Fine Woodworking Proven Shop Tips - NOT recommended

[BillyBob]

I recently ordered the title "Fine Woodworking on proven shop tips".

It appears this book is a catalogued collection of user submitted ideas in their "methods of work" or other similar columns. I enjoy reading books like this when flying in my job as a traveling consultant. Well, I've spent a couple of hours reading the book. Its composed completely of hand drawn sketches and verbal descriptions. I picked up a decent idea for a cabinet cart that I decided to build. However, the book is heavy with novel and even quirky ideas that I don't think are all that great. It seems that the editors were charged to produce a book of a certain size and they randomly grabbed articles just to create the volume.

Examples of what caused me to question the value of this publication:

- wax your stationary tool cast iron surfaces with automotive polish such as Simoniz - a shop made eccentric router base to allow cutting different width slots with the same bit - you must maintain the router in a fixed orientation against the fence by hand to set the width. One slip or sneeze and your slot just got wider or narrower. - five different jigs for routing dados - a complicated rig for making dowels that requires a router and electric drill - a slow speed sharpening tool made by gluing abrasive to a 26" bicycle wheel and driving it with an electric motor.

I guess I'd expected a book full of really high quality shop tips carefully screened to the 'best of the best' - something a little higher quality than doing a google search and sifting through mounds of variable quality ideas. Not so here. Save your money.

Bob

[toller]

Oh come on! There are 1.000 books of shop tips, and only so many useful tips. They have to fill it up with quirky stuff that is not terribly practical, or they couldn't put a book out. You have to read it for fun, and hope that there are a few tips that give you other ideas. That said, yes, it is much better to borrow the book from a library than to buy it.

[BillyBob]

I've heard you recommend the library many times. I tried it. Even though I live in a very large city, I found the selection of books on woodworking to be extrememly poor. I was surprised. I must live in a desert. That's why I end up buying books.

Bob Davis

[toller]

Sorry to hear that. I live within 10 miles of 3 libraries with pretty good woodworking selections. And any of them will bring in books from any of the libraries in the area for $0.50; so there is almost no book I can't have in about 2 weeks. Maybe that explains my tax bill.

[Patriarch]

"BillyBob" wrote in news:YMhLd.2664$ [e-mail]:

Well, here's another, certainly not original to me thought. And it even seems to work better if you have to travel a lot: Used bookstores.

Walked into one yesterday, near closing time. Asked the owner if he had any books on furniture building or design. He said, maybe one or two. We found, together, a dozen in less than 5 minutes. None more than $5. None currently in print.

I feel a lot better about a $4 book than a $25 book, since I get most of what I'm going to get out of it in the first reading. $4 books go to the club library when I'm done with them, unless they are a real find. But $4 books are almost always a better deal than a magazine.

Sorry about the weird woodworking tips.

Patriarch, currently not on the road so much, thank God.

[Lobby Dosser]

Amazon is also a fairly good source of used books - though you do get racked $4 for postage, of which only $2.26 goes to the seller.

[Patriarch]

Lobby Dosser wrote in news:FdlLd.1246 $0O4.786@trnddc03:

I've used them, but you pretty much have to know what you're searching for, and wait for the item to come in the mail/UPS/whatever.

The beauty of the used bookstore is finding something that you didn't know about, cheaply.

The beauty of doing it when you have to be traveling anyway is that you discover a bunch of neat people and places, rather than hang out at the hotel, between meetings, airplanes, etc. Traveling on business generally sucks, and not in a good way. Something to read while on the road makes it slightly more bearable.

Patriarch

[Dave Jackson]

Here's my "secret weapon" for locating for cheap books and local bookstores. I spend some time browsing Ebay's offerings, find what i like, and order from here for way less.

am in no way affiliated, just a happy customer! --dave

[Lobby Dosser]

Some of the sites here:

will search multiple online sources and let you sort by price.

[bluemax1811-newsgroups]

I tend to forget about used books, but that's a great idea. I'll make a point of haunting a few stores when I am in town.

Thanks, Bob

[bluemax1811-newsgroups]

And now I read the next part - shopping while traveling. yes, a great idea. Right now I'm working Minneapolis and have no car. Maybe I can find something downtown connected to one of the gerbil trails (overhead enclosed walkway throughout downtown).

Bob

[bluemax1811-newsgroups]

Thanks to everyone for the used bookstore and online options for books. Bob

[J T]

Mon, Jan 31, 2005, 2:13am (EST-1) [e-mail] (Patriarch) says: The beauty of the used bookstore is finding something that you didn't know about, cheaply.

Or, even that you did know about. I've often suggested used bookstores. Can often find as-new books there, for a fraction of what the new stores charge. Downside, not all of them have a good selection.

JOAT The first method of estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

- Niccolo Machiavelli

[Joe Gorman]

And don't forget Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Our local Goodwill's price hardbacks at $.99 and paperbacks at $.59, at the ones I frequent regularly. Some have gone up to the outrageous price of $.99 for paperbacke and $1.39 for hardbacks. Even though the 22nd Edition of Machinery's Handbook has a thin cover it counted as a hardback. But the pile of near new programming books were all paperback at $.59. Joe

[Mark Jerde]

Snort! (Cleaning monitor...) Sure beats going outside when the cold is predatory. Yes you can freeze your bunz off. ;-)

-- Mark

[knotheads]

quality