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there is also a section describing the basic properties of wood and other interesting things to know. excellent reference for figuring out wood types. most of the book is in reference format, with very good pictures for identification.
Absolutely a w e s o m e. I have found this to be the case in other manuals and publications that offer blueprints (sts) and ideas for furniture or other wood projects. Some of it was pretty shocking, actually, and I was very glad to learn it now, as I am right at the start of making a complete career change - a transition from hobbyist to full-time woodworker. It is a splendid work, easy to use and read (no technical overkill or jargon ad nauseum).
"This is an American Rock Maple." "This is the petal of a fully mature snapdragon - variety Gingus - developed in 1998 by." You get the idea. Very comprehensive, organized and thorough. Thank you - and good night. There is a glossary of terms (so you don't sound like an idiot when you go to specialty shops looking for these things AND so you know what you need to ask for to get what you want). Aside from one or two sentences, there is no mention whatever about the level of endangerment any of the species and geneses.
If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up - and spring for the hardback edition if you can. Color photos for each entry clearly show grain patterns, and each entry includes some information that would actually help a person identify the tree in the wild. CONSThere was only one thing about the book that I felt was an unforgivable error in the editors' and author's judgment, one that is impossible to ignore in 2009. This is a manual for woodworkers, furniture makers, artists who choose wood as a medium - whatever the means of expression, this guide will help the reader to understand the properties of 100s of the world's most stunning, beautiful woods; it will help you select the wood you want to work with. And an extremely helpful, little mentioned subject: details on the known and possible toxicity levels of every wood type and genus covered in the book, and even a few that weren't.
"WOOD: IDENTIFICATION & USE" (Hardcover)Since I was old enough to think about stuff and things and stuff and junk, I have wished for and even whined for once a hand-held device that would analyze and identify ANY tree, plant, flower, etc - anything botanical - in a matter of seconds while you stood in the woods, in a garden, a park, any and ever where, looking at whatever it was you wanted to identify. It would especially be useful as a teaching tool for Woodworking 101. The cover art is raised slightly - a nice design touch. I quickly realized that the word "Identification" in the title was not intended for those of us who collect wood from the source; this guide would be and has been already, in the month or so I have had it, a great guide to identifying wood that you find in the bargain bin at your favorite wood seller, or perhaps to determine of what wood a potential purchase is made - for example, it would help a person to know more about the value when buying a new or antique piece of furniture. One thing I highly recommend it for would be for the professional to use as a tool to assist customers and clients - for custom orders/commissions, it would be a wonderfully simple way to assist in selecting the type of wood to be used. However, at this point in my life, if an eager and enterprising someone stole it and actually figured out how to make this device - and give a free one to me - I honestly wouldn't mind having missed out on the billions.
"Wood: Identification & Use" is a good consolation item, for the time being.** MAIN REVIEW4 OUT OF 5 STARS This book is not in any way a field guide, and does not concentrate on any one part of the world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**Incidentally: The Botanical ID Machine is my one, single, good Billion Dollar Idea. I love it, really, and hope my un-apologetically verbose review helps you decide if you would, too. Lovers of printed, photographic art will enjoy flipping through it a great deal as well, as it is very visually stimulating.With the holidays lurking in the wings, I think I might order a few more for some of my colleagues - the ones I like anyway. Information junkies will love it; DIY-ers and hobbyist fixer-up-ers will go nuts for it. AND SO: Aside from the irresponsible environmental impact and endangered species non-information, I really do recommend this book.
It would, in a single word, be: AWESOME.
It would be like a Trekkie sort of analyzer where you put a sample of material in a plastic part thingy, and it would go - beep beep whhhrrrr - E Voila.
However, in a work such as "Wood: Identification & Use", dedicated entirely to selecting and using woods, Given the current level of awareness, - both in the industry and in general - as well as the ever-growing movement of recycling woods to make new products(and I mean things that look good, often with much more style and beauty than they had before they were recycled)., the general sense that woodworkers small and large have responsibilities now that out predecessors simply didn't have to think about (and didn't, or the forests of the world wouldn't be in the shape they are now, obviously) -- with all of this, I could not overlook this faux pas.
*THAT*, gentle reader, is how badly I want this machine to exist.
I was confused on this issue at first - expecting more detailed photos that would help me to figure out what I was looking at as I stood in front of a tree in the woods (See fantasy, paragraph 1).
It would make a great gift - the book itself (I splurged the extra 15.00 for hardback) is bound well and tightly, but designed to be used in the shop, and so has a cover that I think you would have a hard time smudging up or staining with dirty fingers and the like.
For beginners and intermediate woodworkers, for those interested in getting into woodworking, and even to the master woodcrafter - it is a great tool to have.
I would describe my level of knowledge of woods and woodworking, on a scale of 1 - 10, as probably about a 7.5 - and so, with that said, I learned a great deal about this subject.
Honestly, in these other works, it is irksome when an author recommends using, for example, Mahogany.
The compact size makes it convenient to pack in your toolbox or knapsack. I've found that not everything is listed here, but it does list most woods that you will commonly come across in the U.S. It's a good buy. I am very pleased with this book. It gives all of the critical information about using eash species of wood which is very helpful in choosing your materials.
For folks who work with wood it also identifies the pluses and minuses of wood selections and related health issues. In the personal property appraisal field this book is a very helpful tool in the identity of woods used to create antique furniture. Recommend it to anyone who needs to view broad cross sections to match grain.
Liked it enough I actually bought my original one elsewhere and then bought this one for a fellow woodworker friend of mine for his use. Now I have to figure out how to get some of the different woods I read about. Found this to be very informative on woods and their characteristics. A must add to any woodworkers library, it helps to understand what woods are available and how best to use them.
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