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Online Book Library
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If you want to become a professional woodworker, in addition to tools, machinery and a workshop, you will also be required to obtain some knowledge and experience. You can acquire knowledge by learning. A good workshop teacher is a start, but some woodworking books can be worth their weight in gold. Woodworking books will help to build on the knowledge acquired in the workshop, and to find useful advices and proper examples on how to master the woodworking techniques. Most professional woodworkers have their own collection of woodworking books, out of which they learned some skills and which helped them to learn all the professional woodworking techniques - instead of learning from mistakes, which can be quite costly. Experience cannot be taught out of the books, but most of the books include some free woodworking plans to choose from and practice verified constructions that suit your experience.
You can borrow woodworking books from the library, buy it in a bookstore, or you can purchase them online. This can be time consuming, and costly. There are many good books that will certainly save your time as well as money. But today there is another source of many free woodworking books – the old scanned books with expired copyright, and these books can be downloaded from the internet. There are high-quality woodworking books, from which you can read numerous articles on woodworking techniques, hand tools, woodworking joint, finishing, free woodworking plans... This section of my website is devoted to just that, to provide free woodworking books and plans that are available online for free. This is my way of giving back to my customers, and potential customers, but categorizing years of woodworking research into one section of my website, and giving it away to you for free! I hope you enjoy our free woodworking books. When you're done reviewing them, go ahead and get instant access to our complete 15,000 plan woodworking database.
Over time, some of these links may go out of date and no longer work. I do my best to keep up with it and keep this page current, but I rely on your help. If you discover a dead link on this page, please contact me and let me know about it!
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Art of WoodWorking - Outdoor Furniture - Do you want a comprehensive book on building outdoor furniture? Well here it is. Learn how to build chairs, benches, tables, swings and gliders, and garden projects. All woodworking plans here are totally free! Just read the book and follow the plans! |
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Art of WoodWorking - Kitchen Cabinets - Learn all the basics of building kitchen cabinets for your home. This book covers layout and design, casework, doors, drawers. drawer construction, installation of kitchen cabinets, countertops, and tons of woodworking tips and tricks to help you along the way. |
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Art of Woodworking - Cabinets and Bookcases - Learn how to build indoor cabinets and bookcases with this book of woodworking plans. Armoire plans, blanket chest plans, even a highboy is covered in this book of free wood plans. |
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Art of Woodworking - Shaker Furniture - A collection of free woodworking plans for shaker style furniture. Free shaker chair plans, shaker table plans, and other shaker style indoor furniture plans. |
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Art of WoodWorking - Wood Finishing - Everything you wanted to know about how to finish your woodworking projects. Learn about surface preparation, colors, protective finishes, and all sorts of finished touches for your wood projects. |
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Art of WoodWorking - Sharpening and Tool Care - Every woodworker needs to know how to take care of his tools and keep his tools in proper shape. This book covers sharpening basics, sharpening and maintaining hand tools, sharpening power tool blades and bits, and how to maintain your portable power tools and stationary tools. |
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Art of Woodworking - Master Woodworker - A great reference book for the master woodworking. Covers a wide range of woodworking tips and techniques for professional woodworkers. |
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Art of Woodworking - Hand Tools - The basics of working with hand tools are covered in this woodworking book. Handsaws, chisels and boring tools, smoothing and shaping tools are all here. Great woodworking reference book. |
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Art of Woodworking - Routing and Shaping - Every woodworker needs to know about how to work with routers and shapers and this book covers it. Learn the basics of working with a router. |
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Art of Woodworking - Wood Carving - This woodworking book covers wood carving and tools. Learn how to do wood carving like all the pro's do and get professional results for your woodworking projects. |
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Art of Woodworking - Restoring Antiques - Learn about the basics required for restoring wood antiques. From restoring basics, repairing joints, major wood repairs, surface and finish repears, and refinishing, everything is covered here on how to restore wood antiques. |
