I'm thinking of subscribing to one or two woodworking mags and I'm interested to know what the general concensus is on the pick/s of the bunch.
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I'm thinking of subscribing to one or two woodworking mags and I'm interested to know what the general concensus is on the pick/s of the bunch.
Darren,
I cast my vote for Fine Woodworking.
Aus Wood Review is also good but as I only get one vote FWW is it. ;)
Besides, you'll save more money if you subscribe to FWW.
Cheers
Craig
Fine Woodworking had the edge but Wood Review is catching up.
But what I'd like to know is why so many people have viewed the thread but only 9 have bothered voting? There's 60+ views and even allowing for returning to check the results, there must have been at least 20 individuals who viewed it. I thought I'd covered all the options and why would you bother to look at a poll if you weren't going to vote? :confused:
Maybe I should have made Penthouse one of the options ;)
Can you vote if your not a member of the board?
Maybe it's got to do with the high lurker to member ratio.
Ah, you might have a point there. Well, come on you lurkers, sign up and let us know what you think. The more the merrier.
Call me paranoid but I feel a bit like I'm sitting around a camp fire with a few mates and there's all these eyes watching our every move from the trees :D :D
Sorry Doctor, forgot the medication again...
You forgot the English Mag "Woodturning". For those of us whose main hobby is turning.:mad:
I've not Voted yet, I thought I'd explain my vote before I place it.
My answer is..... it depends what you want.
Fine Woodworking is fantastic, beautiful colour pictures, profesional articles, written by highly skilled people. But....
The adds are practicly useless, the articles can be to profesional for the (often) low bugget enthusiest. And the articles can tend to be way to narrow minded, rarly encouraging you to think of new or different ways to solve your problem (other than throwing money at it), like using something other than a table saw to cut your finger joints.
(if your going to get this one, the cheapest way is to subscribe direct to Taunton, or else you'll pay through the nose)
Australian Wood Review is practicly the opposite.
There pictures are almost up to the same standard, the adds are interesting and helpful, the articles often demonstrate and encourage thinking outside the box, they have somewhat usefull tool reviews, the timbers are familar and obtainable, and it's so much cheaper. But...
The articles could do with just a little more profesionalism, as they don't really cater to the enthusiest with a bit more cash.
It somtimes comes accross as a magazine run by a couple of older woodies, but that can be a good thing.
Ideally, I'd subscribe to them both, as they complement each other pretty well.
I guess one is pretty American and the other is pretty Australian.
Totally my own views of course. :D
Ben.
Ps. I've not seen any other magazines worth buying.;)
Darren,
I'll join you around the campfire and ignore those eyes watching us, after all they are only lurkers and not willing to join in the fun.
I am fortunate that I live near 3 major library services so I can borrow the first five magazines you listed easily as well as the British magazine the Woodworker. The American and British mags all use imperial measurements so although they have good ideas the projects are too difficult to follow for a dedicated metric man.
I find that some of the Aussie mags cater for a very narrow type of readers so I opted for Australian Woodsmith.
Peter.
Lurking! Make me sound like a crocodile!
I call it looking.
Darren,
Like John Hambly I was looking for the English mag Woodturning.
Actually lurking is probably right whenever either Woodturning or Australian Wood Review should arrive in the letterbox. Both are excellent mags and worth the wait, I also subsribe to The Australian Woodworker (must be my turn to win the subscription prize).
I tried the library but feared that I would be skeletonized by the time by turn to read it came around.
rgds
Geoff
I subscribe to the three most popular magazines in the poll so far (FW, AW, & AWR). I don't know if that makes me a fanatic.
I would not agree that the ads in FW are useless. It is often cheaper to buy hand tools and accessories from American or Canadian suppliers, most of which have websites from which you can order online.
I would agree that the Aussie magazines could do with a bit more professionalism; I have found that the editing is not as careful as it should be - nearly always, if I decide to build one of their projects, I find that there are mistakes in dimensions. I was very surprised to be told by the editor of AWR that they do not possess any CAD software.
