Personal Favourites

Below are my personal favourites in the world of woodworking.

What's listed below are the things that are truly invaluable to me and reflect my personal experience.

TV Shows

The New Yankee Workshop - Hosted by Master Woodworker Norm Abrans, this show is unequal in its approachability and teaching capability. Look for it on HGTV (Home and Garden TV), PBS and similar channels
Holmes on Homes - This show doesn't teach per se, but I love to watch someone who believes in doing things the right way, not the cheapest way. Funny, but the analogies I see to my day job (software development) are striking.

Magazines

Woodsmith Magazine - This high quality magazine on the general subject of furniture has no ads and is filled with detailed and simple to follow articles. It's full of great ideas, plans, and instructional articles.
Shop Notes - A sister magazine to Woodsmith Magazine, this magazine has the same attributes but is geared towards the creation of shop "furniture" like jigs, workbences, storage, etc.
Woodworking Magazine - Similar to the two magazines above, it too is ad-free and a great learning resource.
Fine Woodworking Magazine - This magazine does have ads, as does Popular Woodworking, but the articles are first rate. Taunton Press, which publishes the magazine, also has an excellent line of books.
Popular Woodworking - This magazine does have ads, but it's nevertheless filled with useful articles, projects, tips, and techniques. In this case, the ads are useful to tickle one's imagination and to keep abreast with new products.

Stores & Suppliers

Atlas Machinery - This is a terrific store that sells "pro" shop equipment (a step above the "amateur" Canadian Tire equipment and a step below high-volume "industrial" equipment) like table saws and jointers, tools of all sorts, and everything else (like router bits). The prices are competitive. What sets the store apart though is the first-rate staff that are friendly and knowledgeable. I've purchased my table saw, jointer, compound sliding mitre saw, and dust collector from them (so far) and have been 100% satisfied by the service, the price, and the purchased equipment. Oddly enough they're located smack downtown Toronto, but don't hold that against them!
Danforth Lumber (Home Hardware) - This store is a great source of rough lumber for furniture. They sell the standards like pine, maple, oak and cherry, but also carry exotics like mahogany, bubinga, teak, ebony, purpleheart, etc., all of which is in neat stacks that you can scan through and pick the boards you want. Their in-stock hardwood plywoods are "shop grade" but they can special order almost anything. The staff are friendly and courteous. They don't have a specific website, but they do have a Canada411 listing (phone number 416-699-9393, 25 Dawes Road, Toronto, near Main & Danforth).
Canadian Tire - Not the best place to buy shop equipment, but you gotta love a store filled with tools and supplies! Great for day-to-day supplies like glue, paint, finish, stains, sandpaper, screws, nails, etc. My first round of shop equipment came from Canadian Tire (which was fun), but most and eventually all of it will be replaced by "pro" equipment for the much improved size, accuracy, performance and capability. Having said that, stuff sold under the "Maximum" label is generally decent stuff, for the price.

Lee Valley - This website is one of the tops for online supply of tools and supplies (in Canada and the US) and is an oft cited source in trade magazines. The quality is better than Canadian Tire. While not always cheap, the stuff is always good, and always in stock. I've never had a problem with my dozen or more orders so far.
Goudey's - This shop, located in the Lansdowne and Dupont area in Toronto, manufactures almost every type of stain and finishing product, both solvent- and water-based. The quality of these is superior to that found in "hobbyist" stores like Home Depot and Canadian Tire. But what sets this shop apart is that the staff can look at a sample and tell you exactly what combination of stains and finish to use to get the same result - the depth of their knowledge is truly stunning.
Wood Essence - This operation, based in Saskatoon, is a distributer of Target water-based finishes (see below). While Saskatoon does move at a slower pace than Toronto, the customer service at Wood Essence is first rate. While there is another distributor of Target products in B.C., I highly recommend Wood Essence for faster delivery.

Manufacturers

Delta - I love Delta machinery - solid, heavy, excellent performance, reasonable price. My Delta table saw and jointer are favourites in my workshop
King - The funny thing about King is that they generally match models feature-for-feature with Delta, and yet are generally cheaper. It's sort of like a luxury Mercedes (King) compared to a Rolls Royce (Delta). Detla is all about brand, but King is just as good it seems.
Target Finishes - This company, based in Ohio, among other things makes water-based finishes, including shellacs, sealers, and lacquers. Not only do these products match traditional solvent-based equivalents, they have the advantage of being far less toxic, and with no explosive hazard. While the water-based finish market has boomed in recent years with tens of brands, without a doubt the Target line far surpasses all others in ease of use, depth of field, and clarity. The company also hosts Internet discussion forums where customers can post questions and have them answered by Target product engineers. Wood Essence (see above) is one of two Canadian suppliers.