Fine Woodworking’s first 10 Issues

On March 29, 2026March 29, 2026 By MVFlaim FurnituremakerIn WorkshopLeave a comment

This weekend I had the opportunity to buy the first ten issues of Fine Woodworking at an antique mall in Northern Ohio. When I saw them laying on a magazine rack, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. Even more so was the price of each issue. A mere $0.50 each. Unbelievable!

When I got home, I looked through the issues and read some of the articles. The first issue of Fine Woodworking had an article near and dear to my heart. Hand planes, with the caption “The care and making of a misunderstood tool.” This shows you how this was the very beginning of a magazine dedicated to woodworking if the common woodworker thought of a hand plane as being a weird foreign object.

Scanning the magazines, I saw Tage Frid was an early contributor with several articles he wrote in first few issues.

Along with Frid, there are articles by James Krenov, Jere Osgood, and Bruce Hoadley. A basic who’s-who of 20th century woodworkers.

The first issue had very few advertisements, but the magazine quickly grew thicker in a couple of years as woodworking companies saw the opportunity to reach their audience by placing an ad in their pages.

It’s interesting, but a bit sad to see the companies that were thriving 50 years ago, only to go bankrupt or be acquired over the years. The issues are full of now defunct woodworking companies.

I’m still in the process of reading all the articles, but there is a wealth of knowledge with these issues. The one thing I did notice is back in the early days, the magazine focused a lot on wood carving and occasionally had articles on blacksmithing. Something that you would rarely find in today’s issues.

I checked eBay to see what these magazines might be worth. They’re actually worth a lot less than I would have thought. You can currently buy the first 12 issues for around $40.00. Of course you can buy all the issues of Fine Woodworking online if you don’t mind having a digital copy. I’m old school and still like holding a magazine in my hand instead of on my phone.

I Did It! Quercus Magazine

On January 17, 2022January 17, 2022 By MVFlaim FurnituremakerIn Antique Tools8 Comments

Well, I finally wrote an article for a woodworking magazine. It’s called Quercus and it’s based in the UK. I was asked by the editor Nick Gibbs through Instagram if I would be interested in writing an article about how and why I restore old planes. I jumped at the chance as writing for a woodworking magazine has always been a dream of mine.

I restored an old Stanley No 5 plane and documented my progress, then wrote out my article the same way as I write a blog, then sent him the file along with the pictures. It took a few months for the article to get published but, I’m in the magazine along with Paul Sellers.

When I received my copy, I was amazed by the content that was in it. The magazine features woodworkers from all around the world and their process of how and why they work with wood. There’s not too many “How To” articles and the magazine primarily focuses on hand tool woodworking so, don’t expect an article about “Building the Perfect Router Table” in it. The only other magazine that I would compare to it would be Mortise and Tenon magazine.

This is the plane that I restored for the article. I was planning on selling it, but now it carries sentimental value to me. I asked Nick if he would like for me to do another article but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. This may be a one-off, but maybe not. Maybe I could be a constant contributor to the magazine. Wish me luck.

Popular Woodworking’s New Look

On October 15, 2018October 15, 2018 By MVFlaim FurnituremakerIn Workshop35 Comments

I received the latest issue of Popular Woodworking today. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew things had changed big time with the magazine. I read on Lost Art Press blog a few weeks ago that Chris Schwarz will no longer write articles for them. That, and the fact that since a lot of the old contributors like Megan Fitzpatrick, Bob Lang, and Glen Huey are long gone, the magazine is a complete a new rag.

The new look just looks like a typical run of the mill woodworking magazine that appeals to the masses. Something like a Woodworker’s Journal or American Woodworker. It definitely lost its old hand tool feel charm. As far as the projects inside, don’t get me started. I asked my wife about the projects in it (basically two of them) and she said “who builds this shit? Why don’t they put furniture in there that people want to make?” It’s been an ongoing conversation with us for years about why I subscribe to woodworking magazines with uninspiring projects in it.

The new look has a lot of photo boxes where they describe what’s going on in the picture. Not a bad idea as it’s kind of the same idea of how I write this blog, but the layout seems a bit impersonal. On the plus side, they did have an article about welding. I’ve always thought that woodworking magazines should focus more on mixed mediums. Plus, Peter Follansbee’s Arts and Mysteries and George Walker’s Design Matters are still there.

I also noticed there are a lot of ads in the magazine for people who are old. From hearing aids, to walk in tubs, to a plethora of ads for medications. Don’t get me wrong, I actually don’t mind ads. If anything I learn from the good ones, but damn, don’t make me feel like I need to go get my dentures fitted.

Did you get your copy? If so, what do you think? Am I being too harsh? Are the days of the old Popular Woodworking concentrating on hand tools techniques long gone? It’s frustrating because Popular Woodworking was my favorite magazine. I guess I’ll have to start subscribing to Mortise and Tenon instead.