Episode One: Basic Woodworking for Beginners
No matter what drew you to the idea of building projects with wood, whether you're taking on a do-it-yourself project around the house or shopping for a hobby, we've assembled our best collection of articles and videos to show you how to do it smartly and safely. Beginning with this first episode, our video tutorials, related articles, and projects cover all the basics from choosing your first hand and power tools to setting up a workspace. We'll even get you started building your first projects. You can download free woodworking project plans for a handsome cutting board, a plywood workbench that you can build with just a few tools, and an elegant small box. In addition to our collection of great woodworking information for beginners, the tabs at the top of every page in our series will direct you to an amazing wealth of woodworking information and resources available on FineWoodworking.com, such as our active community discussion boards, woodworking blogs, Ask The Expert forum where you can ask advice from woodworking professionals, a photo gallery with more than 1,200 images of furniture and woodwork, and our interactive Tool Guide where you can read Fine Woodworking tool reviews and post your own ratings and reviews. We hope you stick around to learn a few things. And if you have any questions about what it takes to get started in woodworking that aren't addressed in this series, send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. - The Editors of Fine Woodworking Episode Two: Setting up Your First Woodworking Shop and Choosing Tools
For many beginners just getting interested woodworking as a hobby, the hardest part of the process is determining what tools and equipment you need and what you can live without. In this episode, we share our recommendations for the best tools and equipment to acquire when setting up your first woodworking shop, from a sturdy workbench to the right mix of hand and power tools.
The complete tool kit for beginners
More resources for setting up shop You'll also find a free article download to help you design and layout a shop space and a free project plan detailing how to build a simple plywood workbench, probably the most essential pieces of equipment you'll add to your workshop. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Three: Make a Cutting Board
The cutting board project detailed in this video is also nice because it can be customized to your tastes by choosing different woods, shapes, and sizes. Once you get your material, either by purchasing rough lumber from a lumberyard and milling it to size or by purchasing pre-surfaced lumber at your local home center, you're ready to begin. Our video walks you through the process of laying out the pattern of the cutting board, cutting it to rough size with a jig saw or on the bandsaw, smoothing the edges by sanding, rounding over the edges with a router, and drilling a hole in the handle so it can hang in your kitchen. Finally, we'll show you how to properly sand the surface of the cutting board to be smooth and blemish-free, and we walk through the process of applying a food-safe finish that will keep your cutting board in good shape for years to come. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Four: Basic Joinery for Woodworking and Furniture Making
One of the simplest joinery techniques is the butt joint, in which the end of one board is glued to the face or edge of another board. This isn't a very strong joint so we'll show you several ways to reinforce an edge joint with screws or another kind of mechanical fastener known as a biscuit. One step up from edge joints are the variety of joinery techniques where sections of wood are cut away in one board to accept the end of a joining board. They include the rabbet joint, the dado joint, and the groove. We'll also introduce you to some specialized router bits that can cut joinery, such as the cope-and-stick router bits used for building frame and panel doors. Finally, we review some of the more traditional woodworking joints including the dovetail and mortise and tenon, and walk through the many variations of these classic joinery techniques. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Five: Make a Box, Part One
Download our free article for a complete measured drawing with construction details and dimensions, and then follow along with our video tutorial. We begin by laying out the joinery with a combination square, pencil, and marking gauge. The process detailed here employs common layout techniques that can be applied to any woodworking project. With all of the parts marked, we walk you through cutting the half-lap joinery on the box sides with hand tools. You'll be introduced to two kinds of woodworking handsaws, the western-style backsaw and the Japanese pull saw. We'll also show you how to chop and pare with a standard bench chisel and mallet. Sharp tools are the key to success on this project, so check out episode seven of Getting Started in Woodworking for a comprehensive lesson on sharpening chisels and plane irons. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Six: Make a Box, Part Two
The router might just be the most versatile woodworking power tool there is and it's a great first tool for beginner woodworkers. When set up properly and safely handled, a router can do everything from cutting joinery to shaping parts. Just be sure you understand the basic safety procedures and read the tool's manual if you're new to using a router. After cutting the rabbet joints, we walk you through the glue-up and assembly of the box. This critical stage in the process involves applying glue to the box parts and using clamps to hold the parts together while the glue dries. The assembly and glue-up tips that we detail in this episode -- and our companion article -- can apply to the assembly of any woodworking project. And then there's the fun part. We show you how to use a handplane to shape the curved sides and top of the box. Handplanes come in all shapes and sizes, and we show you how to use the most basic of them all, a block plane, to do the work. Finally, we'll help you choose a finish and apply it with good results. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Seven: Sharpening Woodworking Tools
Sharpening planes and chisels is a gateway skill in woodworking. It takes a lot of patience and practice to master a sharpening method, but once you do your woodworking skills will improve. Plus, using hand tools becomes much more enjoyable when they're sharp. In episode seven of our free video series, Getting Started in Woodworking, we walk you through one foolproof sharpening method. We cover flattening and polishing the back, grinding the bevel, and honing the bevel. Once you learn these skills, you can keep your tools sharp with occasional regrinding and regular honing.
