![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/IMG_0711_edited-2.jpg\" "\\"IMG_0711_edited-2\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
With over a half million apps available for the iPhone<\/strong>, surely there must be plenty of value to woodworkers<\/strong>. So I had\u00a0hoped, but my search, while not exhaustive, has been generally disappointing. There are lots of apps for DIYers and contractors, but few of real value to small shop furniture makers<\/strong>. Some of the woodworking apps aren’t worth even their small cost, some are mostly designed to market in-app purchases, some directed at novice woodworkers give little truly useful information, and some just do not work well.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are some notable exceptions that I recommend.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Woodshop Widget<\/strong> lists movement and hardness values for 288 wood species using data mostly from the US Forest Products Laboratory. You can easily calculate the change in width<\/strong> of flatsawn, rift, and quartered boards over a range of humidity that you specify. Also included are a board-feet calculator and several other handy functions. Its $3.99 price is about the most I can bring myself to spend on an app but this one is worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n Board Feet Easy Calculator<\/strong> does one job, does it well, and is free.<\/span><\/p>\n WoodworkerCalc<\/strong>, $0.99, is primarily a very handy fractional calculator<\/strong> designed for the fractions woodworkers use. I find it is faster, easier, and less mistake-prone in use than my old dedicated fractional calculator. It allows you to set the precision of fractions (e.g., to 1\/32 or 1\/64) and decimals. It contains a few other functions<\/strong> including, of course, a board-feet calculator.<\/span><\/p>\n