Mike Duchaj asks about hand tool books:

This is an important topic that hasn't come up in a while.  IMO, a good
library is every bit as important as good tools.

> Dunbar's "Restoring, Tuning and Using Classic Woodworking Tools" has
> been posted as a good reference.

Yup, this is a great one.  Probably my second favorite, right after Bernie
Jones' stuff.

> "Plane Baiscs" By Allen Caught my eye, and I found a copy for $11.

Another goodie.  I like this one a lot-- the information is good, and it is
very easy to read.

My personal favorite books for hand tool woodworking are the Bernard Jones
reprints from Astragal Press:  "The Complete Woodworker" and "The Practical
Woodworker".  These cover a lot of different things (wanna make an airplane
propeller?) in enough detail to be useful. Best of all, these are *cheap*...
;-)

I also really like Graham Blackburn's and Aldren Watson's books-- these are
both good additions to any hand-tool woodworker's library.  FWW has done a
couple of reprints that may be of interest (FWW on Hand Tools, FWW on Planes
and Chisels, FWW on Bench Tools), but I've never been too impressed with
these myself.  Other folks love them, though.

If you are into wooden planes, Whelan's "The Wooden Plane" is a must-have.
Every time I pick this up I learn something new.  His planemaking book is
also really good if your interests lie in that direction.

The collector references are also useful if you are one of the folks who
will own up to having a collection , or if you are a flea market
scrounger.  The DAT (fellow galoot Bob Nelson's labor of love) is a
particularly amazing font of knowledge.  John Walter's Stanley price guide
is also an outstanding reference, as are Roger Smith's PTAMPIA volumes.
There are also a host of other books that cover more specialized tools, like
Lamond's spokeshave book and Bacheller's gage book.

One author I'd say to stay away from, however, is Alex Bealer. We've been
around the block several times on this guy, so check the archives.  I got
his "Old Ways of Working Wood" book in a discount bin for $3, and found it
laughably bad-- so bad, in fact that I gave my copy to Jeff (you, Jeff) to
use as fodder for his "Old Wives Tales" column in Good Woodworking.  I still
have nightmares about his recommendation to sharpen paring chisels with a
bevel on both sides... ;-)

ralph