We admire the beautiful work of David Petersen of Austin Texas. We recommend that you enjoy the fine craftsmanship and studio furniture designs displayed on his web site at www.MasterpieceFurniture.com. He specializes in original designs that show the best qualities of exotic woods, with each piece being a work of art as well as totally functional, and impeccable built. One customer compared us (back when Toyota and Lexus were compliments) - he is the Lexus and I am the Toyota. I agree.

Mike Roberts of San Antonio, Texas, builds beautiful custom furniture, as displayed on his web site at http://mikerobertscabinetmakers.com. Mike recently switched from a full-time career in Information Technology and part-time woodworking to full-time woodworking. His woodworking began nearly 20 years ago helping remodel an old colonial home, and over the years has built countless projects, refining his design and craftsmanship skills. He specializes in heirloom quality work.

We have also admired the work of Michael Colca of Driftwood, Texas, south of Austin, displayed on his web site at www.MichaelColca.com Michael has designed a line of furniture that is exquisitely hand made; his chairs are as comfortable as beautiful. He prefers starting with his existing designs, but will adapt them as desired, and build them for you with your choice of woods.

Thomas Moser was involved in furniture repair and construction for years. In 1972 Dr. Moser left his position as a tenured professor of Speech Communications to start Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers. His family business has grown to over 90 cabinetmakers and as many other workers, headquartered in Auburn Maine, who create beautiful furniture sold through several showrooms and a catalog. They have maintained their handcrafted quality despite their growth - the cabinetmaker personally responsible for each piece signs it.

If your preference is for highly carved elegant furniture, we recommend that you consider the fine work of Lee Grindinger of Montana, on the web at www.furniturecarver.com. We have not met him in person, but he is highly regarded in the Internet community, and his work looks outstanding.

Everyone loves "The New Yankee Workshop" television show, which has been filmed in Russ Morash's garage since 1989, and featuring Norm Abrams. The original table saw was a Christmas present to Russ from his wife. Norm's motivation is great, and though he started as a contractor, his furniture-making techniques have improved over the years. The joke is "How many routers does Norm have?" and what other tools, but most of his techniques can be reproduced in your garage. (Answer to the question: One router for each router bit, since nobody has ever seen him change bits!) Norm has retired (at least from this show) and the several shows that are trying to replace him haven't built a major following yet.

Wood Works features the designs and techniques of master artist David Marks on the "Do It Yourself" network. The show is now only in reruns, but was taped in David's working shop, which includes some giant antique machines and even a $3,000 "MultiRouter" for mortise and tenons! David's designs are very artistic - not always for my living room - but his woodworking techniques are very instructive. He is an expert in turning and in chemically treating metal as part of the design. He has many fans who have taped his shows, so like many, I have to watch him on recordings friends have made for me. I have met David several times, and he is even nicer than he seems in his programs.

One of my favorite woodworking forum on the internet is Saw Mill Creek. The advice is good and fast-moving. To see the pictures, you must join (unregistered users were abusing their servers). You must use your real name when you join, and are encouraged to include a picture (avitar), so the conversations stay very friendly - it is hard to hide. My membership info has never been abused, so don't worry about signing up. "General Woodworking and Power Tools" is the most active section, but there are numerous special groups such as for hand tool users, for wood turning, for design software, and so forth. If you stop back frequently, the forum helps you recognize the threads you have already seen. Membership varies from beginners to construction workers to professionals making high-end custom furniture. Support is like "public radio" - active users are asked to voluntarily contribute $6 per year to support the forum, and in return get a version of the forum that is free of advertising.

Some of the actions of the manager of Saw Mill Creek offended some of the most active, expert contributors, and when they complained, they were expelled. They started a new "Family Woodworking forum for the whole family." Like Saw Mill Creek, you must use your real name when you join, and vendors are required to disclose their affiliation. (My personal data has never been abused on this site either.) As a newer, smaller forum you will get to know individual members, many of whom are quite expert - it is almost like a social network among worldwide woodworking friends, including many non-woodworking discussions. The forum is partitioned into over 20 specialized forums, so you can go directly to the area of interest. The idea sounds good, but sometimes this is bad... for example, someone built an extraordinary table using, in part, hand tools. Would you find it under "General Woodworking" (for the building techniques), "Flatwork Showcase" (the finished piece), "Finishing School" (finish options were discussed), or "Neander Tool Show and Tell" (since hand tools played a major role)? If you like this group and go back frequently, I suggest that you click "New Posts" on the home page, and check what is new on all the sub-forums."

When I need a brief rest from working in the shop (or a chance to cool down in the summer) I often check the two forums above, or the specialized forum for my MiniMax Machinery.

Another popular forum, oriented to the professional woodworker (or shop) is WoodWeb. Serious discussion, often the experts are vendors (they really are expert but don't always disclose their bias). This forum is not oriented to the hobby woodworker.

Fine Woodworking Magazine was an outstanding source of woodworking techniques, oriented to the advanced amateur or professional. One of the services they provide on the web is called the Knots woodworking forum. The folks who go there are helpful and largely knowledgeable and friendly. So many forums, so little time... I like this one too, but don't have time to keep up with the discussions there in addition to those above.

I also read Wood magazine - I like their ideas, but their cookbook technique (great for beginners) drives me nuts, so I rarely build their projects. I occasionally log into the Wood Magazine "Woodworking Forums". The people there are very helpful, but their suggestions and answers to questions occasionally have a vendor bias or aren't great, so it is good place for a second opinion.

You may also be interested in my separate web page on sources of wood in the Austin area. or my web page on cutting your own lumber. I even have a separate web site for solo woodworkers (and other craftspersons) who might make it a small part time or full time business.