Which Mag?


Lee Bussy

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I get FWW, PWW, Woodworkers Journal currently. I dropped Wood after the twentieth article on how to build an arbor or other outdoor furniture. I used to get Shop Notes and enjoyed it, partly because I like making my own tools, or at least thinking about it, and was bummed when they closed up shop. I am at the stage where I am looking for inspiration as much as anything else. Articles that go into great detail about how to build a project (Wood and Woodsmith) really don't interest me as much as I have only built one thing from plans in the last twenty years - cradles for my grandchildren. It was easier than designing when I was in a hurry from procrastination. I used to like the detailed tool reviews in Wood magazine, but they have reduced them to almost nothing.

I hope Megan gets Pop. Woodworking back to the Woodworking roots. I like the in-depth technique articles and design articles.

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I like woodsmith for things to actually build.  Fine Woodworking for inspiration, but rarely build anything found in them.   FWW used to publish plans from the late Carlyle Lynch, I have made a few of those. His plans alone were a work of art.

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I have stacks and stacks of old mags, but now have dropped all but FWW.

Recently added Woodcraft's mag that sucked when it first came out, but has improved greatly. But then I know the editor and several of the contributors. They are 1st class woodworkers.

Pop WW was one of my favorites, but like others have said here, it is on a down hill slide.

I just sent in for a script to Woodsmith.

My biggest complaint is that all projects with most mags seem to be Shaker, Greene and Greene, or Mission. What is with that?

They seem to avoid anything with a curve in it.

 

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25 minutes ago, woodsmoke said:

My biggest complaint is that all projects with most mags seem to be Shaker, Greene and Greene, or Mission. What is with that?

They seem to avoid anything with a curve in it.

I can see where that would be an issue for some folks.  Right now I have a lot of arts and Crafts stuff planned for the living room and it all seems applicable to me.  When I'm ready for some early American Federal I may feel differently.

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23 minutes ago, woodsmoke said:

My interest is more with a Japanese/Scandinavian modern style. Light Japanese (not their heavy stuff) is really different and pleasing to the eye.

I'm not trying to be funny here, I honestly don't know.  Scandinavian to me means Ikea.  Can you point me to something that's exemplar of the style?

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Scandinavian became popular in the 1960's and was considered modern. It is simple, maybe considered 'stick furniture', with sculptured lines (not joints) , and usually walnut with oiled finishes. Japanese has similar lines and simplicity, but with twists such as a table top where the support is not immediately evident (floating), and components that support each other but at cross planes.

Now I'm confusing myself. LOL    Sorry.  I'll try to find examples.

Here is a table I made from a small photo seen in "readers projects" in FWW..

Sorry again, being new here I have not figured out how to get past a size limit on a photo.

Maybe later I'll figure it out.

At any rate, it would be nice if there was a mag featuring this type work to feed our imaginations.

 

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Yep I agree with the general sentiment here...

If you're only gonna have one sub, it's FWW, hands down.

I continue to sub to Pop Wood but that mag is a disgrace right now.  Hopefully they're just in a slump and get back to business sooner than later. They're way too heavy on the Follansbee "make a stool out of a piece of firewood with a sharpened rock" business...as much as I like the guy it just doesn't interest me at all.  Makes Chris Schwarz with his pine and cut nails seem like David Marks in comparison.

All the rest of them are throwaways...Wood, Woodsmith, Woodworker's Journal...if you're a beginner you might find some helpful plans in some of those issues, but for advanced techniques and anything of real interest, they're totally lacking.  Woodworker's Journal basically forced me to subscribe when they offered me three years for ten bucks.  I flip through them in a couple potty sessions and they go straight in the trash.  I keep all of my old FWW and PWW issues in a cabinet for design ideas and inspiration when I need it.

I also agree with @woodsmoke that they don't feature enough variation in styles.  If I see another Shaker or G&G anything I'm gonna lose it.  I also love Asian-influenced and Scandinavian designs, and you're hard-pressed to find any of that in any mag.  But for me it's more about picking up a new technique now and then and just having something to read while I drop the kids off at the pool.  Low expectations means less disappointment.

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Eric I really thing you should quit being so careful in what you say and just say what you mean.  Otherwise it's hard to tell your feelings. :)

I'm not all that big on Shaker but I need to do some mission work for the kitchen.  After the tables I need to make some chairs lord help me.  I need to settle on a style for the living room though.

I'm hoping a "cycle" or two though these mags will help me out and through the work give me a foundation upon which to build.

