Woodworker's Guide to Wood: Softwoods * Hardwoods * Plywoods * Composites * Veneers

Rating:
Summary: A really good book, nearly what i was looking for
Review: I am new to the woodworking scene and I have been looking for a book that could give me some basic knowledge about a lot of different kinds of woods.

This book does it.

*It tells how a tree grows and how it effects the lumber
*What to expect from a piece of lumber.
*How wood is milled

The front section lists about 50 different woods along with a neat chart that includes costs, density, workability, and finishing for each of the woods.

The only reason i didnt rate the book higher was I would love to see more woods listed. There were a couple of exoitics that i was looking for.

It is just a real good book to get a lot of basic knowledge from. It is written very well and its real easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is an excellent reference for someone who wants to know about timber. Particularly someone like myself who didn't know all that much in the first place. I particularly like the photos and accompanying descriptions of different types of timbers and recommendations for use, although there is scope for much improvement, particularly in the recommendations.

Rating:
Summary: A compromise, but good enough?
Review: This is a very attractively printed book in full color that will look good on any bookshelf. On the whole it seems to be value for money. Unsurprisingly (seems to be traditional for books aimed at the woodworker) the chapter on wood anatomy is botched a little, but not enough to bother the woodworker. Untypically it also has the composition of hardboard wrong.

This might be described as a supercharged version of the "Good Wood Handbook" by Jackson & Day, aiming towards the level of "Understanding wood" by Hoadley. I guess that for the novice I still would recommend the "Good Wood Handbook" on account of its somewhat lower price but especially because the pictures of the woods treated are bigger and better (more wood for your money). Also it has more woods (72 versus 64) and they are arranged by botanical name rather than trade name. For more detail I would still recommend Hoadley.

Still this has a personal element and I would understand anybody who prefers this to the "Good Wood Handbook". It would not be silly to have both on the shelf (the woods treated do not overlap completely).