Could be that lots of people are like me. I'm keeping a look out here to see what the general consensus is when it comes to a magazine. I haven't been around that long (in woodworking that is) and as yet haven't subscibed or even thought about purchasing any mags yet. So, I haven't got anything worthwhile to add but I'm 'lurking with intent'. :D
The libraries are great our local is part of TAFE so plenty of the most popular mags there, I spend my money on the photo copier with 3 ring binders at home 1 furniture plans
2 Jigs for workshop and tools
3 other bits and sods
Fww gets my vote Tony
This is one where you really need to be able to number your choices.
My favorite is Fine Woodworking - BUT - at the price it wears I limit my enjoyment to the local library with the occasional borrowing so that I can take some notes from it, (I would never let it get near the photocopier of course!)
I frequently buy Aust Woodsmith which I find has many useful little bits on techniques using modern tools etc.
I occasionaly buy Aust Woodworker for a specific project.
They each have their place, I would buy most of them but then there would be no money left for the important things like wood and tools.
A difficult vote ---
Cheers
Woodturning, the Brittish mag gets my vote. AWR I'm afraid is a bit bland. I find the reviews of tools or machines a bit shallow.....almost like they don't want to upset the advertisers.
But I stll buy it just in case something of interest comes up, as I never seem to have time in the shop to browse through it.
The 'imperial books' don't bother me as I grew up with feet and toes, damn, I mean inches.
I would really like to see the Australian magazines give us more on our Australian timbers, not only the exotic, but all the timbers. The Australian population is so diverse in origin, I am sure there are heaps of us that really know very little about our local timbers. Some nice pics of the grain and as true to the real colour as possible.
My 1/2 c's worth
Cya
Joe
If there is room on the log where the smoke and sparks aren't blowing, I'll have a cold one with you silentC.
Australian Wood Review is my preference for reasons already stated but also many of the authors are professional woodworkers.
I haven't noticed any un-professional articles but then I am not a wordsmith. If an article is written by a good woodworker then I'll understand the ideas, that is why I subscribe to this excellent magazine.
- Wood Borer
I enjoy Popular Woodworking (www.popwood.com). I only yesterday picked up my first Fine Woodworking. I've been reading Fine Homebuilding for some time, though.
:( :( :(
WE should all be supporting the localy produced Australian Magazines first !!!
Even if the OS Mags seem to be better.
Which they should be if you look at the population of America and England and the massive volume of mags that they sell each month and also the amount of advertisers
At least we have the choice of very different magazines, running on a very limited bugdet and with only a low volume of magazines printed each month.
I also think that we Aussie Woodworkers do a very good job at producing some fine magazines, with articles that are up to date, not to technical for the average Joe Blow and with reviews and testing of products that are equal if not better than some of the other OS Mags.
:) After all look at the Aussies that built the Triton, Giffkins Jig, Ubeat Polishes, Etc. need we say more?
My vote goes to AW, AWR & Woodsmith Equally.
Regards, :D :D :)
Australian Woodsmith, even though the hints and tips with the offer of a free subscription are a bit sus.
I have seen the same hints and tips in the USA variety up to a year earlier yet we are conned into believing that a 'local' has taken the pot of gold.
That aside, some of the projects are good and easy to follow.
Product reviews are somewhat non committal but I live with that.
Thanks to everyone for their replies. Looks like AWR and FWW are on the must have list. No surprises there. I've bought both off the stand in the past.
I apologise to the turners for not including Woodturning. The poll only allows you 10 options and I overlooked this one as I'm not in to woodturning in a big way (yet). That's why I put the "other" option there and you have highlighted my ignorance, so thanks.
I also overlooked scroll sawing, carving, intarsia, pyrography etc., so apologies to anyone else whose favourite magazine wasn't there.
