conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What could be a title for a book about Prizes, Galore, February with the genre: Crafts, Hobbies & Home, Home Improvement & Design?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: A title for this book could be 'Woodworking For Dummies'
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide the first four paragraphs for this book.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Woodworking For Dummies
  Most community colleges or universities have noncredit classes on a whole host of subjects — woodworking among them. Call your local community college or university extension program to find out whether they offer woodworking classes. Often, the community's best woodworkers teach in these programs, and other people with all levels of skill take them. Classes are definitely worthwhile to meet face to face with other woodworkers.
  Like everything else on the Internet, woodworking is covered by countless sites. You can find anything from a site where Joe Hobbiest built his own shrine to woodworking to full-blown online courses offered by top-notch schools. The easiest way to find these sites is to do a search using **woodworking tips** as your keyword. Here are a couple of great sites to get you started:
  The magazines listed in the "Magazines" section earlier in this chapter are great places to find woodworking plans. The only real drawback to these magazines is that you can't necessarily find a plan for a particular piece of furniture (unless you get lucky). If you're looking for a plan for an early American chest of drawers, for instance, you may not find one in the magazine you subscribe to. For this, your best bet is to do an online search (using the style of furniture as your keyword) or simply use **woodworking plans** as your keyword.
  People love to share information, especially people who are passionate about a given subject. Woodworkers fall into this category. I've yet to meet a woodworker, professional or amateur, who wouldn't offer a few tidbits of info to a novice.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide four more paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The easiest place to find other woodworkers in your area is to visit your local woodworking store or lumberyard. If this doesn't work, you can always look in the Yellow Pages under "Woodworking" or "Furniture" for craftspeople offering custom construction. Those are your local professionals.
  As I said in the previous section, woodworking stores are magnets for, guess what, woodworkers (funny how that works). I'm often amazed at the people I meet and the depth of conversations I have every time I go look for a new tool or some wood. It seems woodworkers love to talk (maybe it's all that time alone in the shop). If you want to feed your inspiration, go to your local woodworking store for a chance to meet other woodworkers. Most stores also offer classes on any number of topics.
  One company (called The Woodworking Shows) organizes woodworking conventions that offer workshops, demonstrations, and, best of all, tools for you to drool over. These conventions are offered throughout the country and are a great way to learn from some of the world's best teachers and craftspeople. Contact information for The Woodworking Shows is as follows: 1950 Sawtelle Blvd, Suite 280, Los Angeles, CA 90025; Phone 800-826-8257; Web site www.thewoodworkingshows.com.
  Also, check out craft fairs in your area. This is another great way to meet other woodworkers and to learn more about the craft (my neighbor discovered a new finishing technique by talking with a guy who was selling his work at one of these fairs).
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Provide the last five paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Teak is one of the more sought-after woods. It works extremely well for outdoor projects but it's expensive and hard to find.
  Walnut comes in a variety of colors depending on where it's from. It ranges from light brown to almost black. This is a premier wood for furniture.
  Pigment stains accentuate the grain. Left has a sanding sealer applied before the stain and right has the stain applied directly to the wood without the sealer.
  Dye stains give an even appearance. Left has a sanding sealer applied before the stain and right is without the sealer.
  Each variety of shellac adds its own color to the wood. Pictured on birch are (top to bottom): bare wood, blond shellac, orange shellac, garnet shellac.