What is your current assessment of the offerings of the woodworking magazines?   Maybe I've matured, but I've become less and less impressed.

 

There is one local magazine that has had a nearly complete turnover of staff, new and old, in the last few years.   Their objective now seems to be the newbie (which is probably the largest market is).

 

Fine Woodworking has become ho-hum for me.   After 30 years as a subscriber, I let it lapse a couple of years ago.  Now I read copies from the library or e-library.

 

Wood has become a bit better, IMO.   Still sad they closed their forum.   I subscribe now, but stopped long ago when their emphasis seemed to be lawn ornaments and other pukey ducks.

 

Rockler and Woodcraft have their own in-house magazines.

 

I read a bunch of old Woodsmith magazines and my impression was it was mostly for beginners to cobble together workshop tools rather than just buy them.

 

Family Handyman is inexpensive, has other DIY articles and occasional woodworking project or technique article.  Owned by Readers' Digest.

 

Like most industries, there have been some mergers and acquisitions and subsequent retiring of the nameplate.

 

I subscribe to Woodcraft. I have been getting it since issue #1. I usually find something interesting in most of the issues. My biggest complaints are that they don't have enough turning information and their Christmas projects issue in published too late in the year.

 

I still get Woodsmith but it seems to be more about what tools are available to do a job. Seems like these articles are advertisements in disguise. I really liked the old ShopSmith issues. Lots of great jigs and fixtures.

 

I just recently subscribed to the American Association of Woodturners. I've only received one issue so far. It is a little expensive but I get access to their web info as well.

 

If we go on vacation, Mimi usually gets several different magazines from the Lowes magazine rack none of them seem to be worth a subscription but are fun to read at the beach.

I let all my subscriptions lapse about 3 years ago, but still get WoodSmith and Wood . I don't know how many years I have left on them, over the years I kept getting renewal notices and would renew, and renew and renew, must have renewed enough to last me past my life time. Have a whole stack to read when I get time.

Herb

I have received a couple of woodworking magazines over the past 10 years but rarely had much to really get my productive juices flowing. I think the one that I have enjoyed most is "Arts & Crafts Homes" as I have always been drawn to that style and there are many A&C style homes in Southern California. Since we are clearing out our stuff and getting ready to move to Kentucky I filled up a big tub with all my old magazines and dropped them off to the local library. I kept a few of the magazines, but the rest are now in the library.

My subscription to FWW started with issue #1. After maybe 20 years, I let it lapse. Kept all the issues and finally gave them (and, Wood, WWJ, and several others) to a newbie. He was happy. His wife was not.

Now, it's just Woodsmith and Woodcraft. 

I stopped subscribing to WOOD magazine when they ended their forums. They still send the magazine but I spend very little time going thru it.

I quit getting any.  I have enough saved up I could read them I I got the urge.  The computer pretty much covers everything I need.

Several years ago when I first started in WWing, I subscribed to American Woodworker and Wood. I stopped AWW after a few years when it began repeating projects. I added Popular Woodworking and dropped Wood for the same reason. Then, I dropped PWW. Now, I just check the mag rack at the store and if I like an article, I buy the mag.  

hat

I am less and less impressed with any of them. They are either geared towards the newbie, selling tools, or are heavy on ads and light on articles. I still get Woodsmith, but it will go when the subscription runs out. @John Morris John arranged a conciliation prize subscription to Woodcraft for me. I just got it yesterday and haven't had time to even open it up yet. Thanks, John.

 

I tried the Woodsmith Video subscription when it first came out...I would have rather someone would have shot me than to endure that, again.

 

Every once in awhile something shows up to inspire; jigs, tips, home made tools/accessories, etc. Even with all of that...meh!

4 hours ago, Allen Worsham said:

getting ready to move to Kentucky

What part?

