The best Furniture & Carpentry Crafts books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Flexner's book is the go-to that I know of - https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665

If you are going to paint, don't use oak. The open grain shows through the paint and will not look smooth. Birch, maple or poplar are better choices for painting. There is no single right way to build things, but it is a good idea to standardize your construction as much as practical. But don't try to make everything the same way if the end product needs something different. A combination of books, YouTube videos and looking cabinets others built is the way to go. I have heard good things about this book, but I have not read it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565238036/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_3R1GN0AX3AA7DY62YTQH

I’d say gift certificate to a woodworking store.

Or rubber gloves, sandpaper, mineral spirits, or this

Understanding Wood Finishing: How to Select and Apply the Right Finish (Fox Chapel Publishing) Practical & Comprehensive with Over 300 Color Photos and 40 Reference Tables & Troubleshooting Guides https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565235665/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_XKCPK2KDWBBJV5FNE8TB?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I like this one a lot.

Bob Lang's The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker, Revised Edition: Shop Drawings and Professional Methods for Designing and Constructing Every Kind of Kitchen and Built-In Cabinet (Fox Chapel Publishing) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565238036/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_RVq.FbVZQBG75?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Honestly though, start with a book. This one is good, or just go to the library or whatever. Come back with questions after that. The level of knowledge that you need to pick up is way more than you’re gonna get from the comments.

Every woodworker imho would benefit from having this book. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=understanding+wood+finishing+bob+flexner&qid=1659309580&sprefix=understanding+wood+fini%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-4

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What kind of price range?

Just in case you don't see my reply to someone else the finish on one side only is a myth that was debunked in this book and well we have a fuck load of old furniture that is only finish on one side and it's still doing just fine.

That's a myth that was debunked in this book https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665 . The reason this happened is that the pieces that are glued on perpendicular to the grain of the top restricted the wood from expanding and contracting and it's the only reason this happened.

Understanding Wood Finishing https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565235665/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nothing will make you better at finishing than experience, but the book sure does help.

If you’re doing it as a non serious hobby but do do it, the book will help, but I wouldn’t cover to cover read it, just hit the sections that cover what you use.

Get some junk furniture you don't care about and start learning. Get a book by Bob Flexner, and disregard basically anything you see on YouTube. There's good info out there, but it's buried within mountains of shit. It's difficult for a newbie to tease out the real tips from the crap.

Just do it. You can get into it at any level. If you like rustic stuff, this is a great book. I actually met this guy by accident when I bought my jointer from him years after I had purchased his book. Rustic Furniture Basics https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600850766/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_87EC4QGJD4CWW1KC55AK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Excellent advice! Also, let me recommend Bob Flexner's book, "Understanding Wood Finishing". I thought this was an excellent reference that clears up a lot of the marketing nonsense and general misunderstandings that have confused the subject for so long.

dont want to be contrarian, but afik, it is only drying oil finishes, and specifically anything with linseed oil which will combust, and pretty much only on rags. here is a link to an article by Bob Flexnor who has forgotten more about finishes than pretty much anyone, his Understanding Wood Finishing is pretty much the first and last word on finishes of all types.

dont get me wrong, better to be safe than sorry, so any rag used with an oil based product of any kind should be dried flat, but not everything needs the can of water treatment...

If that’s the case, here is the Bible for wood finishing

Understanding Wood Finishing: How to Select and Apply the Right Finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565235665/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_P25XM0RHWVP9AQXAZ7K7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

For mission style I use this book and it's excellent: https://www.amazon.com/Drawings-Craftsman-Furniture-Revised-Expanded/dp/1565239180.

1. Link the product
2. Link the product
3. All finish products should stop coming off on things after they cure

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665

> Similarly, I recently finished my first furniture project and spent a considerable amount of time asking my brother about which finish would be best. Seems like everyone has opinions on Shellac vs. Poly vs. Oils etc., but, in all the research I did, I could not find a clear, consistent answer on the definitive pros and cons of each and when it's appropriate to use each.

https://www.wagnermeters.com/moisture-meters/wood-info/truth-about-wood-finishes/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565235665/

Finishing is the most controversial topic in woodworking. Ask ten woodworkers for advice and you'll get a dozen answers.

If you want a deep dive and get really nerdy, this book is great: Understanding Wood Finishing

> Don’t follow the other advice, if you seal one side seal the opposing as well. Dimensional stability is your friend, and getting there only takes some finishing

Are you arguing with Bob Flexner?

Finishing wood does not ensure dimensional stability of solid wood. In fact, the finish has zero effect on it, and the wood will expand and shrink seasonally to the same degree with or without the finish.