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==>I also agree with woodsmoke that they don't feature enough variation in styles.  If I see another Shaker or G&G anything I'm gonna lose it.

The FWW crew (believe it was Asa and MikeP) partially addressed this in an episode of STL... The explanation was positioned as maintaining revenue in a shrinking market (they substituted 'readership')... FWW conducted some sort of market survey (didn't provide methodology or time frame) to determine content direction... The short answer: they publish what their customers can build (simple, rectilinear pieces) and what their advertisers can sell to that market...

Think it was MikeP who provided the actual breakdown: 60%-70% Shaker, A&C, G&G, et al (rectilinear pieces) with the remaining as a mix of period pieces and the occasional contemporary piece to keep the outlier readership engaged...

Obviously, G&G content is riding the hype cycle, so hopefully it'll die-off soon...

Overall, it was rather sad... They went with the, "We're just giving the customers what they want" defense... I suppose it's hard to blame them -- the market is shrinking, so they've decided to publish to the greatest common denominator...

 

As for what's going-on with PopW, that's anyone's guess... If someone actually knows, drop me a PM... There's got to be a story behind the mess...

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FWW is still well worth the $$. I don't use power tools and still find plenty to learn. PW has me baffled. They reworded a tool review by CS and published it again within a couple issues! WTF :( If they can't find something new to write about, then it's time to move on. One issue I have with FWW is CB's replies in the letters section. Someone recently asked for advice about becoming a furniture maker, and CB basically pissed on the persons dream. He went on about everything that's hard, ie, long hours, cheap clients, not being able to make a living making your own designs etc. If I was one of the many schools advertising in FWW I would be a little upset. No one said it's easy. Other than those type of editorial comments, it's still well worth the $. I have the print and online membership. 

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==>^^^

Didn't mean to imply that the content they publish is poor quality --- except for the tool tests and any other content relying on a methodology -- which they do extraordinarily badly...

MikeP has certainly upped the graphics, imagery and layout... MikeP's interest in all-things A&C has upped that content...

It'll be interesting to see what happens now that Asa's gone and Tom's in charge...

As for their on-line presence -- that' just too painful to even comment on...

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On 1/24/2016 at 10:04 AM, Eric. said:

Yep I agree with the general sentiment here...

If you're only gonna have one sub, it's FWW, hands down.

I continue to sub to Pop Wood but that mag is a disgrace right now.  Hopefully they're just in a slump and get back to business sooner than later. They're way too heavy on the Follansbee "make a stool out of a piece of firewood with a sharpened rock" business...as much as I like the guy it just doesn't interest me at all.  Makes Chris Schwarz with his pine and cut nails seem like David Marks in comparison.

All the rest of them are throwaways...Wood, Woodsmith, Woodworker's Journal...if you're a beginner you might find some helpful plans in some of those issues, but for advanced techniques and anything of real interest, they're totally lacking.  Woodworker's Journal basically forced me to subscribe when they offered me three years for ten bucks.  I flip through them in a couple potty sessions and they go straight in the trash.  I keep all of my old FWW and PWW issues in a cabinet for design ideas and inspiration when I need it.

I also agree with @woodsmoke that they don't feature enough variation in styles.  If I see another Shaker or G&G anything I'm gonna lose it.  I also love Asian-influenced and Scandinavian designs, and you're hard-pressed to find any of that in any mag.  But for me it's more about picking up a new technique now and then and just having something to read while I drop the kids off at the pool.  Low expectations means less disappointment.

Well stated Eric..

Thanks to the re-size tip, let me try to post a couple pics of what I was suggesting as an interesting style.

This is not the best example, but just something I made. Working from a 2" x 3" photo required a lot of card board mock ups until the proportions were ok (with me).

 

1075.jpg

1089.jpg

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I have decades of FWW mags and an index. Then I had the online editions, saved them in my Kindle app. You can download PDF  's and keep in Kindle or wherever . Online access to search and find articles is handy.

New issues just got so repetitive I finally gave up my subscription. Still use all the stuff I have collected.

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I read FWW as well and have purchased a couple books from PWW. I used to subscribe to Wood as well. My issue with PWW is that their plans lack detail. Actually, I've noticed all mags that highlight a piece tell you to go to their site to purchase a full set of plans, which miffs me. And all the shaker, G&G and Arts and Crafts stuff is really annoying. A plethora of books and plans are out there for these styles but anything mid century is severely lacking. 

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