Learning about the nature of wood

The more you know about the nature of the wood you use, the better your own work will be. These 41 articles from Fine Woodworking's classic era tell you what you need to know about the raw material of your craft.

Learn how to buy, dry, store and mill lumber. You’ll read about which species are good for which jobs, and how to design joints that accommodate wood’s seasonal swelling and shrinking.

How to Accurately Identify Over 180 Types of Hardwoods and Softwoods with Simple Tools

With just the naked eye and a hand lens or elementary microscopy, you will be able to identify over 180 domestic and tropical hardwoods and softwoods by following the straightforward techniques in this book.

Bruce Hoadley, a professor of wood science and technology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, provides:

• An overview of the wood identification process
• A look at the basic anatomy of woody plants
• Hundreds of easy-to-use charts and crystal-clear photographs and microphotographs
• Sources of information and materials
• A glossary of all technical terms used in the book

Things have to be right about your lumber before it can be used. Choosing the wrong wood for a project or not ensuring its ready to be worked can cost you. These articles, from Fine Woodworking, will take the mystery out of selecting wood. Included is information on drying your own, alternative sources, protecting wood from the elements, and more.

In this essential reference for woodworkers, R. Bruce Hoadley explains everything from how trees grow to how best to cut, season, machine, join, bend, and finish wood. Why do miters open and glue joints loosen? How do you get a really sharp edge? Examples of problems and solutions help woodworkers puzzle through their own projects, while 325 full-color photos and helpful tables illustrate key points. Updated information on composite materials, adhesives, and finishes included.

How to Select, Season, and Build with Any Kind of Wood

This step-by-step pictorial reference covers all of the techniques for working with wood. Organized for quick access, this book makes it easy to find exactly the information you are looking for. Over 850 photos and drawings illustrate how to buy lumber, dry and store it, choose joinery for durable construction, as well as how to machine, bend, and finish any type of wood.

About the author
Andy Rae worked with George Nakashima and Frank Klausz before founding his own woodworking business. He has been awarded a New Jersey Council of the Arts Fellowship for his furniture designs. A former editor of American Woodworker, Rae is also the author of The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture and Cabinet Construction. He currently works in Asheville, North Carolina, making furniture as well as teaching and writing about woodworking.

How much do you really know about the wood you craft with?

If you're a woodworker, crafter, or artist who works with wood, this stunning new book from the North House Folk School, will fascinate, inform, and inspire you. In celebrating its 10th anniversary, the well-known woodworking and craft school in northern MN decided to salute the birch - also known as the "Mother Tree" because it's been vital to the survival of northern civilizations for centuries.

So, in addition to 20 beautiful and practical projects you can create - such as a turned wooden bowl, a carved box, and woven basket, to name a few - you will discover the rich history, the fascinating cultural myths, and the significant ecological status of this beautiful and legendary tree. In fact, after reading Celebrating Birch, you'll discover that the birch is more than just a tree or a raw material; it's a link to the past that enriches the life, heart, and mind of anyone who works with it.

Straight Talk for Today's Woodworker

The practical information in this shop-tested manual gives woodworkers everything they need to know about their favorite material: wood. Woodworkers will learn how wood behaves in response to atmospheric humidity, how to measure its moisture content, how to shop for wood, how to manage various lumber grades and defects, how to work with manufactured boards and veneers, and how to harvest and season their own wood. Several woodworking projects are also detailed in this guide, including how to build a solar kiln to season wood and how to build storage racks. An extensive listing of wood species with working properties and full-color photos helps woodworkers save money on their next project by choosing the appropriate species and grade of wood.