by Stephen | Jul 3, 2021 | Books
Understanding Wood Finishing
by Bob Flexner
An excellent book on wood finishes that explains why as well as how.
To order click here. This will take you to Amazon.com where your order will be taken.
This is the best book on wood finishing I have ever seen. It’s the best because it explains how and why a finish works the way it does, along with explaining the techniques involved with applying the finish. This is a thinking person’s guide to wood finishing- for those of us that want to understand why as well as how.
There are no big mysteries to wood finishes. There are certain types based upon a limited number of formulations, and what you need to know is how each of these types works so you know the best way to apply it. You’ll be best prepared to deal with problems that arise if you understand why the problem is occurring so that you can identify the best solution. Flexner removes the mystery behind wood finishes by explaining in thorough detail the characteristics of each type of wood finish and how to manipulate those characteristics to achieve the result you want.
Still, this in not a dry scientific treatment of chemical properties in wood finishes. It’s written by a pro wood finisher for woodworkers from beginners to pros. It contains extensive how-to material on applying each type of finish and using the tools involved, again explaining how they work so you understand what you are doing when you use them.
The book has over 300 pages, and the current printing is soft cover. There are many photos, both color and black and white, as well as numerous charts and tables laying out info.
Chapters include:
- Why Finish Wood, Anyway?
- Preparing The Wood Surface
- Tools For Applying Finishes
- Oil Finishes
- Staining Wood
- Filling The Pores
- Introduction To Film Finishes
- Shellac
- Lacquer
- Varnish
- Water-Based Finishes
- Conversion Finishes
- Choosing A Finish
- Finishing The Finish
- Caring For The Finish
- Repairing Finishes
- Finishing Different Woods
- Strippers
To order the book click on the link at the top of the page.
by Stephen | Jul 3, 2021 | Books
Understanding Wood
by R. Bruce Hoadley
A craftsman’s guide to wood technology.
The definitive work on the material characteristics of wood for woodworkers.
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This book was first published in 1980 by Taunton Press, publishers of Fine Woodworking Magazine. Its author, R. Bruce Hoadley, is a wood technologist who has spent a great deal of time researching the properties of wood. The purpose of the book was to give non-scientist woodworkers a solid understanding of the properties and characteristics of the material we deal with.
If you intend to go farther with woodworking than just building a few projects now and then, this book is required reading. It explains in detail and in readable English the nature of the material as well as why it does what it does. Why does wood shrink and expand? Why does it cup, warp and twist? What’s the difference between cup, warp and twist? What’s the difference between figure and grain? This book was intended to be and remains the basic reference for woodworkers on these kinds of questions.
Some of the book goes a bit farther than you will need building furniture. A chapter on the strength of wood contains info on compression, tension and shear characteristics in wood which you will never bother calculating to build a table. As well you don’t need to know about wood’s thermal conductivity or fluorescence, though these things are interesting to read about.
But the majority of subjects covered will have application in your craft. You need to know how wood and air-borne moisture interact. Hoadley’s explanations of how machines cut wood will help you get the best out of your machines. His treatment of joinery will help you make strong joints. He also gives a basic discussion of finishing wood as well as a chapter on finding wood and how it is measured and graded.
This is the best book available for understanding wood.
Chapters include:
- The Nature of Wood
- Figure in Wood
- Wood Identification
- Water and Wood
- Coping With Wood Movement
- Strength of Wood
- Other Properties
- Machining Wood
- Joining Wood
- Finishing Wood
- Modifying Wood
- The Woodworker’s Raw Materials
- Afterword: Forests Past and Future
To order the book click the link at the top of the page.
by Stephen | Jul 3, 2021 | Books
Traditional Woodworking Handtools
by Graham Blackburn
To order a paperback copy, click here. This will take you to Amazon.com where your order will be taken.
Traditional Woodworking Handtools describes all the major handtools that were used by cabinetmakers, furnituremakers, carpenters and numerous other woodworking trades in the centuries before the introduction of powertools and machinery. These are the tools that built the masterpieces we now know as Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, Federal, and many other styles.
This brand new book by well-known woodworking author and illustrator Graham Blackburn, covers every aspect of choosing, rehabilitating, and getting the most out of traditional handtools for woodworking. In this age of machines, handtools remain the best way, and are often the only way, of creating beautiful details, perfect fit, and final finish. Handtools liberate the furnituremaker, builder, and general woodworker from the limited artistic vocabulary of machinery. With handtools, there are no technical limits.
Traditional Woodworking Handtools explains how to set up and use each tool, and puts the tool in the context of the complete woodworking process. Blackburn includes interesting historical information as well as telling anecdotes drawn from his forty-year career at the bench. Readers will come away with not only the knowledge they need to improve their own woodworking, but also a deeper appreciation of their craft and its role in the construction of civilization.