Don’t stain pine! The number one way to ruin a pine project is to stain it. Pine sapwood is far more absorbing than its heartwood thereby creating a negative affect when staining. In addition, it is often very invisibly uneven in it hardness making the results splotchy. Pine will darken (a lot) naturally over time but if you insist on making it darker right away, use a glaze or shellac. I have seen good results with starting with a conditioner and then adding coats of glaze or thinned paint. Just know that this approach will darken the wood while hiding the wood grain from view a little. Once you get the color right, there is an even bigger conversation about the topcoat. I would highly recommend getting this book and taking the time to learn some good techniques. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=wood+finishing&qid=1599743070&sr=8-4

Good luck

Design and instructions from Making Japanese-Style Lamps and Lanterns by Edward Turner

Amazing! Did you work off a design or create your own? I am just getting started and have made a couple of lamps from this book - Making Japanese-Style Lamps and Lanterns

I totally agree with you! I think one of the big problems is how misleading many finishing products are. For instance, Minwax sells a product called "Tung Oil Finish". Which isn't an oil finish at all. It's a "wiping varnish", which is just a regular varnish that's been thinned down. I actually like Minwax' Tung Oil Finish, but I doubt if there is a single drop of tung oil in it, and it finishes like a varnish, not like an oil, which shouldn't be surprising, since it's a varnish, but how is someone new to finishing supposed to know that? Very confusing.

If you are interested in taking the mystery out of wood finishing, I would highly recommend this book by Bob Flexner. It was a real eye-opener for me. It cuts through the marketing crap, explains what different types of finishes there are, how to apply them, and what their advantages and disadvantages are. It is not overly technical, and it is full of good example pictures. It's really a spectacular book! I recommend it to anyone that is new to wood finishing.

Here is another unlikely source of good information. There is lumber supplier out there called Woodworkers Source. They have an employee named Mark Stephens that does a series of YouTube videos for the company mostly about wood finishing. Now some jackass that works at a wood store is actually the last guy I would expect to know anything about wood finishing (I mean you can just pretty much count on anything an employee at Home Depot or ACE tells you about finishing will be dead wrong). But I stumbled upon Marks' videos a couple of months ago, and damn! He actually knows his shit! I've learned a lot from his videos, especially about staining. If interested, check out the videos here.

Good luck! Post a pic of the final changing table. I would like to see it!

You need (everyone needs!) "Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner. This is a spectacular book that really helps cut through the marketing speak and the huge amount of misinformation that is floating around out there about wood finishing.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665

It is a very well researched, easy to read book that answers exactly what you are asking. At least check it out on Amazon and read through their "Look inside" feature. It will give you a good flavor for what the book is about. I love this book. I found it to be a huge eye-opener.

That’s what I have:

Furniture Projects (Better Homes and Gardens Wood Shop Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0696206307/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SsolAb6AD378Y

However, there are many websites with woodworking plans.

Finishing is not rocket science but it can get finicky very fast. Add to that the fact that the actual wood you are staining can influence the final look a lot and it only adds to disappointments.

Usually, people present their plans as to what and for what purpose and that encourages others to offer their solutions. some of the solutions won't be that great but other you may fined useful.

The quickest info (not sure about the graphic part) I am aware of is Understanding Wood Finishing and other companion books by the same author.

If you REALLY want to learn all there is to know I highly recommend Bob Flexner's book it's really excellent and not too expensive.

One of my projects this spring is to re-finish a few of my early projects that I slacked on. Picked up Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner to get ready.

Is this the book your on about?

That point was exactly what I disagreed with. Quality materials does not equal timeless, again this was about the typical person avoiding getting stuck with a design that ends up feeling dated. To which I said frameless cabinets give you the flexibility to avoid that. There are tons of high quality oak cabinets built in the 90's that no reasonable amount of dressing up, painting etc are going to make them not look dated because their construction and style are interconnected.

I'm not sure why you are tying materials to frameless, because you can build and there exists frameless cabinets that aren't made out of fiberboard, which is a different material than MDF. MDF is rarely used for box materials due to the weight and is typically used specifically for the flatness as a veneer substrate. There also exists a company that builds plywood boxes for Ikea's sektion system, so you can have quality boxes, use Ikea's Blum drawers, and build/buy whatever doors you want.

I've not heard of people "reskinning", typically you'd just replace the doors as needed on the boxes that are built with whatever material you prefer. The difference is that any regular person could do this without needing to modify the structure of the cabinets.

Have you read any books on cabinet building? I highly recommend Bob Lang's book which goes through all this: Bob Lang's The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker, Revised Edition: Shop Drawings and Professional Methods for Designing and Constructing Every Kind of Kitchen and Built-In Cabinet https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565238036/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ytI0xbHC6SGAS