Method

A useful workshop reference should make a distinction clear enough to use at the bench. Each page starts with the object, material, or problem a reader is trying to recognise, then explains the practical relationship between its parts.

Explain, do not perform expertise

Terms are introduced where they help a reader see the work more clearly. Where old and new names describe the same thing, they remain together rather than sending a reader through several near-identical pages.

Use sources with care

The reference draws on historic trade writing and later specialist knowledge. A source can establish a fact or preserve a useful period term; it is not a substitute for an explanation in the reader's own situation.

Say what is uncertain

Wood, tools, and workshop practice vary by place, age, and use. When a neat answer would hide that difference, the page should leave room for the condition that changes it.