Are you looking to expand your woodworking education?
Do you want to find some practical and affordable woodworking projects you can do over the weekend? Have you been hunting a nice gift for a woodworking friend or family member? If you say yes to any of those questions, then this article is for you!
I have picked out a list of 9 books on woodworking that covers a wide variety of woodworking hobbies and techniques. I can personally vouch for these books, since I own most of them. These books will serve as valuable reference tools that can be used over and over. I’ve also checked the ratings and comments to make sure these books resonate with their readers. For your convenience, I’ve also included Amazon affiliate links so you can check out the Amazon reviews yourselves. Hope you enjoy the article and towards the end, I will ask you to share your favorite woodworking books.
Here are the Nine Books
Little Book of Whittling
. If you want to just sit on the front porch with your pocket knife and carve up some crafty creations, this book will meet your needs. This one is on my library shelf, and I’ve made a few of the book’s many projects. The back scratcher, whistle, and letter openers are my favorites.
Pen Turner’s Workbook
. If you’ve followed my blog for long, you already know that pen turning is my favorite woodworking hobby. Barry Gross is a superstar in the pen turning world, and his pens speak volumes on his craftsmanship and creativity. If you want to learn the basics of pen turning, or if you want to learn some advanced techniques, this book will not disappoint you. He takes you step-by-step through the pen making process, and the book’s photography is phenomenal.
Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds
Not only does this book offer great instructions and pictures on building birdhouses, but it also teaches you what makes for a safe and successful birdhouse for our little feathered friends. Lots of tips on where to place birdhouses and how to maintain them. This book is very much focused on the bird enthusiast and not so much the aesthetics of birdhouses.
The Complete Manual of Woodworking
A comprehensive book that covers tons of woodworking topics: woodworking design, hand tools, power tools, workshops, wood carving, joinery, finishing wood. You will also learn a lot about this natural resource we call wood. Filled with great photos, diagrams, and illustrations. If you want to branch out and explore other woodworking endeavors, you will enjoy owning this book.
The Real Wood Bible
I love to pull this book off my shelf from time to time and learn about different characteristics of a certain wood. What’s the wood used for? How easy is it to turn? Toxicity? It’s a very useful book with lots of great photos. Let’s say you have a piece of wood you need to identify. The photos are very crisp and defined so you can match a wood you possess to one found in the book.
Woodturning: A Foundation Course
When I decided to go beyond just turning writing pens, I turned to this book to help broaden my knowledge of woodturning. You will learn the tools of the trade and sharpening techniques for your turning tools. It introduces several turning projects like bowls, pepper mills, and table lamps. You also learn how to sand and finish your turned creations.
Big Book of Scroll Saw Woodworking
. This book is jammed packed with scroll saw projects. Sixty projects to be exact. Topics include working with patterns, choosing materials, and blade selection. The projects are from many contributing experts on scroll saw woodworking. You’ll learn to make puzzles, boxes, toys, baskets, intarsia, portraits. Projects range from beginner to advanced.
Pyrography Workbook: A Complete Guide to the Art of Woodburning
. It’s amazing what you can create with woodburning. You can make art that stands on its own, or use woodburning to personalize your crafts. In her book, Sue Walters talks about equipment, techniques, and safety. She also takes you step-by-step through 3 different projects for the beginner, intermediate, and the advanced woodburner. When I bought my first wood burner, I automatically purchased this book as well.
The Handbuilt Home
. Ana White has created a wonderful DIY book. It’s filled with 34 projects she describes as simple, stylish, and budget-friendly. And you’ve probably already guest that they are related to improving your home. Each project has diagrams and instructions. And she tells the level of difficulty and project costs. This book resonates with many readers who want to make things themselves, but they may not have the fancy tools or the budget. Ana shows you how to make beautiful and affordable DIY projects.
In addition to the books above, here is a link to Amazon’s current bestselling woodworking books. As you will see, there is a large selection to choose from.
Thanks for reading the article, and I hope you found it helpful. Please share this article with your friends and family and don’t forget to comment below. I would love to hear about your favorite woodworking books.
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