I wanted to make a quick announcement about two new projects we have going here at The Wood Whisperer. The first is sort of a pet project of mine: NewToWoodworking.com. Many of you may recall our original New to Woodworking page. It was a place where I organized links to videos and articles that cover numerous topics relevant to new woodworkers. This page just kept growing so I decided it would be best to simply break this information out into a whole new reference website. This new website will not be something that is updated daily or anything like that. Its simply a resource to help new woodworkers wade through the butt load of information out there. In addition to the articles and links, I also started up a Woodworker’s Glossary and a Wood Encyclopedia where you can learn about the various species common to our craft. Many of the sections are still being populated, but its definitely ready for people to start using. FYI, each entry and article has a comments section at the bottom. Feel free to use this area to add additional links and reference articles if you feel they are relevant.
The second project is our new Community Site, which is essentially a replacement for our forum. Its a long story, but let it suffice to say that the new community brings with it a whole host of features and requires a lot less administrative work from me. That means more time for woodworking and making videos, which is ultimately the reason I am here.
I hope you enjoy both new resources!
A repository for this type of information is a good idea.
However, do you really want to refer to it as a “butt load” of information? Considering what most butts are loaded with, it might not be the best image to evoke.
You misunderstood Russel. I said that this site helps to make sense of the “butt-load of information out there”. The internet is the “butt-load”. I simply took all the little undigested berries and other fruit matter and placed them into NewtoWoodworking.com
Thanks for all of this work! It’s a fantastic idea and I hope it works out for you.
Zach
Just wondering if you considered a wiki for, at the very least, the encyclopedia and glossary. It would have allowed you to get content created by the community instead of creating it all yourself.
We actually did consider a wiki. But I find the current selection of wiki software to be difficult to navigate and kind of ugly, lol. Also, I do want to maintain control over the quality of information being posted. So everyone is welcome to post links and info in the comments area. If the links are really relevant, I can always pull them up into the original article or post.
Outstanding sites Mark. Thank you!
Victor
Marc,
Love the new web sites. I really love the makeover on the Community site! I might be spending more time over there now :).
Mike
Really isn’t the idea of making your Wood Encyclopedia quite redundant given how much information is already available, for just a couple of examples of what already exists:
http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/sp.....pecies.asp
http://www.dulley.com/hardwood/fspecies.shtml
http://www.ahec.org/hardwoods/guide/
maybe a listing of links to the available guides would be more useful and more informative….
Well if you think about it, the entire site is redundant to some extent, lol.
I guess if there is anything that will make my resource different, its that I don’t plan on just regurgitating facts about the species. I plan on presenting images of the wood, finished and unfinished, in projects and with some possible figured variations. I also plan on discussing my personal experiences with the wood and what you can expect when you work with it. How much does it cost? How does it take a stain? Is it oily? Is it hard to find? Most descriptions I find on other sites are awfully “clinical” in their description and give me a lot of information I don’t need while simply glossing over the information I do need. My goal is to share advice from my personal experience with the material so that a new woodworker can know what they are in for if they decide to work with that species. That’s why its taking me so long to build it up, lol.
Also, all three links you posted are for domestic hardwoods. I plan on including the same level of personal experience and images for exotic hardwoods as well. Any guide to exotics that I’ve seen either suffers from not enough information, or simply way too much information that it becomes impossible to extract anything meaningful from it.
Either way, there will be some redundancy. But I just like the idea of collecting and including this information all in one place for my readers.
Newbie power! Thanks for the updated site. It is appreciated!
Just like everyone else. I thank you, and Nicole, for putting together these great resources. You have made getting into woodworking a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.
Thanks again and God Bless.
Marc, I love the new websites. I dont know if I would even be considered a newbie yet. I have studied a lot about woodworking and have watched many video’s…but have yet to actually work on a project. I have a couple of projects planned. The perspective you provide and the contributions you have made are tremendous. Thanks for all you do!
Whow Marc, nice new collection. Where do you get all the time from?
Maybe you could add german translations of woodnames to your site, translators in Internet are awfull at this point. As i’m from Germany I always seek for the name to buy the nice wood at my local dealer *sigh*.
Just wondering if you considered a wiki for, at the very least, the encyclopedia and glossary. It would have allowed you to get content created by the community instead of creating it all yourself.
Hey SL. Check out the third comment above.
Marc,
I was looking for the newtowoodworking site today and it took me a few clicks to find the post. Is there a link on the homepage or in the “Links” page and I’m just missing it?
Yes. Right now there is a rotating button at the top of the middle column. There are three banners and one of them is the New To Woodworking banner. Maybe I should at a link in the navbar?
You have a link to the “community” site. The newbie link would be cool.
Marc, You ROCK !!!
…keep up good work…