Woodworking
Hand tools first. Build a shelf you'll actually use.
Learn woodworking as a beginner
You don't need a garage full of power tools to start woodworking. This beginner course uses hand tools on a sturdy table with two clamps. You'll learn to measure, saw square, sand and screw, then cut housed (dado) joints with a chisel, glue up, finish and hang a solid pine wall shelf, plus a bookend.
The path
- 1
Level 1Free Cut and Join
A wall shelf
14 Steps, about 34 minutes each. Total beginners. No workshop needed: a sturdy table and two clamps are enough. Expect about $100 in hand tools and wood; a tool library or maker space can lend most of them.
- Chapter 1: Cut, sand and screw. Square cuts, smooth sanding, pilot holes and screws, and a finished bookend that stands on its own.
- Chapter 2: Chisels and joinery. Safe chisel work, a clean practice dado joint, and all the shelf parts planned, cut and fitted.
- Chapter 3: Glue, finish and hang. A glued, square, sanded and oiled shelf, hung level on your wall.
- 1Show your groupMark and make your first cutA square pencil line across a board and one cut that follows it.
Accurate woodworking starts with accurate marks. A cut can only be as square as the line it follows, so this Step is about drawing a perfectly square line and cutting along it.
A combination square has a metal blade and a heavier head that slides along it. When the head is pressed flat against a board's straight edge, the blade sits at exactly 90 degrees across the board. Your pencil line follows the blade.
The detail beginners miss is pressing the head against the edge. If the head rocks or lifts even slightly, the line goes out of square. Hold it firmly with your whole hand, then draw the pencil along the blade, tilted slightly so the point stays tight against the metal.
Here's an example. Safety glasses on. A 1x6 clamped to the table with 8 inches hanging off. A tick at 6 inches. Square's head pressed against the edge, blade slid to the tick, a sharp line drawn across. Line carried around both edges with the square. Saw started on the waste side of the line, the side that becomes scrap.
Right is a cut that follows the line. Clamp the board every time, never hold it with your other hand near the saw.
- 2Saw straight and squareThree practice cuts that stay on the line, each closer to square than the last.
- 3Sand it smoothYour practice block sanded smooth with two grits and slightly rounded edges.
See all 14 Steps
- 4Drill pilot holes and drive screwsTwo screws driven flush through one board into another with no splits.
- 5Show your groupBuild a bookendA finished, sanded L-shaped bookend that stands on its own and holds books.
- 6Use a chisel safelyYou can pare thin shavings to a line and chop a small notch in scrap.
- 7Show your groupPractice a dado jointA practice dado on scrap that a piece of 1x6 slides into snugly.
- 8Plan your shelf and mark the partsA drawn plan with a cut list, and all four parts marked on your board.
- 9Cut the shelf partsTwo 10-inch sides and two 24-inch shelves, cut square and matching.
- 10Cut the shelf dadosFour clean dados, two in each side, and both shelves fit snugly.
- 11Glue up and check for squareThe shelf glued, clamped and square, with the rail attached.
- 12Sand and ease the edgesEvery outside surface sanded smooth, edges softened, and dust removed.
- 13Apply an oil finishTwo coats of wipe-on oil, evenly applied with no sticky spots.
- 14Show your groupHang it levelYour shelf hanging level on the wall, holding books or plants.
- 2
Level 2Unlocks after Level 1 Boards and Boxes
A cutting board, a box and a step stool
20 Steps, about 47 minutes each. Woodworkers who finished Level 1 or can already saw square, cut a dado with a chisel and glue up a simple project. Expect about $150 in new tools and wood; most of it is hardwood and a block plane you will keep for years.
- Chapter 1: Sharp tools and true edges. A sharp chisel and plane, a straight and square planed edge, hardwood chosen well, and a finished serving board.
- Chapter 2: An edge-glued cutting board. Boards laid out for color and grain, edges jointed, a panel glued flat, then flattened, shaped and oiled.
- Chapter 3: A keepsake box. Parts marked with a knife and gauge, rabbet joints cut by hand, a square glue-up, a bottom and lid fitted, and a wipe-on finish.
- Chapter 4: A step stool. A plan read and cut list made, parts cut with curves, joined with dados and counterbored screws, holes plugged and finished.
- 1Show your groupSharpen your chiselYour Level 1 chisel sharpened on sandpaper until it shaves end grain cleanly.
A sharp chisel cuts cleanly with little force. A dull one crushes wood fibers, needs more pushing, and slips, which makes it more dangerous. Sharpening is the skill that makes every other hand-tool skill work.