Sharpening Tool Kit:
- Any model bench grinder - slow-speed (approx. 1,725 rpm) recommended If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Eight: How To Use Hand Planes
In episode eight of our free video series, Getting Started in Woodworking, we demonstrate some of the more common uses for the block plane, identify its parts, and show you how to tune up a block plane. For that, we traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to the workshop of Chris Gochnour, for a detailed video tutorial. Gochnour demonstrates the tune-up process using a Stanley No. 60-1/2 low-angle adjustable-mouth block plane, but his tips and techniques can be applied to just about any plane in your tool box.
Anatomy of a block plane
Choosing and buying a block plane Additionally, buying an aftermarket plane iron, such as those made by Hock Tools, can improve the quality of a hardware-store plane considerably. A sharp plane iron is also a critical feature, and we detail one foolproof sharpening technique in episode seven of this series. If you have a question about this episode send us an email or become a member of FineWoodworking.com to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Nine: How to Mill Rough Lumber
In episode nine of our free video series, Getting Started in Woodworking, we demonstrate how to turn a piece of rough-sawn lumber into square and stable stock for your woodworking projects. This process, known as four-squaring a board, is an essential skill in woodworking. While you can purchase pre-surfaced lumber at your local home center, there are several benefits to buying rough-sawn lumber from a hardwood dealer and milling it to size in your shop. Rough-sawn lumber is typically less expensive than pre-surfaced lumber. And rough-sawn lumber can be milled to custom thickness giving you more flexibility with your woodworking designs. Check out this video for a detailed explanation on how lumber is cut and sold, including how to speak like a pro at the lumberyard and how to calculate a board foot. Most importantly, milling your own lumber allows you to always work with square and stable material. Wood has a tendency to warp and twist while laying around your shop as it acclimates to the temperature and humidity, and you avoid lots of errors by milling it to dimension after its had time to settle in your shop.
The four-square method of milling lumber For this lesson on milling lumber, we headed out to the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, where instructor Bob Van Dyke demonstrated the classic sequence used to prepare rough lumber with power tools. Sometimes referred to by the acronym "FEE" (faces, edges, ends) the sequence involves flattening one face of the board on a jointer and then creating a parallel, flat opposing face with a thickness planer. After the faces are flat and parallel, square one edge with a jointer and then rip the other edge parallel on a tablesaw. Finally, crosscut the board to length with a miter gauge on the tablesaw.
