Wood Working Magazines - Any recommendations?

[Bass Player]

Bottom Line Up Front:

Is there a summary somewhere (maybe even in a "sticky note" or thread here on WoodNet) of what wood working magazines are currently being published & on which specific disciplines they are focused?

I'd like to get re-subscribed to some after a lengthy absence from the WWing hobby. 

Background Info:

I've recently been bitten by the Woodworking bug again after a layoff of quite a few years.  ==> I probably need to re-learn a lot of stuff about power tools, current technology, and WW principles/ techniques as I attempt to re-engage in this activity (i.e. getting power in the garage, knocking the dust off/ tuning up my TS, BS, Jointer, Planer, et. al.)  I still have all my books on projects, safety, techniques, finishing, wood properties/ selection, etc.  And I plan on reading/ studying them again as I get the garage powered and the tools tuned-up/ re-furbished (hopefully, over the next year.)

But I was also subscribed to several WW mags years ago, learned quite a bit from them, & built a few projects featured in some.  I also remember each having a different focus.  Ones I had included ...

-- Wood - General Woodworking; lots of plans for furniture/ jigs; instructions on techniques; etc.  (don't remember it focusing on a specific discipline, though.)
-- Popular Woodworking - general Woodworking; some good plans & technique instruction/ tips; I seem to remember it being written more for the casual reader than a dedicated WWing hobbyist or Pro
-- American Woodworker - I really liked this one; had some good plans that I wrote down as potential future projects (along with some projects from Wood, Family Handyman, et al - a list I still have); I understand this is no longer published (bought out by Popular Woodworking 4-5 years ago, I think.)
-- Work Bench - focused on work shop furniture, layout, jigs, & techniques (Is this published any longer?)
-- Shop Notes - Seemed similar in focus to Work Bench, but was varied enough that I had lots of copies of each one
-- Family Handyman - Focus on home improvement, but also had some pretty good WWing projects, tips, techniques, tool reviews, etc.

I also had a few issues of Fine Woodworking (emphasis on quality crafted furniture & finishing), Woodsmith, Weekend Woodcrafts. etc.  I enjoyed them as well, but have neither the money to subscribe to everything, space to store all the mags, nor time to read/study them all these days.  Hence, I'm looking to narrow my subscriptions a bit & was looking for some insight from forum members as to which magazines they read/ prefer and why?

Thanks.

[SteveS]

I have subscribed to magazines in the past, but I wouldn't bother if your goal is to learn then books are a much better value.

Taunton Press' books on The Complete Illustrated Guide's like Furniture Construction are excellent references. Far better than magazines, IMO.

[dg152]

My 2 publications are Wood Magazine and Woodsmith. They're geared to my level of (un)expertise and easy to read. You're going to be disappointed to hear that Shop Notes ceased publication. You can still buy a thumb drive with every issue ever printed but they closed down about 2 years ago or so. It may have happened when August Home Publications (publisher of Shop Notes and Woodsmith) was bought out by another publisher.

I'm not fond of Popular Woodworking. As you said, it seems geared to the casual reader. As is Family Handyman.

I've never subscribed to Fine Woodworking but that would be the next magazine I would subscribe to.

I also subscribe to Woodworkers Guild of America https://www.wwgoa.com. George Vondriska does a great job of providing videos on almost every aspect of woodworking. I also follow Thomas MacDonald on Facebook. I don't get a chance to see everything he does, but sure enjoy his expertise and presentations.

Everyone will have an opinion to your question. Be ready for all the answers!

[Handplanesandmore]

Wood magazine would be the right fit for you as it is projects-oriented and mostly for power tool users. Since you're in NZ, Australian Wood Review should be considered, a higher-end publication with good contents/inspiration/projects for both power and hand tool readers.

Woodsmith is also suitable though its projects seem to be the same old kind to me.

Since digital editions are much cheaper, I would subscribe for the digital versions and print out the articles if I am building something based on them. This way, one can have three or even four subscriptions instead of one paper subscription.

Simon

[AHill]

All the magazines tend to recycle content.  They all need to straddle this fine line between attracting people new to the craft vs. experienced folks looking for more of a challenge.  Then they spice it up a bit with new tool reviews and tests.

One magazine you did not list is Fine Woodworking.  Of all the magazines out there, FWW is probably the most oriented toward experienced woodworkers.  It's more about technique and skills than step-by-step instructions.  You generally will need to have some basic or intermediate skills to execute the projects cited in FWW.

Books are fine to teach skills, but you either get a book on skills or a book on projects.  It's kind of rare to have both in the same book.  (There are a couple of books from Lost Arts Press that do combine the skills and projects, but they are oriented toward hand tool users.

