Get woodworking ideas on the internet. I did a demonstration at the Woodworkers of Whittier meeting, showing the usefulness of the internet for the woodworker. It is a great research tool for finding out information. I covered three ways to use it:
Get Ideas, Learn Techniques and Get Information on Tools
Google is the best known way to find information on the internet. What many people don’t know, is that when you do a search, it will also do an image search. Recently I wanted ideas for a toy tugboat. By doing a Google search I got pictures of toy tugboats. Click on the picture and you can get more information . Another popular way to see pictures of woodworking projects, is to go to www.pinterest.com . This is a site where people put together collection of pictures they like from the internet. This is called “pinning”. These collections have themes. One collection I have is “Things I want to make”. You can see other peoples collections and search them.
www.youtube.com is an excellent place to learn woodworking techniques and get ideas. There are probably a million videos there. Some are great and some lousy. Here are a few of the people I follow. Steve Ramsey (does wood projects weekly, John Heisz, Mathias Wandel, The Wood Whisperer, April Wilkerson and Izzy Swan. Most of these people also have associated websites where they post plans. I find if I need a jig for my workshop, doing a search on Youtube finds me someone who has already made one.
The woodworking magazines have websites and Facebook pages where they post free tips, plans and videos. Wood Magazine is a good one. Woodworkers Guild of America often posts free short videos.
Before buying a tool, do a google search for reviews. It will lead you to websites with information on that tool. Also go to www.amazon.com and look up a tool. Even if you don’t buy it there, looking at the reviews is most helpful.
If you have and old tool without an owners manual, do a google search with the make and model number. You can often find a site that has a free manual in pdf format that you can download for free. Craftsman is really good about this.
So, use the internet to help in your woodworking endeavors.