Identifying Wood (Identifying Guide Series)

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to woods
Review: This is a charming booklet that presents some of the most used or most distinctive woods of the world. In 128 entries, each accompanied by a beautiful (but small) color picture, it very concisely gives quite a lot of information. Not suited for any half-serious attempt at wood identification, this is a bright little book that is eminently suited as a coffee table book or as a first introduction into the world of wood.

Rating:
Summary: Great starter book for identifying wood
Review: This is a small book in both page size and number of pages. Each type of wood covers 1/2 page and gives allot of information for such a small space. The drawback is it's lack of cross references. Woods are known by many common names so when shopping for wood this book may or may not help out. The one characteristic it lacks is if the wood is on the endangered list or not. Overall a good starter book. Well worth the price in any case.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction and overview of various types of wood
Review: This is a very nice, short overview of the major types of wood used in various capacities, such as wood carving, construction, furniture making, etc. There is a very brief introduction; but the body of the book is 64 pages of ratings, 2 woods per page. Each review consists of 6 numeric ratings (impact bending, stiffness, density, workability, bending strength, and crushing strength) plus more subjective descriptions detailing: 1. where it grows; 2. appearance; 3. properties; 4. workability (e.g. "works well with both hand and machine tools..."); 5. preservation; and 6. uses. The woods are listed in Latin name alphabetical sequence; but there's a very good index using the common names. The size of the book is great for throwing in a big pocket or small purse when visiting the local lumber or woodworking store.