Good points about the advertising. To be honest, I tend not to look at the ads much anyway, being one of the TV generation my brain switches them off.
Also good point Joe on the reviews. In the past, I've seen magazines with a review of a product and, on the next page, a full page ad for the same product. I think I'd look elsewhere for impartial reviews.
Thanks again everyone. No-one was offended by the lurking remark, I hope? It did elicit some responses ;)
I voted for AWR. I like the colour pics ... I find that if I like something I want to make I can suss out whats involved simply because the photography is usually of high quality. eg: in the last issue there was a picture of a carving called "tree" made from a jarrah burl - I love it - I will make one for myself one day
the things I like most about AWR are :
good spread of oz wide ads (inc schooling etc...)
pic quality
article quality
no pictures of bikini's draped over a felder!
quarterly publication thus I can afford to buy rather than borrow
less repetative nature of article subject
at the last sydney wood show I went to the stand to buy back copies and the lady let me buy 8 mags for $40 then threw in another 3 for free....
the things I dislike are :
when comparing tools or machinary they mostly DO NOT state implicitly "this is the best tool" they simply state that this one is ok for this and this one is ok for that. I want definative opinions dammit!!! especially for high end machinary - I wouldnt mind them introducing a weighting system of measures that allocated points on toolware features.
The web page is basically an ad with letters to the editor thrown in.
anyway thats my bit - i'll throw another log on - surely the fire is getting lower by now....
Scrollsaw Workshop is my main wood magazine, but also get the Australian Woodworker at times
Have you ever noticed when you're sitting around a fire that there is always someone who the smoke follows? We had this guy when I used to go walking who always attracted the smoke. We made him sit on the other side of the fire to keep the smoke away from us. If he came around and sat on the other side, the smoke would invariably follow him around. Quite eerie, actually.
On the subject of reviews and ratings, I suppose they could be a bit less non-commital in their findings. However, the problem is how to develop a rating system that is equitable.
There was an article in the SMH a couple of months ago in which the journo decided he was going to answer the ultimate question: which is better, Mac or PC? In the end, his finding was that the Macintosh was better, even though he only scored the Mac higher than the PC in 2 out of 6 categories.
The one that clinched it for him was 'Style & Design', where he gave the PC 4/10 and the Mac 9/10. This obliterated the differences in the other 5 categories and made the Mac the outright winner. But if you were buying a home computer, would you put the look of the thing ahead of the availability of software?
So how would you come up with a scale that reflected what was really important in a product? The best they could probably do would be to have a number of categories, such as "value for money", "accuracy", "ease of setup" etc. and give a score on each. Then you would have to decide how important each of those categories was to you and whether you could accept 2/10 for "ease of setup" if "value for money" was 8/10.
I think I'd better have another beer...
I voted for FWW but I also subscribe to AWR and AWW so they should get a vote from me as well. The other 2 mags that I subscribe to are WOOD and Shopnotes. Yes I know that is 5 mags but I get a little out of each that the others do not have. It sets me back around $250 a year for them all but for the knowledge etc that I gain I consider it a small price.
If I only learn one thing from each then it is a huge bonus for me :D
I agree however with what several other have pointed out, in a couple of the Aussie produced mags they are direct reprints of the US ones with dimensions and materials changed for Australia, this however IMHO is not a bad thing as it means I do not have to do that work myself and gives me more time to create sawdust.
I voted (and subscribe to) Australian Wood Review as it is well produced with high quality photos and it is aimed towards the middle to upper end of the market. I find the ads to be one of the best parts ..... finding new products that are available in Australia and at Australian prices. I also like to look at the small ads in the back of the smaller suppliers and check out websites if they have them ...... there really should be an increase of the smaller suppliers putting their products on line to at least view if not buy.
I also subscribe to Australian Woodworker. The quality isn't as high and many of the projects are lacking design quality but what the hell ..... it reminds me very much of this board :D . My view of this mag seems to be more aimed at the retired weekend woodie .... but that being said I don't complain when it comes in.
