I thought it might be useful to some woodworkers to have a handy list of books and other sources of good woodworking information. Below I will list all the books that I have found useful as someone who has always been around woodwork, but only really starting to read and learn seriously in the last year or so.

I will also list all the websites that I find useful.

The two books on workbenches by Christopher Schwarz is the best on woodworking I have read so far and the DVD next to that is a nice introduction on the topic.

I read Christropher Schwarz’s Anarchist’s Tool Chest over the December (2013) holidays and it is an absolute joy. It is by far the best book on woodworking I have ever laid eyes on. It is even better than his two books on bench building.

 

Speaking of Christopher Schwarz, he is also involved at Lost Art Press. They are making a series of books available to help us 21st century woodworking retards regain some of the skills and techniques that made our woodworking ancestors from the 18th and 19th century such icons. What I particularly like is that almost all the books are available as PDF downloads, which makes it so much easier to access for people in woodworking quarantine like me.

http://lostartpress.com/

 

This book by Christian Becksvoort entitled

With The Grain: A Craftsman’s Guide to Understanding Wood

is a an absolute must if you plan to design furniture that will survive seasonal movement.

 

Other useful books:

The first two websites below contains a wealth of old books on woodworking and related topics, all in the public domain and therefore downloadable in pdf format!!

http://www.gutenberg.org/

http://www.evenfallstudios.com/woodworks_library

My woodworking idol is undoubtedly David Charlesworth. If I saw the DVD’s below when I was 15 years old, I would be a Cabinetmaker today.

If you are interested in building your own wooden planes like me, the following resources might be useful.

http://www.planemaker.com/ (Old Street Tools – Larry Williams)

http://www.hocktools.com/ (plane blades)

Paul Sellers has heaps of excellent videos where he demonstrates various handtool techniques. It is well worth watching.

http://paulsellers.com

The following websites are useful when rehabilitating, sharping or building handsaws.

http://www.backsaw.net/

http://www.galoototron.com

www.vintagesaws.com

http://www.tgiag.com

The following two sites was the starting point for me. Both magazines has online membership options, which is ideal for wood beetles outside the US of A.

www.finewoodworking.com

I also bought Fine Woodworking’s complete database of magazines.

www.popularwoodworking.com

As I am sure you know by now, I am a huge Lie-Nielsen fan, and can recommend their tools and service wholeheartedly. The bits and pieces from Veritas (Lee Valley) I bought so far is also first class and their extensive catalogue is a wonderful source of ideas for shop made tools.

www.leevalley.com

www.lie-nielsen.com

Lie-Nielsen’s tool catalogue is my main inspiration for building my own tools and also serves as bedtime reading.

My favourite woodworking organisation, check it out

http://www.modernwoodworkersassociation.com/

Recently I found the website of Patrick Leach http://www.supertool.com/ and made contact with him. He is an absolute pleasure to do business with and singlehandedly solved my ongoing achilles heel of struggling to access good quality tools. Patrick sends out a monthly list (via e-mail) of treasures he found with photos and a bit of a historic description of each tool. Patrick is also the preeminent authority on Stanley planes and their history. I recommend his business wholeheartedly.

 

 

Locals

The only local business in Windhoek that I can recommend wholeheartedly is Martin Mozny’s Windhoek Tools Centre. He and his staff goes out of their way to find stuff for me. I usually deal with Aldan who knows all my quirks by now and always makes a plan to solve whatever problem I present to him.

 

More recently I met Attila Hoth of Southern Wood Trading. So far he has been very helpful and seems to know his stuff.

 

 

If you want to see what Namibia looks like and in particular it’s wildlife, check out my friend’s website. Undoubtedly, the best photographer this side of the equator.

http://www.thewildsidephotography.com/