Introduction: Review of Magazines With "Instructables" Type Tips

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About: I'm a retired mechanical engineer, woodworker, boater, and inventor. Now I'm getting into wood turning, and have found that all my wood projects need not be flat and square.

I have read comments on this site that magazines such as Popular Mechanics no longer feature "How To" articles and tips from readers. So true. Also boating magazines, which used to provide reader's input, no longer do so.

However, there still are magazines that regularly include tips from readers. These tips are the print equivalent to the Instructables website: "Share What You Make". I love this site, but am of the generation that traditionally got most of our information in print.

I still read a lot of magazines, and have had several of my creations published in U.S. woodworking magazines. So, for those of us who would like to supplement our Instructables learning with the old fashioned print method, following is some information that should be of value.

Woodworking Magazines:

The first photo shows covers of the eight U.S. woodworking magazines that are regularly published. All of these include a "Reader's Tips" feature. Like Instructables, these tips range from simple to complex, but there is usually a useful idea or two.

Fine Woodworking's Methods of Work feature emphasizes furniture making tips, since fine furniture is the prime focus of the magazine.
Woodworker's Journal likes to print the simple tips all workers can use.
Shop Notes and Woodsmith are published by the same company, and are the only magazines that have no advertising. Somehow these two magazines can make plywood look beautiful. Shop Tips publishes some of the more elaborate tips.
Popular Woodworking, American Woodworker, and Woodcraft feature a wide variety of shop tips.

Other publications:

The second photo shows other good sources of tips and ideas

Fine Homebuilding focuses on construction, so their tips most often concern home building, but also have general interest value.
Family Handyman contains a surprising amount of worthwhile input from other readers. Their contributions involve just about anything that you can fix or build in a house, garage, shop, or car.

Make Magazine's content is heavily reader submitted. You will find plenty of electronics and robots here. Arduino is common.

Of course, you will also find compilations of tips and ideas in the special interest publications. The bible here is Percy Blandfords 1001Tips for Woodworkers.

I'm not neccessarily advocating buying these magazines. Often I will leaf through several at the library and make copies of the articles and tips that interest me.