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WoodWork - The Complete Step by Step Manual - Woodwork celebrates the joys of creating furniture. It provides a core grounding in the fundamental woodworking skills and techniques, and the use of both hand and power tools; it shows you how to set up a workshop that is compatible with your budget and space; it showcases a catalog of the various types of timber available, and their individual working properties. It also sets you achievable, yet challenging, projects. |
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WoodWorking for Beginners - An old woodworking textbook for use in trade schools and school shops. Real old school woodworking from the turn of the century. Since woodworking became a part of the plan of manual instruction in Philippine public schools, the need has been felt for a text suitable to the conditions under which this work is being carried on. The standard American textbooks contain much material, particularly as to woods and their treatment that does not apply here; also, the English in them is too advanced for most Filipino pupils. |
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WoodWorking for the Backyard - Backyard woodworking projects for relaxing, cooking, entertaining and gardening in your backyard. |
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The Complete Manual of WoodWorking - With more than 1,800 drawings, diagrams and photos, this authoritative guide encompasses the whole art and craft of woodworking. Designed to instruct and inspire every woodworker from the beginner to the most exacting expert, it has become a classic. It includes a discussion of all the principal hardwoods and softwoods, how to choose and use hand tools, detailed information on every woodworking technique--jointing, bonding, fastening, laminating, and much more. |
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A Shorter Course in Woodworking - Old School Woodworking that your grandfather used to do. Learn how they did woodworking in the olden days. |
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Intarsia WoodWorking - Woodworking Projects for Beginners. Some basic projects to get you started. Skill building woodworking projects. |
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Elementary Woodworking - More old school woodworking reading from our classic woodworking books library. |
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WoodWork Joints - Learn about the different types of joints used in modern day woodworking. How they are set up, how woodworking joints are made, and where woodworking joints are used. The principal aim of this volume is to provide the woodworker with full information as to the uses, and clear practical directions as to the making, of every joint he may at any time be likely to encounter. |
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How to Make WoodWorking Tools - In detail, how to make twelve different woodworking tools. The use of each tool and the directions for construction are included in this free woodworking book. |
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Agricultural WoodWorking - A textbook that contains a group of problems for rural and graded schools on woodworking in agriculture. |
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Birdhouses You Can Build In a Day - A free preview of a great book on how to build the perfect birdhouse in your backyard. |
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WoodWorking for Amateur Craftsmen - This classic woodworking book goes over basic topics on woodworking by hand, for the old school woodworker. |
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Big Book of Scroll Saw Woodworking - A great woodworking book that contains scroll saw patterns that you can carve into your wood projects at home. |
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Fine Woodworking - Google Sketchup Guide for Woodworkers - Learn how to use Google Sketch Up to create and improve your own home woodworking projects. |
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The New Best of Fine Woodworking - Designing Furniture - 111 fine woodworking furniture designs with step by step instructions on how to build. |
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Best Ever WoodWorking Projects and Shop Tips - 32 Can Do Plans, including woodworking plans for bookcases & Benches, Shelves and Storage, Small Gifts, Shop Jigs, and plenty of more free woodworking plans. |
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Essentials Guide to Table Saw - Tune it, Tweak it, and Cut Like a Pro. Turn your woodworking projects into child's play with tons of tips and tricks you can do with your table saw. |
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Woodworkers Handbook - DIY Tips, Tools, Materials, Skills, and other woodworking projects for the home hobby woodworker. |
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Celtic Woodcraft, Authentic Projects for Woodworkers - Learn how to make small celtic woodworking projects with professional patterns and professional instruction. |
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The Art & Craft of Cabinet Making - Old School skills documented in this class book on cabinet making from scratch, using old antique style tools. If you are wanting to build some cabinets for an old rustic house or cabin, this is the book to read. |
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The Complete Outdoor Builder From Arbors to Walkways 150 DIY Projects - A great manual on building outdoor woodworking projects in your backyard. |
