13 best woodworking books

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Your Ultimate Guide to All Things Woodworking

This is the single most informative book on woodworking in print and has countless techniques, tips, and expert advice to offer.

The Complete Book of Woodworking is a staple resource for woodworkers of all skill levels, from aspiring to experienced.

Step-by-Step Instructions & Diagrams

Includes incredibly detailed step-by-step directions for every aspect of woodworking. The meticulous instructions are complimented by clear illustrations, diagrams, and photos to help woodworkers of all skill levels visualize the task at hand. Feel confident approaching any project, from picking out the right lumber for your design, to sanding and finishing your beautiful finished product.

Over 40 Stunning Projects for Woodworkers of All Skill Levels

Accessorize and furnish your home and workshop with gorgeous hand-made bookcases and cabinets. Deck out your yard and poolside with beautiful Adirondack chairs and sun loungers. A hand-crafted picture frame or mantel clock makes an excellent gift for any occasion. After all, there's no better gift than something made with your own two hands!

The Right Tools for the Job

Whether you're cutting stock, making the perfect joint, or finally assembling your project, it's important to use the right tools for safety, ease of use, and the best finished product. Learn which tools to use and how to use them. Find numerous equipment 'dos and don'ts', pro tips and tricks, and expert techniques for even the most seasoned woodworker.

An Introduction to Wood

Start at the root of woodworking: Trees. Learn invaluable facts crucial to lumber selection. Understand the anatomy of a tree, the difference between hardwoods and softwoods, and many more useful facts that will be your most useful tool in any project. Find in-depth information on 22 different types of wood, from their ideal uses to their workability and best applied finishes. Purchase your woodworking supplies with confidence, equipped with the knowledge you need to choose the perfect wood for every project.

Setting Up the Perfect Shop

Preparing your shop space is a critically important first step in woodworking. Whether you have a basement or a garage shop, there are a variety of factors imperative to creating your ideal shop environment. From power and lighting to ventilation and climate control, learn the key details to setting up a safe and productive work space. The tips and tricks found inside are sure to set your shop up for success.

The Project Design Process

The truth is in the details. Designing a project is a series of seemingly endless decisions. Carrying an idea from concept to fruition is what woodworking is all about! Explore different ways to generate project ideas and turn them into designs, from concept sketches to choosing your style, material, hardware, and finish. Learn how to build different prototypes to test out your design.

Squaring, Marking, & Cutting Stock

This is the ultimate step-by-step guide to creating parts for your woodworking project. Explore different methods and tools used to properly square stock. Examine how-to's, tool options, tips, and tricks for eight different types of cuts. Learn new skills and techniques whether you are a novice looking to find the best tools for your shop, or an experienced woodworker looking to find new ways to use your equipment.

Preparation Is Key

A complete list of materials and tools you'll need, as well as building time estimates, are provided for every project. You'll be equipped with a fully laid out plan, allowing you to confidently jump into any project you set your sights on.

Complete Cutting Lists

Every project comes with a comprehensive list of every cut you'll need to make, including part, number, size, and material.

Step-by-Step From Start to Finish

No guesswork, just clear and informative instructions for every part of your project.

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Shop-Tested Advice for Woodworking Success

Everyone loves a clever workshop tip! There's nothing better than a light-bulb moment when an ingenious solution to a vexing problem becomes clear.

Inside this book, the experts at American Woodworker bring you over 650 tips, techniques, & secrets to make your time in the workshop faster and smarter!

Whether you are an accomplished woodworker or just beginning to set up your workshop, you'll find quick answers to your most challenging questions, avoid common pitfalls, & solve everyday problems.

Wood, Turning, and Cabinet Making

Make your wood projects a breeze with tips like how to prevent wood from warping and using a no wobble pen mandrel to tricks like how to make a pin board marking jig and how to duplicate spindles with a semaphore (pictured).