The "scary sharp" method uses wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface like glass or a tile. You work from coarse to fine grits, each one polishing away the scratches of the last, until the edge is mirror-bright.
The detail beginners miss is flattening the back first. An edge is where two surfaces meet: the back and the bevel. If the back isn't flat and polished near the edge, the edge can never be truly sharp. Rub only the last inch of the back flat on each grit.
Here's an example. 220, 400, 1000 and 2000 grit sheets laid on glass, misted with water. The last inch of the back rubbed on each until evenly shiny. Then the bevel, held at its angle, rubbed on each grit until a tiny burr forms on the back edge. Burr removed with a few light strokes on the back at 2000.
Right is a chisel that pares thin, curly shavings from pine end grain. The edge is now very sharp: keep fingers off it, and store it covered.
- 2Set up a block planeA block plane sharpened, set to a fine cut, and taking thin, even shavings.
- 3Plane an edge straightA board edge planed dead straight along its length and square to the face.
See all 20 Steps
- 4Choose your hardwoodHardwood boards bought for the serving and cutting boards, checked for straightness, flaws and grain.
- 5Show your groupMake a serving boardA hardwood serving board, cut, planed, rounded, sanded and oiled.
- 6Plan the cutting boardStrips cut and laid out for the best color and grain, with a cabinetmaker's triangle drawn across them.
- 7Joint the edgesEvery mating edge planed so each pair closes with no gaps when you hold them together.
- 8Glue up the panelThe cutting board glued up flat, with the joints aligned and even squeeze-out along every seam.
- 9Flatten the panelThe glued-up board planed and sanded flat on both faces, with the ends cut square.
- 10Show your groupShape and oil the boardA finished cutting board: edges eased, grip cutouts or rounded corners, sanded and oiled.
- 11Mark with a knife and gaugeAll four box sides cut and marked with knife lines and gauge lines for the rabbets.
- 12Cut rabbets by handFour clean rabbets cut with saw and chisel, each one fitting the end piece snugly.
- 13Glue up the boxThe four sides glued into a square box, checked by measuring the diagonals.
- 14Fit the bottom and lidA bottom glued and pinned on, and a lift-off lid with a lip underneath that fits snugly.
- 15Show your group
- 16Read the stool planThe step stool plan read start to finish, with your own drawing, cut list and joinery changes marked.
- 17Cut the parts and curvesAll five stool parts cut square, with matching curved cutouts on both legs.
- 18Join the stoolSupports set into dados in the legs, the top glued and screwed on with counterbored screws, square.
- 19Plug the screw holesEvery counterbore filled with a wood plug, trimmed and sanded flush.
- 20Show your groupFinish and stand on itThe stool sanded, finished with wipe-on polyurethane, and in use, with your Level 2 pieces photographed together.
Level 3Unlocks after Level 2 Furniture
A side table
Where it ends: furniture for your own home
Questions about learning woodworking
How long does it take to learn woodworking?
Level 1 is 14 Steps of about 34 minutes each, around 8 hours in all, split into 3 chapters. Go at your own speed: one Step a day, or a whole chapter in a sitting.
What do I need to start woodworking?
You'll need japanese pull saw (ryoba or dozuki), combination square, 12 inch, two bar clamps, 12 inch, bench chisel, 3/4 inch, pine 1x6 board, 6 feet, and a 1x2, 2 feet, wood glue, sandpaper (120 and 180 grit), 1-1/4 inch and 2-1/2 inch wood screws and tape measure and safety glasses. Expect to spend about $85 to start Level 1.
Can a complete beginner learn woodworking?
Total beginners. No workshop needed: a sturdy table and two clamps are enough. Expect about $100 in hand tools and wood; a tool library or maker space can lend most of them.
What will I have made by the end of Level 1?
A solid pine wall shelf with housed (dado) joints, glued, finished and hanging level on your wall, plus a bookend.
Is this woodworking course free?
Yes. Level 1 of every hobby on Eras is free, and every Step links free lessons from great teachers online. Eras Plus is an optional subscription that opens the levels after it.
Free lessons in Cut and Join come from Training Hands Academy, Popular Woodworking, Appalachian Wood, Jonathan Katz-Moses, Fine Woodworking, Steve Ramsey - Woodworking for Mere Mortals, Family Handyman, This Old House, Weathered Wood Home, Standish Woodstory, Wood and Shop, Paul Sellers, Mellowpine Restoration, Reluctant DIYers, Ana White. We link to their work and never copy it.
Cover photo by Craft Kitties on Unsplash