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(01-25-2018, 09:41 AM)FS7 Wrote: I am active on another forum - the general discussion forum on AR15.com - which is generally a warzone. However, there is a huge community, and it's a great place to find a lot of intelligent and reasoned opinions. (Also a lot of very dumb ones, but hey, it's to be expected.) Somebody asked about table saws there recently and were told anything less than Powermatic was trash. I guess the point is it almost doesn't matter where you are, you should be expected to be told that only the most advanced and/or very high end tool is worth owning and the rest are garbage.
I'm a power tool worker mostly, and I have only one "good" tool (a Festool Domino). It's absurdly expensive but worth every penny. The rest of my tools are mid-range, mostly, but they more than serve my purpose. The tools that serve your purpose, that you respect, and that you know how to use safely are the best tools for you. SawStop is great technology, but there's also the risk that it encourages (or doesn't penalize) improper or careless use of a tool. You won't hurt yourself on the saw - or it would be very difficult to - but if that attitude translates to other tools, you're in trouble. A lot of the tools we use are extremely dangerous. Heck, put a 3" or larger raised panel bit in a router and spin that thing around. It's a bit frightening.
I totally agree with this.
The Acoustic Guitar forum is filled with cork sniffers, high-end snobs as well as down-to-earth people. But, that's the internet. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone who knows everything.
As for power tools, I have a healthy respect for anything that could maim me. I'm a programmer and a musician. My hands make me money. Heck, I'm overly careful whenever I'm cutting something in the kitchen (and I love to cook). I just don't want anything to happen to my moneymakers. So, I don't care if it's the Mercedes of machines or dime store knock-off, I watch what I'm doing. Can I still make a mistake and let my guard down? Of course I can. I'm human. So please, don't tell me "if I value my safety" as if money is the only thing that can guarantee my safety. Besides, I can have all the expensive equipment in the world and still get hit by a bus.
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I still like magazines. You should consider the magazine from our gracious forum host's...Woodsmith.
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(01-24-2018, 09:42 AM)CHobbywood Wrote: Hello, folks. I'm new here and this is my first post.
While I'm not necessarily new to working with wood, I have recently decided to make woodworking my new hobby. I'm finishing up an enclosure for our daughter's bearded dragon (Lewis) and it has really gotten me excited about building other things as well as some projects around the house that my wife and I have been talking about the last few years.
I'm going to be upgrading some of my power tools in a few weeks (new table saw, drill/driver and impact driver, etc) as I start my new journey. As you can imagine, I've been reading lots of reviews and watching a lot of YouTube videos. I can't get enough.
One of the things I was wanting to do was subscribe to a woodworking magazine but there are so many that I thought I'd get y'all's opinion on what would be the better choice for what I'm looking for.
I'm the proverbial weekend warrior/DIY'er so I'm looking for something that offers good advice for beginners and novices as well as realistic project suggestions. I'm a long way from making furniture for the house so I don't want to waste my time/money on a dreamer's magazine. I want something that will put me to work, not keep me in my chair looking at pictures of stuff I wish I could make.
I did a little research into woodworking forums and found this one to be well traveled and covering a lot of subjects. I'm looking forward to "meeting" everyone and learning everything I can. Welcome!
I actually write articles for Woodworker’s Journal, Woodcraft and occasionally Wood magazine. I started as you, and at one point subscribed to about all of them. When my skills outgrew the articles, I began writing my own.
These days, you can have it all! Sign up for all of the magazine’s email lists. They send out promos for each issue. If an article strikes your fancy, you can buy the issue. In the long run, this will save you a lot on subscriptions.
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(01-25-2018, 11:07 AM)FrankAtl Wrote: I still like magazines. You should consider the magazine from our gracious forum host's...Woodsmith. Former host.
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(01-25-2018, 09:31 PM)handi Wrote: Former host.
I didn't know that changed. Who's the host now? Did it change when it went to the new format?