Five tips for milling lumber:
- Cut in the direction of the grain to avoid tearout For more information on these techniques, browse the Wood Science and Milling Lumber sections of our Web site. And if you have a specific question about this episode send us an email or become a member to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Episode Ten: Oil-and-Wax Finish
This low-tech finish requires few tools, just some sandpaper, a sanding block, abrasive pads, clean cotton rags, boiled linseed oil, and furniture wax. The key to a perfect end-result is to first prepare the surface. After sanding, or surfacing with a handplane or card scraper, the next step is to raise the grain with water and then sand and burnish the surface again. Once the preparation is complete, simply flood the wood with several coats of boiled linseed oil, burnish it again with an abrasive pad, and top it off with a coat of wax for a nice shine. The techniques described in this video are based on the article "An Oil-and-Wax Finish" by Charles Shackleton, featured in Issue #175 of Fine Woodworking magazine. For more information on finishing, browse the Finishing section of our Web site. And if you have a specific question about this episode send us an email or become a member to talk to the Fine Woodworking editors and contributors in the Ask The Experts forum. Browse the Fine Woodworking DictionaryLast Updated on April 1, 2008 The Fine Woodworking Dictionary is a comprehensive list of woodworking terms and definitions maintained by the editors of Fine Woodworking and our reader community. Help us grow the dictionary by submitting your own definition, or help refine an existing definition below. Send us an email with our contact form. ADHESIVE - Modern glues come in a variety of types and offer a range of bond strengths. To determine the correct type for a woodworking project consider the follow characteristics: how much working time (also called open time) it allows before the glue begins to set, how resistant it is to moisture, how long it takes to cure, and how rigid the hardened glue line becomes. ARTICLES: All About Adhesives, Six Essential Glues ADJUSTABLE CLAMP - Another name for the modern type of bar clamp where the handscrew end slides up and down the bar. ARTICLES: Bar Clamps, Head to Head  AIR-DRIED LUMBER - Lumber that is cut and dried without the use of a powered kiln. Typically stacked and stored outside in a covered area, the wood dries and reaches a moisture content close to or equal to the relative humidity. ARTICLES: Seasoned Wood: What You Need to Know, Video: How to Dry Lumber ALUMINUM OXIDE - An aggressive sandpaper or honing-stone abrasive often distinguishable by its light gray color. APRON - A horizontal member connecting the upper parts of the legs of a table. The aprons also support the tabletop. ARKANSAS STONE - A fine-grained natural honing stone used to sharpen chisels, plane blades, and other woodworking cutting tools made from steel. Cut from naturally occuring Novaculite stone primarily in Arkansas. Color varies from white to gray-black. It is used with a lubricant such as oil or water to prevent loading the stone with "fines" and maintained with a wash of mild soap, water, and a fine brush to keep the grain open. (edited by Dudley Higgins) BALTIC BIRCH PLYWOOD - Formerly a trade name, now used generically for a high-grade birch plywood made of many very thin veneers. Baltic birch is stronger and more stable than other birch plywood. Alternately referred to as Russian birch, and typically sized in metric thicknesses and as 5-ft. by 5-ft. sheets. (edited by Jason Young)  BANDSAW - A tablesaw is the first stationary power tool that many woodworkers buy, but a bandsaw is usually not far behind. In some woodshops, where handling large pieces of plywood is not part of the usual repertoire, a bandsaw may actually be the first choice. Bandsaws excel at two things: cutting curves and resawing thick planks into thinner ones. Yet they also can be used for straight-line ripping and even joinery. ARTICLES: All About Bandsaws, Five Tips for Better Bandsawing BAR CLAMP - Properly any clamp with a bar, including throat clamps and panel clamps. BANDSAW BLADE - What makes a bandsaw blade right for the job depends on the material you're cutting, the type of saw you own, and whether the cut is straight or curved. Blades are sold by their length, in inches, which varies from machine to machine. There are carbon steel, bi-metal, and carbide blades to choose from, as well as a variety of tooth configurations and blade widths. ARTICLES: All About Bandsaw Blades, Five