Terry Porter’s unique and visually dazzling handbook has always been indispensable—and this new edition adds 17 species of lumber not included before, bringing the list up to a grand total of 400! Plus, there’s a new section displaying a variety of decorative figuring, information on wood defects and potential health hazards, and an enlarged glossary. Wonderful full-color pictures give close-up views of the various wood grains, while the main section showcases more than 200 woods used in cabinetmaking, joinery, carpentry, turning, carving, and a host of specialist applications, and another 200 receive shorter listings. Every featured wood is illustrated and described in detail, with invaluable facts on its working properties, seasoning requirements, durability, and typical uses.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reference but left some out, too.,
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This review is from: Wood: Identification & Use (Revised & Expanded) (Hardcover)
I am a woodcarver/wood sculptor and I use a good many exotic woods in my work (hobby, actually). I am regularly receiving small pieces and mill ends that others have simply forgotten the names of. This book helps quite a bit in identifying the majority of them but it is somewhat limited in scope. There cannot be a complete list of trees and their woods yet stay affordable, but this one covers the ones that most woodcarvers are likely to encounter. A few of the local species are left out; however, they are mostly local or regional and not of commercial value on a larger scale. The color illustrations seem quite accurate for those woods I have checked - possible two dozen. The basic facts, including the specific gravity, appear accurate, also, all of which are quite helpful. For the price, I couldn't let it go by. I find it handy and a good reference -- even interesting to just pick up and browse through when I have few idle moments. It has resolved more than one disagreement among my fellows, but then we can really come up with some truly rare woods at times.
The safety and health considerations were very general in most cases and seemed to always exaggerate on the side of maximum safety. Many of the woods that they identified as having health threats are those I have used extensively without difficulty while using only minimal precautions. (I should point out that I am Asthmatic and, therefore, am extra careful, specially when making fine sawdust.) This is not a matter of inaccuracy, but more a matter of being too general to be very helpful - after all, they do not claim to be doctors or health experts - this is a wood book. Anyone having health or breathing problems should do more research specific to their condition. I know I certainly do; and, if you are here, you must have the internet available. It's out there -- just go get it.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book. Great Present. However, one faux pas. 4 out of 5.,
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This review is from: Wood: Identification & Use (Revised & Expanded) (Hardcover)
"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... "Wood: Identification & Use" is a good consolation item, for the time being.** MAIN REVIEW 4 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. 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. 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. 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). 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. CONS There 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. Aside from one or two sentences, there is no mention whatever about the level of endangerment any of the species and geneses. 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. Honestly, in these other works, it is irksome when an author recommends using, for example, Mahogany. 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. AND SO: Aside from the irresponsible environmental impact and endangered species non-information, I really do recommend this book. 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. Very comprehensive, organized and thorough. It would especially be useful as a teaching tool for Woodworking 101. 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. It is a splendid work, easy to use and read (no technical overkill or jargon ad nauseum). Information junkies will love it; DIY-ers and hobbyist fixer-up-ers will go nuts for it. 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. 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. The cover art is raised slightly - a nice design touch. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up - and spring for the hardback edition if you can. I love it, really, and hope my un-apologetically verbose review helps you decide if you would, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Incidentally: The Botanical ID Machine is my one, single, good Billion Dollar Idea. 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. *THAT*, gentle reader, is how badly I want this machine to exist... 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! "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. It would, in a single word, be: AWESOME. Absolutely a w e s o m e! Thank you - and good night!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Handy guide to own,
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This review is from: Wood: Identification & Use (Revised & Expanded) (Hardcover)
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. 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. The compact size makes it convenient to pack in your toolbox or knapsack. It's a good buy.
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