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Welcome, All the magazines mentioned offer articles for everyone. I loved American Woodworker back when I started. Popular Woodworking absorbed them. Wood, Fine Woodworking. Fine Woodworking you can subscribe to their website and you will have access to all issues. I am liking some of the new materiel in Woodcraft. Woodworkers Journal allows you to access their Archives with your subscription. Finally our host here, they offer a digital download of each issue when you subscribe to it. I do miss ShopNotes though. The archive is available on the web. I subscribed to it for a long time and when they stopped publishing they offered most of us the web archive. If you are looking at DYI projects Family Handyman. Dan
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I subscribe to Family Handyman and Wood. Unfortunately, Wood only comes 6 times a year. I used to get the Ask This Old House, but stopped after I lost interest in it.
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01-26-2018, 01:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-26-2018, 01:35 PM by Handplanesandmore.)
(01-24-2018, 10:38 AM)fredhargis Wrote: 2 to avoid (IMHO) are Woodcraft are Woodworker's Journal. They are both owned by woodworking retailers (not a bad thing) but tend to be more focused on making you shop those retailers.
I totally disagree with this statement unless the poster can support it with evidence. Could you please give a few examples where they are focused on making you shop there?
These magazines do provide suggested products that they carry but one can always shop for those items elsewhere. You can buy a suggested router bit from them, for example, but you can also buy the same bit from any other vendors.
There may be other reasons to avoid any of the mentioned magazines, but the reason stated there is not a legitimate reason unless supported by facts.
Most woodworking magazines including Fine Woodworking and Woodsmith may have articles that also suggest sources of supplies which may even be one of their advertisers, and that is not the same thing as making you shop at their advertisers.
Simon
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(01-26-2018, 01:32 PM)DHandplanesandmore Wrote: I totally disagree with this statement unless the poster can support it with evidence. Could you please give a few examples where they are focused on making you shop there?
These magazines do provide suggested products that they carry but one can always shop for those items elsewhere. You can buy a suggested router bit from them, for example, but you can also buy the same bit from any other vendors.
There may be other reasons to avoid any of the mentioned magazines, but the reason stated there is not a legitimate reason unless supported by facts.
Most woodworking magazines including Fine Woodworking and Woodsmith may have articles that also suggest sources of supplies which may even be one of their advertisers, and that is not the same thing as making you shop at their advertisers.
Simon Having written for both magazines mentioned, I can speak to this.
When I write for Woodworker’s Journal, If Rockler carries a drawer slide or hinge or any other product they sell, I will use it, but if the project requires products they do not sell, they have no issue with me using them in the project. In all honesty, Woodcraft tends to be more strict about using Woodcraft products, but with both magazines, I pitch article ideas to them, they accept or reject them without having a list of the products I intend to use.
I will also point out that I can provide any number of photos from published articles showing tools and products in my shop that are not sold by the magazine owners. I regularly use Ryobi tools, and they clearly show in the photos. My table Saw is a Delta, which no one sells. In fact, my latest article for Woodworker’s Journal from the October 2017 issue clearly shows me using MicroJig’s Dovetail Clamps, Which Woodcraft does sell and Rockler does not.
Remember too that magazines without a store affiliation still need companies to buy advertising space, and that certainly influences their editorial calendar.
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(01-26-2018, 11:25 PM)handi Wrote: In fact, my latest article for Woodworker’s Journal from the October 2017 issue clearly shows me using MicroJig’s Dovetail Clamps, Which Woodcraft does sell and Rockler does not.
Remember too that magazines without a store affiliation still need companies to buy advertising space, and that certainly influences their editorial calendar.
I checked the latest issue of WC (Feb.March 2018) and on its Buyer's Guide (p. 68), they list tons of whiteside products which are available from WC, but as any woodworkers know, you can buy them on amazon, peachtree, etc. On their guide, they also list Lowe's, fastcap etc as sources of other supplies.
I don't think I need to check my WWJ (Feb. 2018) to make my point.
Simon
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