
You’re the best Rex, hope I can be like you one day🙃
Happy New Year sir. Thank you for a very informative video. Everyone have a must read book list.
Great video, Happy New Year to our cousins across the pond.
Watson's "Hand Tools: Their Ways and Working" was my introduction to hand tools 25 years ago and is still great today; highly recommended.
Thanks, Rex, that was very well thought out, and the books you selected are great. Thanks. I'll have to find a copy of the one on the guy from Maine. One book that I found to be helpful is Tage Frid's book on joinery.
Thanks Rex, very handy video, your right about the amount of crap on the internet. Just ordered a couple from your links. Thank you and take care in 2020.
Has someone read "Good Clean Fun" by Nick Offerman? He plays "Ron Sawnson" in Parks and Recreation TV show and he was a real woodworker before the show.
Very informative, as always. Happy New Year, Rex!
Joshua Klein also publishes a quarterly or maybe semiannual magazine called Mortise & Tenon. He does restoration work using traditional techniques.
Dammit I guess I always get to Half Price Books right after Rex has cleaned them out!
Books are great. You can flip through pages and find an answer 20 times faster then trying to find it on the internet. One of my favorites is the "woodworker's pocket reference by Charlie self." I have the first and second edition and it's great for quick info from wood types, fasteners, joints, shop math formulas, finishes, sharpening and even tools and shop set-up tips.
Another very nicely done video sir,
thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us and i hope you have a blessed week.
happy new year to you and your family sir. its going to be a awesome year, i am sure of it.
new decade, great things are coming.
dale
Hey Rex, can't thank you enough for the recommendations!
If I might, I'd definitely suggest 'Woodwork in Theory and Practice' by J. A. Walton for anyone working in the antipodes. It's a but of a dry read, but it has a reference list for pretty much every Australian and American timber. Very handy indeed!
Bought my first book for woodworking. Boy we're in biz now!
Happy New Year folks.
You forgot "The stack of out of date text books rescued from heading to trash piles"... So useful around the house to prop stuff up or use as non-marring weights.
Rex thanks for not mentioning hybrid woodworking book or showing it
I have to be honest: all respect to Marc, but I do not like that book.
Aldren Watson's book Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings is another great book with beautiful illustrations. According to Amazon, it's still in print in paperback, which is the version I have. If you can find the original hardcover version, it's preferable to the reprint. The larger page size makes the illustrations clearer.
Looks like I'm gonna have to go find a used book store near me to try to find some of those out of print books, or others like it as well. Unfortunately all the old book stores around me closed down a couple years back. Thanks for the suggestions, definitely a lot of really great inspiration here.
Amazon and Ebay are good resources, and then there's always Powell's in Portland, Oregon.
I have the Flexner book and in addition to using it as a reference, I've read it cover to cover at least twice. Lots of good info, but the best part is toward the end where he makes recommendations on how to finish specific woods. Also, if you e-mail him at POPULAR WOODWORKING he will answer questions.
Take a look at Gutenberg.org, there are tons of books, all in the public domain, all downloadable, all for free. You can find tons of information written in the 1800's.
altheliterate I tried it, thanks. But when I click on a link and then want to go back, there’s no way. I have to go completely out and start over. Suggestions?
@@bobm6423 I don't know. The back button is working for me. But I am not the most effective computer person out there.
Rex, have you considered becoming a shop teacher? This is my 14th school year and I think you'd be great at it!! You're a natural.
I already had Fink, Jones, Hack, and Schwarz, but I just ordered five other books on your list from Half Price Books-my favorite source for used dead tree books! Including shipping and tax, a little over $33.
Thumbs up (before even looking) to crush a troll. Extra good video. Thanks much.
Hey Rex, you should do a video on construction knives like the Mora and Hulfators knives and their role in realistic woodworking
Good idea. I love my Mora!
One book that has helped me is Engineer In Training Review Manual. It helps me understand my machines better.
This is a great episode, Rex. When you enjoy a hobby, books related to that hobby can be a source of knowledge but can simply be a joy in and of themselves. Like most woodworkers, I've got a number of books on my shelf - some because of recommendations, and some that simply looked interesting (and some of the latter turned out to be jewels). Under reference books, I too appreciate Flexner's "Understanding Wood Finishing." First published in about 1995, with a completely revised version printed in 2005, the book is written for woodworkers and takes the mystery out of finishes. Another great reference book, authored by an academician but written for woodworkers, is Bruce Hoadley's "Understanding Wood" (The Taunton Press, 1980). And if you've enjoyed Schwarz's "Workbenches..." I bet you'd enjoy "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis (The Taunton Press, 1987).
Wow, all those fascinating books being out of print is rather depressing. Does anyone know if any of them were archived in some capacity?