I bought Australian Toymaker who is by the Australian Woodworker people ..... its an annual publication but I felt that it was of a low standard. Many of the toys made were poorly finished in both quality of construction and presentation, the designs were from the ark and I wasn't at all enspired. The train toybox was amoung the best. Something about seeing a toy car that resembles the Flintstones mobile with out of round 19mm pine wheels doesn't float my boat. Sorry.
I also subscribe to the following but that is for different reasons ....
Architecture Australia
Houses
Australian Jaguar
Renew.
So there you have it a snap shot of Stinkies bedtime reading :)
My vote is with Australian Wood Review. I find this to be a professional looking publication with some good project ideas and interesting articles. As some others have said the tool “reviews” are a bit weak though. These often seem to be a list of what is available and what the features and prices are. Never seems to be any real comparison or criticism. I like the American tool reviews where they provide opinions, even if they can be subjective.
I’m not a big fan of Australian Woodworker. The Neil Scobie furniture plans are good but in general the content is not what I’m interested in. For me there is too much emphasis on carving and turning. The magazine also seems to supplement the content with a lot of articles from home enthusiasts which give it a bit a low budget feel. The home enthusiasts are obviously talented and enjoy their work but some of the projects are pretty obscure and I can’t see they would have wide appeal (eg building a rose engine, hobo pliers, carving miniature bellows?). Anyway, I’m sure some people love it but it’s not my cup of tea.
Cheers
George
I've voted for Fine Woodworking, although Australian Wood Review comes a close second.
Another not mentioned is Furniture and Cabinetmaking out of the UK - it's authors and editors are cabinetmakers and it's similar quality of articles on a slightly cheaper paper. www.gmcmags.com (no affiliation)
I teach woodwork for a living and find that these three cover most furniture requirements (but not carving or turning, as previously said).
Cheers,
eddie
to me fine woodworking is a fine magazine indeed, but some of their articles etc are very elitist and to far from the normal amateur. furniture and cabinetmaking is by faaaaaaar the best magazine around. comes in at around 12.20 from the uk and has brilliant, practical and inspiring articles. david charlesworth is a regular contributer, which i really enjoy. they also use euro/australian machines (actual crosscut tables, no phucking sleds without guards!).
peace
I subsribed to AWR at the last Working With Wood show but also buy Aussie Woodworker at the newsagents as each issue arrives. Both are good but cater to slightly different markets. I feel AWR gives info about the high end which most of us aspire to but Woodworker is aimed at where we are really at. I am very much a novice so can learn from pretty much anywhere at tjis stage. Would love to see a Triton specific mag come out if any publishers are reading this forum!!!!!!!!!!:D
I don't subscribe to any magazines as my postie (I'm sure)
takes delight in creasing them in half and ramming them
into my letter box tearing the pages. :mad:
I have the newsagent hold my copies of AWW & AWS :D
I suppose I'll have to cave in and buy an Ozzy Post "Approved" letterbox.
Yup, Woodturning magazine. As a beginner I see things in it I haven't seen before, even after reading my late teacher's half a dozen woodturning books.
I subscribe to both AWR and Fine Woodworking. They're both excellent. And different. After a lot of agonising, I voted for Fine Woodworking because, having only returned to woodwork after a very long interval, I find that it is more instructive in basic techniques so it gives me more help where I need it most.
AWR is a very good publication. I particularly like the fact that it showcases excellence in design and workmanship. If you use the two publications as a reflection of the state of woodworking in Australia and the US, it seems to me that Aussie woodworkers have a definite edge in modern design.
Col
You'd better put me down for FWW. Bought a copy of an Oz one which was alright, so good I cant remember what it was called, as one of your respondents put it 'a bit bland' but what upset me was the typeface (font?) it gave the mag a sort of fussy look.
ShopNotes is a bit too basic for my needs, tried a year's subscription but haven't renewed.