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How To Design and Build Your Own House - This book guides you systematically through the whole process of designing and building your own house. It offers practical assistance from the moment you begin thinking about the kind of house you want. It helps you focus your ideas and translate them into working plans. It shows you how to estimate costs. Then, step by step, it shows you how to construct the house -- explaining and illustrating every step systematically so that you can proceed confidently from beginning to end. Here are complete, clear instructions on everything you need to know, including:-- How to decide what you want the house to be like -- inside and outside, and in relation to the environment and neighborhood-- How to translate your ideas and decisions into working drawings-- How to deal with all the components of a house: structural (roof, floor, walls, columns, foundations), mechanical (plumbing and heating), electrical, interior and exterior finishing materials-- How to establish the exact dimensions of everything, how to decide and specify where components go (from windows, heating ducts, and electrical outlets to toilets and showers)-- How to choose and specify those parts of the house (windows, doors, furnace, hardware) that can be purchased prefabricated and ready to install-- How to estimate costs of everything specified-- How to incorporate the latest energy-conserving materials and equipment-- Step-by-step directions on how to build the house section by section, from excavation and foundations to floors, walls, and roof; fireplaces, chimneys, and stairs; plumbing, heating, and electricity; wood shingles, gutters, and waterproofing; how to lay brick and principles of brick construction...everything !Practical information is provided on purchasing materials and tools. And, throughout the book (exactly where needed) are pertinent instructions on basic techniques such as how to mix and work concrete, build forms, lay block, toe-in a nail, install a lockset, cut gypsum board and tile. Tables are included for calculating heat loss, loads, distances between structural elements, and so on. And the 748 line drawings illustrate every aspect of design and construction.With its clarity and authority -- and its extraordinary wealth of specific, detailed instruction -- this is the single most comprehensive and useful book ever published on how to design and build your own house. |
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Building Birdhouses - Step by step projects with instructions on how to build many different types of birdhouses. |
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The Technique of Furniture Making - Since its first publication in 1970 The Technique of Furniture Making has been revised thoroughly in order for it to continue to be as useful and relevant to today's furniture makers. |
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WoodWorking for Beginners, A Manual for Amateurs - The aim of this book is to suggest to amateurs of all ages many things which they can profitably make of wood, and to start them in the way to work successfully. It is hoped that, in the case of boys, it may show them pleasant and useful ways to work off some of their surplus energy, and at the same time contribute toward their harmonious all-round development. |
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Exercises in WoodWorking - This book deals with carpentry and joinery, and is divided into two parts: The First Part treats of the structure, properties, and kinds of wood ; its manufactures and economic relations to other substances, parasitic plants and insects ; and means of preserving wood. The Second Part contains the exercises, preceded by a description of tools, and the manner of drawing used to illustrate the exercises.These exercises are based upon American methods of work and have been taught as follows: Each exercise was explained, illustrated by sketches on the blackboard, and then executed by the students. As the exercises advanced, the blackboard sketches were prepared with more detail, each being shown with its measurements designated. The students copied these sketches and noted down such of the verbal directions as they could. With the higher exercises it was found necessary to issue duplicate copies, describing and illustrating each step in construction, and also to exemplify by models made by the instructor. |
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Elementary WoodWork For Use in Manual Training Classes - The object of this work is to place before pupils who are beginning woodwork such information as will lead to a correct use of the tools and lay a good foundation for advanced work without lessening in any way the other benefits of school shop work. It is designed for elementary rather than technical instruction, and therefore many problems and suggestions found in other works have been omitted. Great care, however, has been taken to arrange and illustrate the exercises employed so that pupils will avoid the common error of using tools improperly in the first years of work, and thus escape fixing habits which later will cause much trouble. We are certain there is no need of using tools improperly in the first years of shop work. |