Estate sales at the homes of craftsmen and woodworkers can also be a great source of books, especially some of these older, out-of-print titles that have become classics.
may i suggest also, 'Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking'? he shows two or three ways to make any western wood joint.
you missed the classic, used for years in schools and still the best, Cabinetmaking and Millwork by Feirer, John L (various printings over the last 50 years)
Thousand of hours of watching RUclips is great but sometimes you just need a good book!
كيف الحصول علي هذه الكتب في مصر برجاء المساعده
Hey for whatever it's worth I picked up the boxed 3 volume set on building furniture by Tage Frid back in the 1980's and it has been my go to as a pro cabinet and furniture maker since forever. I actually think it's kind of sweet that the actual projects look kind of stodgy by our standards, but the shop procedures are timeless.
Just tried finding a copy of Make a chair from a tree - $120 plus postage to UK. Guess that one will be staying on the wish list for a while.
Lost Art Press will be releasing an updated version sometime this year.
@@MatthewBuntyn Hopefully at a price I can afford :D
@@daveturnbull7221 Classic Hand Tools is the UK retailer
@@MatthewBuntyn Thanks Mathew. I'll get in touch with them later.
Excellent review of some excellent books indeed! I must add that Lost Art Press (Chris Schwarz's publishing company) has picked up some of these books and reprinted/republished them.
Would you consider making a video showing 5 or more cool and/or unique tools? It would be great if that was a regular video for your channel. Maybe once a month or something. I personally look for videos like that because they are a good way to find out about different tools and woodworking accessories out there.
Kept expecting you to mention Roy Underhill and Chris Swartz
They're big ones, too. Just not the top of my list.
You should check the joint book out by Terrie Noll
Does anyone have a book on Box making they could recommend?
I'm predicting books made into tools!, now to watch the video
I would suggest any of the great books by Mike Abbott if you are into green wood. His Green Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way covers a lot of topics from how to select wood for your projects, making tools like pole lathe or tool handles to making chairs and bowls. Available for about 30 pound in the UK, everywhere else for more if at all.
I've said it many times myself, woodworking is a generic term for many different crafts from wood turning to deck building!
You're right about there being lots of crap out there. I've been using the internet since before the web browser. For programming, lots of it is quite good, but programmers do lots of writing & want to share it. They also created the tools we use: blogs, web sites, search engines, forums, chat rooms and of course video sharing. Programmers are writers after all. Explanations/recipes/descriptions to people are just more flexible than doing it for computers.
Woodworkers seem to do video, teaching and other visual methods. Or they write books. I don't see lots of blogs or short things like programmers do except Lost Art Press. Chris Schwarz has been a journalist & author for his career so far so that makes sense. Most woodworker blogs seem to be a afterthought to the video, are sporadic or are to offer their wares or services. Woodworkers, I think, are much more hands on and videos is a natural fit to share the craft.
Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places and I'd love to find where they are.
BTW - no Ingenious Mechanics in with books that change your approach? How many people now have roman workbenches from that and your Woodworking For Humans series?
Some great book suggestions. I’ve never thought about making my own plane, but now I might just get that book and give it a go. Happy new year! 😁👍
Making planes is surprisingly simple. Especially the Krevnov style ones. I'm actually thinking about selling off all my steel planes and just using self made wooden ones. Vastly cheaper and I can just make a new one if something happens to it. Drop a steel plane on cement and it's done. (Potentially, anyway) Need a specialty plane for this one thing? Make one rather than buying one for $400 and never using it again!
Craig Clapper what a great idea. Do you have to have a lot of precision machinery or do you ensure precision by simply taking your time?
As with all woodworking projects, powered equipment just makes common tasks faster. You can get by with a handsaw, chisel, smoothing plane and bit & brace just fine to make a Krenov style plane if you wanted. Having a drill press, bandsaw, jointer and thickness planer just make it a whole lot faster! I took a 2 day (12h total) seminar at Lee Valley and walked out the second day with a full functional, fettled in smoother! Just needed final shaping and "prettying up".
Craig Clapper definitely food for thought. I’ll try and make one once my workshop build is complete.
Have that book and I was mind blown by the detail in it
The book on wood finishes is available 1993 for $5 or 2010 for $16. Are there many updates between the two books. Thx
I don't know, but I doubt it. Most finishes have been around for a while.
That was my thought. Thx for your thoughts.
if you love handtools, check out Museum of Early American tools by Eric Sloane
A friend gave that to me as a gift. A good overview, small and easy to read.
@@mikecurtin9831 if you haven't already, pick up some of companion books: A Reverence for Wood, and Diary of an Early American Boy....
@@timhyatt9185 Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for the content.
Keep up the good work.
בס״ד
Dover Publications has great reproduction catalogs
I've been acquiring woodworking books. I need to do a better job of reading them though. 😂 I have also been enjoying my fine woodworking subscription but it can be hit or miss from month to month as to how much of them I'd find useful or interesting.