Home > Woodworking > Links

Woodworking Links

Links to various woodworking-related sites that I have found useful and informative.

Catalog and Online Vendors

Constantine's is an old-line catalog supplier selling tools and general woodworking supplies. They are a great source for exotic (and not-so-exotic) veneers and veneering supplies.
Craft Supplies USA in Provo, Utah is probably the biggest supplier of turning tools and supplies in the country. They also present turning courses at their on-site facility. This is where I attended a week-long turning course with Richard Raffan—expensive but definitely worth it!
Garrett Wade is a supplier of top-end (primarily hand) tools. Beautiful catalog and, surprisingly enough, their prices are quite competitive with more mass-market suppliers.
Highland Hardware actually is a hardware store. Or was one before they became a major catalog supplier of woodworking supplies and equipment. They still maintain a physical store in northern Atlanta which is fun to browse if you happen to be in the area. They also offer woodworking and machine classes at this location.
Homestead Finish Products is the retail outlet of Jeff Jewitt, one of the recognized experts in wood finishing and author of several books and many articles on the subject. An ideal place to buy the items you need to put a real shine on your own projects.
John Wilson, Boxmaker is probably the best place for anyone interested in making Shaker oval boxes. They will train you, provide the special tools, and sell you the supplies. They also give classes in other traditional woodworking skills such as plane making and joinery.
Lee Valley Tools and Veritas is a Canadian tool and supply catalog. They have great service and reasonable prices. A gardening catalog is also available.
Raka is a supplier of epoxy resins and fiberglass supplies, primarily to boatbuilders. I find that epoxy, dyed black, is an attractive way to fill wood voids and knots when actual concealment of their existence is impossible.
Klingspor, a German manufacturer of sandpaper and abrasives operates this catalog operation that offers some of the best abrasives and associated tools/supplies for woodworkers. Their sanding disks are the best I've found by far.They've now expanded into a full-line woodworking supplier but so far I can only vouch for their abrasives.
Tool Crib of the North is a catalog vendor of small power tools. They originally supplied industry and building contractors exclusively but they are now a major supplier to hobbyists. Prices are generally quite low. They've been bought out by Amazon.com now -- in theory this shouldn't have too much affect but the concensus seems to be that the service isn't quite up to the old standards. I've used them since the buyout and didn't notice too much of a change.
Woodcraft Supply is a major supplier of supplies, tools, and equipment. They sell online, by catalog, and from franchised stores around the country. Prices are sometimes attractive and service is pretty good.

Wood Vendors

Top Full-Cycle Woodworks is an eastern-Tennessee company providing high-quality Appalachian hardwoods produced in an ecologiclaly and socially responsible manner. Absolutely my favorite local wood supplier despite it being 80 miles away. It is always worth the drive.
Sandy Pond Hardwoods in the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania is a supplier of highly-figured maple and other hardwoods. In the general area are Hearn&Hearn and a few other suppliers. Sadly none of these are on the web at the moment. If you are in the area looking for wood, plan on spending a full day making the rounds of the vendors.
East Tennessee Sawmills is a listing I've compiled of some of the local sawmills which are willing to sell to smaller users of hardwoods. If you want inexpensive wood and are willing and able to surface and prepare rough wood for your projects, this might be a good place to look.

Information Resources

Top Geoff's Woodwork is a site in England which contains "Resources to promote interest and learn : woodwork, furniture, cabinet making, foundation subjects of carpentry & joinery and provide help for students to understand basic and advanced Woodwork techniques and theory to get qualified." as they say on the site. I haven't had time yet to go through the considerable collection of information but what I've seen so far looks to be quite useful.
Amateur Woodworker is a monthly online magazine offering ideas and plans for amateur woodworkers. Most of the projects are usable by those without major shop facilities. Sadly, this web site has been untouched for a very long time -- the first sign of site death.
Badger Pond Woodworking was my favorite forum for the exchange of ideas about woodworking. They had forums on all sorts of woodworking as well as a mall area. Sadly, this site disappeared from the scene on March 1st, 2003. Not from lack of success it appears but from too much success which left the originator and webmaster, Wayne Miller, no time for life. It will be missed by many woodworkers around the world...
Ellis Walentine, the operator of WoodCentral, has obtained and given a home to the Badger Pond archives so that the information contained there is not lost.
WoodCentral seems like it might be a good place to go for woodworking information and conversations. Especially since most of the gang left homeless by the demise of Badger Pond has moved there. Give it a try.
CAD Files for Woodworkers is a site for the sharing of CAD files for woodworking designs. Loren Hutchinson does a great job with this site and has even published a couple of my designs which he drew up himself from photos and measurements.
Making Shaker Oval Boxes is a site which gives a complete master course on the fabrication of these beautiful artifacts. It really takes some of the mystery out of the process and lets outsiders in on secrets like "where do you get those tiny copper tacks?".
Notes From My Shop is the personal web site of Gerald Masgai -- a master woodworker. He shares such difficult-to-obtain information as the proper method of making a traditional passage door for your home. He has equipment in his shop similar to mine too, so he must be good!
The Taunton Press publishes Fine Woodworking magazine as well as woodworking books and videotapes. They often have useful information on their site about equipment tests and comparisons. You can also order their books here although it is far cheaper to get them through Amazon.com.
This Universtity of Kentucky online publication contains virtually everything that a person could want to know about processing and drying wood. It is low on mumbo-jumbo and high on practical information. I had been plugging US Forest Service Publications but, sadly, all of the good ones seem to have become inaccessible due to some "reorgainzation".
Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada offers a 3-year program in Wood Products Manufacturing Technology. While I haven't actually taken their course or anything I've decided to include their link here. I guess it was the fact that they actually asked me to do so that got me to do it. That and the fact that their web site seems to reflect some care in what they do. I'm not recommending that you send them money or anything but if you have an interest in wood education you might check them out.

Woodworking Organizations

TopI belong to three woodworking organizations which is rather surprising since I'm not really a 'joiner'.

The American Association of Woodturners is the first group I joined. Has thousands of members around the world and sponsors a symposium every year in a different geographical area in the USA.
The East Tennessee Woodworkers Guild is an organization of professional and amateur woodworkers of all sorts. A great resource for anyone.
The Smoky Mountain Woodturners is a local chapter of the AAW. Unfortunately they don't have a web presence or even an e-mail address yet. If you want information about the group, you can contact Bill O'Donnell at 865-428-3837. Meets on the second Saturday of odd months at the Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg. They also sponsor workshops at the school at least twice a year.

All material on this web site copyright © 1999-2010 by John McGaw. This specifically includes images, words, ideas, concepts, colors, sounds, odors, shapes, obtuse angles, acute observations, and vague recollections.
You can contact me by clicking here:

Appearance Issues?