Been subscribing to FWW for about ten years now there's nothing to compare for sheer publishing quality but Yanks insularity is breathtaking.
There. I voted.
Buy?...Buy??? I thought the appropriate verb would be "make" :-)Quote:
I suppose I'll have to cave in and buy an Ozzy Post "Approved" letterbox. [/B]
So its FWW by a nose to AWR, daylight third. :D
Looks that way. Wouldn't have gotten very good odds for the win and the place. Probably not the triffecta either.
Subscribed to both the other day, now waiting to see what all the fuss is about :p
I vote AWR. Considering the small size of the Oz market compared to the US and UK, I think they do a pretty good job. Good articles, good contributers, and good production values.
First off, I work for Aussie Post and I take exception to the remark that we just ram the mail into letter boxes. I will have you know that the amount of force we use is carefully calculated to Just remove the outside covers and to disfigure the inside contents in some critical areas only. We are professionals, not some damned cowboys. :)
I have just subscribed to Fine Woodworking. That in itself was an ordeal and an excersise in frustration. It took about 20 goes using their $%^& website (and still failing) before I gave up and just sent them an email asking to be subscribed.
I also subscribe to Australian Woodsmith. This is (I believe) a direct rrip off of their American mother mag. I have made several of their projects and have often found that they are using Imperial measurements and then just swapping the measurements into metric. This has been much improved of late, so they may now be actually using CAD software to do the redrawing. Still, I like the detail that they go into and have not had many problems with their mag
I also get (subscribe) to The Australian Woodworker. Mainly, because of the Neil Scobie designs. He designs elegant pieces that are not too difficult to make well.
Also included in this magazine are some jigs by a brilliant Australian jig maker. I don't know if you have heard of him but he goes by the name of David Dundas. I understand that he is quite old and now spends most of his time in a rocking chair. Ah well, comes to us all in the end I suppose. :)
I arrived back home on Saturday from 2 weeks' leave and was welcomed by the latest issues of FWW and AWR. Could've used them when sitting around the pool in Surfers to break the tedium of swimming and chasing the kids.
Bob, I'm sorry to say but our local postie Greg needs to be sent on a refresher course. Not only were the covers intact but the plastic wrap was still in place as well. I do hope it wont count against his promotion.
I understand that with the weather cooling down a bit up there of late, David will be spending more time in his shed and less in his rocker.
Preomototion? There ain't gunna be no promotion for this little incompetent. He has already had all the training he's gunna get.
What is his last name? I will see to it that he is drummed out of the service in disgrace. How do you think it makes all the other posties feel when they hear that the side has been let down like this? I will also see to it that his pension and super are revoked. We just cannot have one bad apple in the barrel letting us all be tarred with the same feather.
(Mixed metaphors a speciality)
I've already voted on this poll, for Fine Woodworking, to which I subscribe. I have just been going through the latest AWR, of which I buy most issues, and decided to make further comment.
Firstly, the comparison reviews they do are generally awful. The latest one on drills doesn't describe the testing format well, doesn't explain the scoring or rating system adequately and to top it off uses each drill after one charge, despite admitting that the manufacturers recommend multiple charges to obtain the best results. Better quality battery systems, including the more sophisticated chargers, will improve immensely, whilst the more budget units will improve little if at all. Additionally, little was done to explain why different units were preferred over others.
AWR reminds me a little of the opposite of most of the pommie mags (apologies, but then I was born in Manchester myself). Their mags seem to have terrific detail on tools and techniques, but the work displayed often tends to the pedestrian, and that's being kind.
AWR has many truly dreadful articles and often simpers ad nauseum over it's advertisers product (take the recent article on Forestry Tasmania, it would be difficult to find a more biased perspective) yet the work shown is often amazing, usually beautiful.
Having said all of that, it is often very good and I love being able to read about quality work from an Australian perspective. I've probably got up a few noses out there, time to blast the newcomer!
Cheers,