No More Magazines For Me

[BKind2Anmls]

For the last 7-10 years I have been subscribing to woodworking magazines. I rip them apart and file the articles I want to keep in a appropriately labeled folder. I have subscribed to magazines from Scrollsaw Woodworking and Crafts to Australian Wood Review and nearly every magazine in-between (except woodcarving magazines).

I've decided that not subscribing is one good way to save some money. I do not need another article on how to hand-cut dovetails, how to create a mortise and tenon joint or how to make a table. It seems that the same types of articles are constantly repeating. If I want to learn to build something, I generally look online any way. My file cabinets are filled with more plans that I would have time to build in 10 life-times. I have two five-drawer file cabinets of articles.

For a couple of years I bought the DVDs of back issues, but I find them hard to navigate and too much trouble to refer to them very often.

Has anyone else reached this decision?

 

[Mike Davis]

I did about thirty years ago, I took Fine Woodworking for a year and Wood Magazine for a year. Even in that short time they were repeating articles. I'm just glad I didn't waste my time and money all these years.

i have bought a few books over time, most of them were a waste of money. Chris Schwarz is publishing some good information. I have three of his books that I have read over and over and will continue to read. I get something new each time I read them.

I learn a lot more by experiment and by watching others work.

I learned more watching Matt for a few hours than I have reading ten books. Not just about inlay but a few things he did stand out in my mind. I am changing the way I work thanks to him.

 

[Acelectric]

Years ago in my younger days I subscribed to Car Craft magazine. As I can't throw away a magazine I soon had several years of the magazine laying around the house. I happened to get them all out one day and got to looking at them. The February issue from one year looked just like the February issue from the other years. They just rehashed and reprinted the same thing for each issue each year. That is when I stopped subscribing to Car Craft.

I would assume the woodworking magazines are the same. Now that I am into woodworking more seriously I plan to subscribe to several for the first couple of years, then just look online to find any new information that may come about.

There is an occasional new idea or new technique but for the most part woodworking hasn't changed much in thousands of years.

 

[CrealBilly]

I did several years ago but for a different reason I detest "blow ins"

 

[CaptnA]

At one time I was getting no less than 15 magazines.
Couldn't tell you how many I never found time to even open the cover on.

 

[CarvedTones]

A tablet, WiFi and YouTube have made almost any other way of trying to learn something new obsolete for me. I do have a few books and saved specific plans from magazines that I haven't brought myself to tossing out yet. You can just mount a spring clip, drop the tablet into a ziplock and it is easy to have it in a convenient spot and protected.

 

[Pop Golden]

Over the years I subscribed to one photo magazine after another. They all were about the same. Then came expensive graphic arts magazines. I was working in that field. There were 2 magazines. One from the East coast & one from the West. The west coast one supplied me a lot of ideas over several years. Then I changed fields to Television production. The professional TV magazines helped me build 2 studios. Then I retired and returned to my old hobby woodworking. I subscribed to "Wood" for a while. Didn't read that many issures. I then started making money with my shop. Then I subscribed to "Woodshop News" a free pro magazine. It's a small magazine and I can read it through in about an hour and it keeps me up to date with the woodworking business.


The upshot of this experance is that for me the pro magazines have been a great help and the consumer magazines have proven to be a waste of time and money.

Pop

 

[drw]

In order to provide some balance, I'll just say that what is a "waste of time and money" to one person, may be a valuable source of information and entertainment to another. One size and one point of view seldom fits all.

 

[KenOfCary]

I subscribe to a lot of magazines and often get ideas from them. When I build something it is usually a combination of plans from 2 or more sources. Magazines, purchased plans, online downloaded plans, etc. The challenge is combining them in a useful and practical way.

I must admit that I'm very behind in my reading right now due to other circumstances.

 

[merrill77]

I subscribe to nearly every WWing magazine. It's about the only thing I prefer paper to electronic. Yeah, there is a lot of rehashing of skill-based articles...especially finishing. But I still enjoy reading them. The projects are always new and I get inspiration from those - they make me want to get into the shop even when I'm feeling tired (and walking into my shop seems to energize me). The 'zines partially satisfy my WWing fix on the days I don't have time to get into the shop. Ever since having kids, I'm always behind on the WWing reading, but it is nice to always have something waiting to read when the schedule allows.

 

[walnutjerry]

I stopped all subscriptions a few years ago-------I think I might have had at least 3 or 4. FWW was the last to bite the dust with me. I kept all the FWW and gave everything else away. With all that is available on line now it is hard to justify the expense of magazines. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm How does that compare to buying a computer and service provider fees?Life goes on!!Jerry

 

[junquecol]

I'm down to three, Wood, Woodsmith, and ShopNotes. Let PWW go two years ago, FWW last year, and American Woodworker just this month. Wood is often available for a year for less than one issue off news stand. Have every issue of Woodsmith and ShopNotes

 

[nn4jw]

I like magazines and online content. Sure, there's repetition. In both mediums. I find out about more new products in print, though. I like leafing thriugh print catalogs more than online, but when it's time to buy I prefer online than snail mail. Point is that both mediums have their places.

 

[junquecol]

Years ago, Grainger tried to go to catalog on a CD. It was hard for maintenance guy to take a disk out to job and see if the needed part, especially electric motors, was available. Experiment only lasted a couple years.

 

[red]

I get wood and woodsmith and like them both even if some skill based articles are repeated. I'm a hands on guy as I don't like to read woodworking stuff online. Just not my thing. It's nice to bring the magazine to the workshop and try out what I'm reading about.

Red

 

[SteveHall]

I have the last few years of Wood I'll give to anybody interested, just PM/email and come by to pick up. I enjoy leafing through old mags now and then, but I realized my interests are in producing projects than reading about other's.

 

[Joe Scharle]

I still subscribe to Wood, American Woodworker, Woodsmith and get Woodworkers Journal almost free.

I find the value in the Tips; the articles/projects a bonus.

 

[BKind2Anmls]

I get wood and woodsmith and like them both even if some skill based articles are repeated. I'm a hands on guy as I don't like to read woodworking stuff online. Just not my thing. It's nice to bring the magazine to the workshop and try out what I'm reading about.

Red

I print off online articles and take them out to my shop.

 

[Mike Davis]

Everything I do, I try to make something I've never done before. Eventually I will do something nobody has done before. That is my goal, I can't live rehashing what everyone else has done. I design textiles that nobody else in the world can make. I do that every day. How can I live with myself duplicating projects out of a magazine?

 

[cskipper]

I finally quit ordering the two scroll saw magazines. I realized I rarely used the patterns, especially in one of hem. I do miss he Christmas editions but it stopped being worth the money.