This copiously illustrated new book is thus both a guide for collectors and antique-tool enthusiasts as well as an essential manual for all woodworkers who would increase their vocabulary of woodworking techniques.
Chapters Include:
- The Classic Workbench
- Clamps, Cramps, & Pin Vises
- Miter Trimming
- Measuring & Marking Tools
- The Square
- Bevels
- Gauges
- Handsaws
- Sawfitting & Sawing
- Framed Saws
- Backed Saws
- A Plane from the Past
- Bench Planes
- Successful Plane Racing
- Scrub, Jack, & Jointer
- The Smooth Plane
- The Jack Plane
- Block, Miter, Bullnose, & Chariot
- The Rabbet Plane
- The Dado Plane
- The Plough
- Sash Fillisters
- Match Planes
- Badgers
- Panel Raisers
- Moulding Planes
- Hollows & Rounds
- Beading Planes
- Adzes, Axes, & Hatchets
- The Scraper
- Old Chisels
- The Mortise Chisel
- Carving Tools
- Spokeshaves, Shaves, & Drawknives
- Pre-electric Routers
- Chamfering Devices
- Boring Tools
- Bits & Pieces
- Threading Tools
- Striking Tools
- Bench-top Accessories
- Select Bibliography
- Tool Associations
- Tool Dealers
- Tool Auctions
by Stephen | Jul 3, 2021 | Books
The Workbench Book
by Scott Landis
Very thorough treatment of benches.
To order, click here. This will take you to Amazon.com where your order will be taken.
The 1987 classic from The Taunton Press. High quality production and very good photography make this an attractive book to show off on your coffee table. But the real value of the book is how it documents a variety of bench designs, giving you many good ideas for building your own. An indispensible reference if you plan to build a serious bench.
Landis begins with the history of benches, with photos and drawings of older designs. Then he looks very closely at several of these older designs, detailing how they are built and used. Then he looks at various benches made and used by contemporary woodworkers, all incorporating traditional ideas with unique features. Chapters on both shop built and store bought vises cover this subject well. Final chapters cover specialty benches such as Japanese designs, country shaves, boat building etc. where the bench is designed for the particular needs of the user.
In the appendices are 19 pages containing measured drawings for 4 of the bench designs covered in the book. From these drawings and the info in the book you can build a bench, but you will have to fill in a lot of the details. This is not a book of thorough, specific instructions for building each bench, because the focus is on presenting as many different design ideas as possible.
A beautiful book and worthy addition to any woodworking library.
Chapters include:
- The Evolution of the Workbench
- 18th Century- The Roubo Bench
- 19th Century- The Shaker Bench
- An Old-Fashioned Workhorse
- A Modern Hybrid
- A Basic Bench
- A Workbench Sampler
- Benches to Market
- Shop-Built Vises
- Off-the-Shelf Vises
- Japanese Beams and Trestles
- Country Shaves and Brakes
- Boatbuilding
- Lutherie
- Carving
- The Workmate
- Appendices
by Stephen | Jul 3, 2021 | Books
The Toolbox Book
by Jim Tolpin
The ultimate toolbox book
To order, click here. This will take you to Amazon.com where your order will be taken.
This might have been titled ‘The Ultimate Toolbox Book’, but I suppose someone else has the rights to that name. It’s published by Taunton Press (Fine Woodworking), who have long been known for the exceptional quality of their books, and this is one of their best. Though the intention is to give woodworkers a wealth of info on toolbox design, the beautiful photos make this something you may want to
Tolpin starts off with a look at the history of toolboxes, with treatment of both simple and complicated historical examples. Then he looks at several traditionally inspired designs. A chapter on work from the North Bennet Street School of woodworking in Boston shows pieces that look more like fine furniture than something you would dare take into the shop and risk scratching. Then the bulk of the book covers different box types such as wall cabinets, floor standing designs, rolling carts etc. A chapter on a tricked out van and a photo of the Space Shuttle tool box round things out.
All the box designs covered have excellent photos and/or drawings with overall dimensions, but few have much in the way of specific details for construction. This is not a project book, it’s an idea book for you to use designing your own box. You can easily use one of the drawings with overall dimensions as a start, but you will have to fill in all the details yourself.
A beautiful, well executed book that will make a worthy addition to any woodworking library.
Chapters Include:
- Tool Boxes and the Building of a Nation
- Traditional Style Tool Chests
- A Student Tool Chest Project
- Designing In-Shop Tool Storage
- Wall Cabinets
- Standing Tool Cabinets
- Rolling Tool Carts
- Designing Site Boxes
- Open Shoulder Totes
- Lidded Totes
- Wheeled Site Boxes
- A Toolbox for the Road
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