I had several Wood subscriptions ahead, and when they dropped our forum, I did not renew. I noticed the last few were sbustandard to me. I do not subscribe to any now; I just look up stuff on the internet. It really made me mad when they dropped the forum! No respect, no respect, we get no respect!

got wood for several years, read with interest, but never built anything out of the magazine.  publicly criticized some articles on the forum (showing unsafe practices), was ignored.  dropped it.

 

i've made and shown a few things on the internet, and had a few requests for plans, but alas, there were no plans that others could work from. 

 

i design and make from scratch, get an idea, establish overall dimensions, and work backwards.

1 hour ago, oldwoodie said:

I had several Wood subscriptions ahead, and when they dropped our forum, I did not renew. I noticed the last few were sbustandard to me. I do not subscribe to any now; I just look up stuff on the internet. It really made me mad when they dropped the forum! No respect, no respect, we get no respect! 

You have all the respect in the world from us @oldwoodie

And to introduce you to a great magazine and an ardent supporter of The Patriot Wooodworker and our veterans, we'll shoot ya out a one year subscription to Woodcraft Magazine from us to you. They are a true all American Magazine, supporting our troops, and our veterans!

Just PM me with your mailing address and we'll get it out to ya asap.

 

To our community, don't worry, we'll pick ya up at random and get ya a subscription out as well, tug at our heart strings and you'll find a Woodcraft Magazine subscription coming out to you as well.

I started to subscribe to this semi annual issue awhile back, and I love it, it's a bit pricey, but the information is extremely valuable if you are going the way of hand tools. I love this publication.

Mortise and Tenon Magazine

It's also considered a book, really it is.

 

3 hours ago, schnewj said:

I tried the Woodsmith Video subscription when it first came out...I would have rather someone would have shot me than to endure that, again.

Nice try Schnooge, but you're not getting off easy like that...we'll get back to you.

23 minutes ago, DAB said:

(showing unsafe practices)

 

24 minutes ago, DAB said:

establish overall dimensions, and work backwards.

Just to publicly bring this to your attention, I would think this would be unsafe.

I get Wood and Woodsmith.  I liked it better when Shop Notes and Woodsmith were separate magazines, but I guess I can live with the way it is now.  I never considered Woodcraft Magazine because I just assumed it was a long advertisement for Woodcraft stores.  Maybe I will give them a try.

Used to subscribe to Wood, Woodsmith, Shop Notes, Family Handyman and was a charter member of the old Handyman Club of America (HCoA) which published a monthly magazine similar to Family Handyman. I later fell (if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is) for the Master HCoA membership which was a lifetime subscription to the magazine and other purported perks.

 

Let my subscription to Wood expire after they shut down the forum; ShopNotes was merged with Woodsmith Gold or whatever it's called now...It was nice to receive both the hard copy and digital version which could be saved as a PDF; let that expire about a year ago. The HCoA eventually was sold, and sold again, then merged and finally "poof" completely disappeared...A few of us here belonged to their forum, but it eventually become only a few. Their paid subscriptions fell to nearly zero since they had nothing left to offer but the forum to their pyramid scheme.

 

Today, I still get the Family Handyman and just renewed for another year...probably will be the last year for it. I keep receiving some pretty good offers from Woodworkers Journal and have considered trying it mainly from an economic standpoint. I may resubscribe to Woodsmith when I start receiving SS; have to wait and see. Sometimes there's too much month at the end of the money.

3 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

 

Just to publicly bring this to your attention, I would think this would be unsafe.

Listen you....

The magazine business is dying a slow painful death, I suppose due to electronic media. I still get Wood and Woodsmith, and for the time being I get Woodcraft, PWW, and Woodworker's Journal. The last 3 will probably fall off my list at renewal time unless I get a bargain price on a subscription. Wood mag had always been my favorite, but the last issue was so thin I suspect they are struggling (that's probably why they shut down the forum...along with all the mismanagement stuff). FWW has always been on/off for me, and without a discount subscription it's way overpriced; as is most stuff from Taunton. But there's also the fact the I'm tired of reading the same stuff over and over.