Shop Notes no longer exists.  It was scrapped a couple of years ago, and now the content is combined with Woodsmith.  BTW, it's published by the WoodNet sponsors.  Woodsmith is probably one of the few magazines that combines skills with a project.

[Steve N]

I probably need to re-learn a lot of stuff about power tools, current technology, and WW principles/ techniques as I attempt to re-engage in this activity (i.e. getting power in the garage, knocking the dust off/ tuning up my TS, BS, Jointer, Planer, et. al.)  I still have all my books on projects, safety, techniques, finishing, wood properties/ selection, etc.  And I plan on reading/ studying them again as I get the garage powered and the tools tuned-up/ re-furbished (hopefully, over the next year.)
Thanks.

Keep your money in your pocket until you try 2 things.

1) Check the local library to see what they carry, you may find what you are looking for there, for free.

2) Think of any term about woodworking from tool set up, and maintenance, to building a Queen Anne chest, or a bow back chair, then take that thought to You Tube, and see it all there live in motion, many of those guys are masters of their craft, and give great explanations as they go.

I did You Tube, and just put in Woodworking videos just for a teaser. See what ya think, if you really want to pay for a magazine, you can always do that, just know you can get better info for free. If you want a subscription, you could do a lot worse than signing up at 360 woodworking If you go tell Glen I said Hi.  

[Hank Knight]

Woodworking magazines are driven by their editors. If the editor is passionate about the craft and can communicate that passion in print, the result is an inspirational magazine that gets your juices flowing and gets you into the shop ready to work. Many of the magazines you mentioned have enjoyed the talents of very fine editors, but have suffered over time from turnover in their editorial staffs. Two examples are "American Woodworker" and "Popular Woodworking," both of which you mentioned.

"American Woodworker," under there guiding hand of Ellis Walentine, was a really good, inspirational magazine. It had good projects and great technical content with a good balance between hand tool and power tool woodworking techniques. When Ellis left, the magazine declined and lost my interest years ago.

Similarly, "Popular Woodworking" under the editorial hand of Christopher Schwartz, was an inspiration publication. Schwartz was provocative, to say the least, but he got your attention, whether you agreed with him or not. I doubt anyone can count the number of subscribers who built workbenches inspired by Chris Schwartz. Schwartz left the magazine several years ago and some of the energy left with him. He still contributes, but the magazine suffered form his departure. I still subscribe to "Popular Woodworking," and I enjoy it, but I miss Schwartz's enthusiasm.

Over the years I've purchased issues of "Shop Notes", "Wood", "Work Bench" and several others, but none captured my continuing interest.

The one publication that has kept my interest from the beginning is "Fine Woodworking." Their content is generally of a high quality and the technical focus is spot on, whether you're a machine woodworker or a hand tool one. I may not be interested in French Marquetry or some of the other esoteric subjects they cover, but I almost always find something useful in each of their issues. It's true that their subject matter is cyclical. Every couple of years they'll do an article on hand cutting dovetails or a new jig for sawing tenons, but all of the magazines do that. After all, there's only so many woodworking topics you can write about and still keep up the general interest. I have found the quality of "Fine Woodworking" to fluctuate over the years, and I've thought several times about discontinuing my subscription; but I have remained a loyal subscriber. In my view they have the most consistently good woodworking magazine on the market. The rest come and go.

My opinions and my $.02.

Hank

[EdL]

Unless they've changed, FWW will never see another penny of mine.

7/8 of the info to build a project is in the magazine, the rest is on-line, subscription only.

Sorry Charlie, I bought the magazine, the entire article should be there.

Ed

[AHill]

Similarly, "Popular Woodworking" under the editorial hand of Christopher Schwartz, was an inspiration publication. Schwartz was provocative, to say the least, but he got your attention, whether you agreed with him or not. I doubt anyone can count the number of subscribers who built workbenches inspired by Chris Schwartz. Schwartz left the magazine several years ago and some of the energy left with him. He still contributes, but the magazine suffered form his departure. I still subscribe to "Popular Woodworking," and I enjoy it, but I miss Schwartz's enthusiasm.

Schwarz leaving did hurt, but the dagger was the departure of Lang, Huey, and Bender.  Those guys were all genuine woodworkers, and not just journalists.  They brought a lot of talent and diversity to PWW.  Megan Fitzpatrick is a fine editor, but I think the magazine has lost a lot of the creative juices that used to reside in-house.

[Bass Player]

Wood magazine would be the right fit for you as it is projects-oriented and mostly for power tool users. Since you're in NZ, Australian Wood Review should be considered, ....

I'm actually not in NZ, but in AZ - Arizona (Town of Sahuarita; just south of Tucson.)

....Since digital editions are much cheaper, I would subscribe for the digital versions and print out the articles if I am building something based on them. ....

I was actually wondering if this was becoming more commonplace these days.

And thanks for the words ....