New to Woodworking? Start here.

The other day I had a revelation. "When starting a new subject you need to start at the beginning." I not sure where I heard or read it, but it made me dig out an old woodworking book I bought from a charity shop, more as a joke than a serious woodworking journal. But as I re-read the book, I realised what little golden nuggets of valuable information were held in these pages.

It is Ladybird's " 'How to do it' Woodwork ". 

It was first printed in 1973 (pre-disco) and although it was written for young children as an introduction to woodworking through it's fifty or so 6"x 4" pages it gives a good basic introduction to woodworking for anyone. As the great Mitch Hedberg once said "Every book is a children's book if a kid can read it." Well with this book the reverse is true, it may be a kids book, but if you are new to woodworking your knowledge is that of a child's so what better place to start.

Let me take you through a few pages and you decide. It won't take long. It's only fifty pages long and twenty five of them are pictures.  

The inside cover has a world map with locations of wood types and species. Page one is a history of wood and it's uses followed by modern uses, how a tree grows, what wood is good for what purpose. Then we get into the different types of lumber cut, Tangential, Quarter Cut and Through and Through. How wood is dried and the inherent defects. The different types of man made boards available.

Then we enter the realms of tools, types and differences. Hand saws, cross cut and rip, how to hold it and how to cut. Marking gauges different types of planes and their anatomy, chisel profiles, sharpening techniques (25/30 degree FYI). Drills, clamps even the correct way to sand it's all there.

The final two pages hold the worm on the hook. They would inspire anyone with a passing interest in wood working to delve deeper. It has a picture of a chair with examples of bridle, cross halving, mortise and tenon joints and finally dove tails and housing joints. 

As you can see from the pictures here in, it's not the best woodworking book ever printed, it won't give you all you need to know, but enough to get you started on the woodworking journey.