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Elements of WoodWork - Whether an amateur, apprentice, or skilled workman, whether a carpenter, boat builder, pattern maker, or wood carver, the elementary knowledge of the construction of tools, of sharpening them, and of their adjustment and manipulation is practically the same. The structure of wood, and the necessity of applying its peculiarities of grain and texture to the advantage of the work in hand, also is the same upon all branches of woodwork. While innumerable tools and cutting devices have been invented to enable the woodworker to accomplish special results economically both as to time and material, a study of them will prove that they all operate upon a few simple principles, a knowledge of which is not difficult to acquire, though skill and judgment in the application of the tools can be attained only by continuous and properly directed practice. |
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Bench Work In Wood - This Woodworking textbook is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 contains the essential facts concerning common bench tools for wood ; it describes their action, explains their adjustments, and shows how they may be kept in order. Part2 presents a course of practice by which ability to use the tools may be acquired ; and Part 3 discusses such forms and adaptations of joints as will meet the requirements of ordinary construction. |
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High School Manual Training Course in WoodWork - This course, in its entirety, has been in daily use for nearly three years in the Richard T. Crane manual Training High School, Chicago. The greater part of it has been in use many years longer. It is the result of an experience of nearly fifteen years in high school manual training work. |
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First Lessons in WoodWorking - The series of lessons in wood-working here presented is intended, principally, for use in schools in which hand-work is pursued as a part of general training. The order of sequence is designed to lead the pupil from one tool to another of larger capabilities, and from one operation to another requiring a higher degree of skill. |
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Training in WoodWork - The character and object of this book is set forth on its title page. It is a manual designed principally for the assistance of students in woodwork in its various branches as well as a help to the instructor. The author has endeavored to present the subject in such a manner as to make simple the transition from the easier to the more difficult operations. The exercises have been selected after an experience in this line of instruction, covering a period of twelve years and will be found practical in their application to students in manual training in technical and industrial schools. Part first, Carpentry, is intended to cover from sixty to seventy hours of work. Part second, Wood-Turning, not to exceed thirty-five hours. Part third, Pattern-Making, fifty or sixty hours, thus making a course which will be found to touch the principal points in the three branches of woodwork commonly taught in manual training schools or schools of technology or engineering. |
Shop Work - The work presented in this text is so designed as to require two years, working two hours per day, in its completion, and is intended as a ready reference for the pupil and the teacher. It will be observed that in this text cabinet-making follows joinery. It is not necessary that cabinet work should be taken before carpentry. If the student so desires, he may take either cabinet-making or carpentry or both, after he has finished joinery. All joint exercises should be worked out by the teacher in class demonstrations. The following brief, synoptical analysis may be of service to the teacher in the development of the subject as a whole.
Part I deals exclusively with the tools used in manual training shops, and with illustrations relative to the correct positions. Chapter III, Development of a Project, is worthy of careful analysis, since it indicates a general method of approach and order of work, and since the constructive work involves the use of so many methods. Care must be taken that too many tools are not presented to the pupil at once. Do not take up the use of a new tool for the sake of the tool but for the sake of the exercise which calls for the use of that particular tool.
Part II outlines a course in bench work, beginning with a series of joints which are standard the world over. Just how many joints the pupil shall make is a matter the teacher himself must determine. They are arranged in an order such that there is a gradual rise from the simpler to the more difficult and complex joints. This continuity should be followed in the presentation. In this series of joints, the fundamentals of all joint construction, whether they are in cabinet-making, in common carpentry, or in bridge building, will be found. The extended list of suggested projects for construction Should prove of great value to the instructor. Just enough is presented on each project to start the student in its development.
Part III consists of a series of talks which cover a wide field in practical tool usage, and which present many other things of vital importance to the artisan. It gives information which may be applied daily by the mechanic. These talks should be taken up, not necessarily in the order given, but in the order best suited to the teacher's own course. For example, a demonstration is given on how to sharpen a plane iron. It would naturally follow that this would be the proper time to present the talk on "Abrasives" ; or if the first lesson on sandpapering is before the class, the talk on "Sandpaper" should be given.