Storing Tools and Supplies

Organize your tools and supplies for optimal use, from a benchtop lazy suzan and hardware storage cabinet (pictured) to a hideaway tool stand and shop apron magnets.

Tool Smarts, Electricity, and Batteries

Work smarter, not harder, whether you're paring thin dovetails and using a saber-saw cushion (pictured) or converting a motor's voltage and cleaning rusty tools with electrolysis.

Gluing, Sanding, and Finishing

From matching old stands and using white glue for woodworking (pictured) to duck-taped sanding blocks and choosing the correct glue for lamination, learn how to complete your gluing, sanding, and finishing tasks with ease.

Router

From router table tenoning jigs and flattening end grain with a router (pictured) to benchtop router table cabinets and making quick circles on the router table, you'll find a plethora of helpful router tips and tricks!

Jointer-Planer and Plate-Joiner

Discover invaluable joiner and planer tips, from a universal planer sled and fast, accurate face frames to getting perfectly squared edges using a planer, as well as important advice on how to avoid common jointer pitfalls (pictured).

Bandsaw, Chopsaw, and Tablesaw

From a zero-clearance bandsaw table and raised-panel tablesaw jig to an easy-to-see, 90-degree blad check and a flip-up miter-saw fence (pictured), these incredible tips will melt away all your saw-related frustrations and inefficiencies.

Drill Press

Tips and tricks for the drill press will make your shop time easier, whether you're using a sliding drill press table and vertical drilling jig or finding the fastest speed for any size Forstner bit (pictured) and identifying grain directions on plugs.

Workbench

Optimize the efficiency of your workbench from double duty planer stands and fold-away outfeed tables to mobile machine caddies and a workbench made from an old door!

Measuring, Marking, and Sharpening

Measure, mark, and sharpen in a jiffy with tricks like sharpening hollow chisels, a no-math saw setup, blunting a nicked edge, and using a versatile center gauge (pictured).

Vise, Clamps, and Clamping

Get a secure grip with tried and true tricks from supporting unwieldy clamps and rock-solid bench support to masking tape miter clamping and corner molding vise pads (pictured).

Hardware and Joinery Tricks

From perfect tenon shoulders and reinforcing plywood for hinge screws to mortising by machine and no-trace broken screw removal (pictured), you'll find no shortage of useful hardware and joinery tips, tricks, and hacks inside this book!

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Design & Construct Furniture That Works

You have the inspiration, desire, tools, materials, and woodworking know-how. But the tough part is figuring out how to construct the piece you want! Even if you have a picture of what you want to build, it isn't likely to reveal how it's put together.

So you start with a list of questions: What joints should you use? What's the best way to attach the top? Hang the drawers? How long should the legs be? How do you deal with wood movement?

Enter "Illustrated Cabinetmaking":

Joints

Find insight into every kind of joinery imaginable for edges, cases, frames, and rails. More than 100 joints are illustrated and explained!

Subassemblies

Everything from post-and-rail construction to cabinet bases and moldings is covered in detail. Learn how to assemble tabletops, doors, drawers, and feet.

Cabinets

From corner cupboards to credenzas, you'll find dozens of styles of cabinets and built-ins, all in detailed exploded views.

Tables

Dining tables, tea tables, swing-leg, draw-leaf, leg-and-apron, expanding-frame, turn-top, play-leg, tilt-top—you'll find the inner workings of over 30 different styles of table expanded in crisp, clear detail.

Desks

Writing desks, slant-top, post-office, fall-front, Davenport—find over a dozen different styles of desks explored in exploded view, including everything from the joints that hold them together to the type of legs to use.

Chests

Dressers & bureaus, six-board, frame-and-panel, block-front, serpentine-front, chest-on-frame—explore over a dozen different styles of chests and dressers for inspiration and insight to your next project.

Beds

Sleigh beds, daybeds, low-post, high-post, and pencil-post—explore all different kinds of twin, full, queen, and king bed frames in an array of design variations.