Part IV deals with miscellaneous topics as applied to shop work. The questions should be given in class, in oral recitations, so that each pupil may familarize himself with the technical terms. The problems may be assigned for work outside of recitation, and others may be substituted to embody certain features of the pupil's own exercise under construction. The glossary is intended for the use of those who are not familiar with certain technical terms and phrases. |
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Tool Processes in WoodWorking - This little book is intended to set out only those things that a boy must know in order to do intelligent work with the usual woodworking tools. It is peculiar in what it omits as well as in the way it presents its subject-matter. It omits everything that the boy can find out easily for himself or that does not contribute to his understanding and skill in the use of tools. Under the head of Reference Work these omissions are suggested as topics for study. Let the students look up these matters as they come to them. A few reference books will do for a large class when used in this way and the boys will come to see the value of books and learn how to use them in their work. |
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Beginning WoodWorking at Home and In School - This book is intended as a definite statement of steps that may be followed by a beginner in learning the fundamental principles of woodworking. Instead of giving a general discussion of woodworking processes, the book describes and illustrates principles by means of specific examples. The experience gained in doing these problems should enable one to master a large number of others of which these stand as types. It is believed that this method of treatment of the subject of woodworking will prove helpful in both school and home work. |
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Elements of Construction - This volume deals with the use of the common woodworking tools, the simple forms of construction used in fastening wood together, and the reading and understanding of simple drawings all of which will be found of indispensable value, not only to the student of manual training, but to those who, either as amateurs or professionals, have anything to do with work of a mechanical nature. |
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Applied Science for WoodWorkers - Every craftsman should not only be trained in the handicraft of his trade, but, if he is to be a really skilled worker, should also master the scientific principles involved; that is, he should become familiar with the reasons underlying the various operations which he performs. Such knowledge is obtained through the study of industrial science. The teaching of related trade knowledge is not, so far as the author knows, adequately covered in any system of industrial education. |
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HandWork in Wood - This book is intended primarily for teachers of woodwork, but the author hopes that there will also be other workers in wood, professional and amateur, who will find in it matter of interest and profit. |
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WoodWork Course for Boys - Consists of a graduate series of thirty problems. Containing full working drawings, and practical directions for making each model. |
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Woodwork for Schools on Scientific Lines - It has been evident for some time that if manual training is to take its proper place among the other subjects of the school curriculum it must be taught by methods which, while giving due prominence to the practical usefulness of the subject learned, will develop the general intelligence of the pupil. This is the aim the authors have kept steadily in view throughout the book. By linking the classroom with the laboratory and workshop they have provided the pupil with a course of manual work which will increase his stock of general information, and at the same time make it evident that the knowledge acquired is capable of producing visible results of a useful and valuable kind. |
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Over the years, I have written several other articles on building sheds, that have been published in many worldwide publications. I've also written plenty of free plans that I give away promoting this site. As time allows, I will be posting them here and in my free woodworking article section. I hope you enjoy reading my woodworking related articles and plans as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
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Online Article Collection
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How to Plan Your Shed Project |
How to Choose Lumber for your Shed |
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How to Lay Out Your Shed Site |
How to Order Materials for your Shed |
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How to Build a Foundation for Your Shed |
Introduction to Nails and Fasteners |
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Building a Concrete Foundation for Your Shed |
Main Different Types of Storage Shed Plans |
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WoodWorking Plans Glossary of Popular Terms |
How to Build A Wood Shed |
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My Thoughts on Wood Sheds |
Frank's Tool Techniques |
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My Thoughts on Metal Sheds |
Workshop Pet Peeves |
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Frank's Painting Tips |
Introduction to Structural Loads |
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Shed Site Evaluation |
Building Outdoor Furniture |
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