Essential Bandsaw Jigs BEARING SURFACE - The portion of the joint or surface that bears a load. BED - A piece of furniture for sleeping; and, the part of a power tool upon which rests the item or material to cut or shape. In furniture, beds occupy the predominant place in a list of furniture types, since from earliest times they were often the most important piece of furniture in a household. (edited by Phil Gilstrap) ARTICLES: A Short History of Beds, Cradles, and Cribs, Anatomy of a Bed BENCH CHISEL - A moderately sized chisel on which the back edges are lightly chamfered. ARTICLES: Video - Bench Chisel Techniques, Bench Chisels in the Tool Guide BENCH - The terms "bench" and "form" can be used interchangeably to refer to backless and elongated wooden seating. Originally a bench may have been freestanding and movable, whereas a form referred to a bench fixed to the wall. Furthermore, the term "bench" has acquired the additional meaning of a work surface, such as a cabinetmaker's workbench. ARTICLES: A Short History of Benches, A Modern Bench  BENDING WOOD - Bending wood doesn't require superhuman strength. There are a few common recipes and procedures that can be employed to create curved parts from straight boards. They include steam bending and bent laminations. ARTICLES: All About Bending Wood, Free-Form Steam-Bending BISCUIT JOINER - In the space of a few seconds, a plate joiner (now more commonly known as a biscuit joiner) cuts matching ovoid slots in mating pieces of wood to accept a thin wood spline called a biscuit. The glued joint is very strong, and the process is both fast and accurate. ARTICLES: All About Biscuit Joiners, Biscuit Basics BOARD FOOT - A volume of wood equal to 144 cubic inches. The formula for calculating board feet is: [length (inches) times width (inches) times thickness (inches)] divided by 144. Wood sold in bulk can vary in its dimensions and is therefore sold by volume. ARTICLES: Video - Tips for Buying Lumber BOW - A type of warp in which a board is not flat along its length but rather bent like a bow. BOX JOINT - The box joint, sometimes called a finger joint, interlocks two boards at a corner. It is similar to a dovetail (with the grain going in the same direction), however, instead of angled tails and pins, box-joint fingers are straight. ARTICLES: All About Box Joints, Pinned Box Joints BOX - A box is a lidded wooden container distinguished from its larger cousin, a chest, primarily by its smaller size; the demarcation between a large box and a small chest often being a matter of opinion. ARTICLES: A Short History of Boxes, Build a Lift-Lid Box BRAD - A short, thin nail used for light-duty work. BRAD-POINT DRILL BIT - A drill bit designed for boring holes in wood, featuring a sharp point to prevent skidding over the surface and spurs to start the cut. ARTICLES: Tool Review - Brad-Point Bits  BREADBOARD END - A breadboard end is a narrow piece that is mechanically joined to the end of a larger panel. The purpose is to support and maintain the rigidity of the panel, while allowing the panel to shrink or expand across the grain. ARTICLES: All About Breadboard Ends, Trestle Table with Breadboard Ends BUILT-IN - Although strictly an oxymoron, since by definition "furniture" in the woodworking sense is generally understood to refer to movable pieces, the term built-in furniture may be taken to mean fixed architectural elements that provide the same function as their movable namesakes. ARTICLES: A Short History of Built-in Furniture, Built-in Basics BULLNOSE PLANE - A plane with a blade close to the front so that it can get into corners. BURL - A warty growth on a tree trunk. Often used in wood turning or for making veneer. Sometimes known as a burr. (submitted by Bruce Bartlett) BURR - The thin wire edge you can feel on the back edge of a blade after honing the bevel. BUTT JOINT - The butt joint is the simplest way to join two pieces of wood, forming a seam along the grain. This joint is not used to increase the length of a board, but to increase the overall width of a panel. ARTICLES: All About Butt Joints, Router Joinery  CABINET - The term "cabinet" is now generally understood to be a medium to large size piece of furniture dedicated to storage, which is accessed by doors and may consist of many small drawers or open shelving. ARTICLES: A Short History of Cabinets, Doors Make the Difference CABINET-GRADE BIRCH - A general-purpose grade of plywood with a knot-free surface, but where the veneers may not match. CARCASE - The structural frame of a cabinet. CARVING - Primarily an ornamental treatment today, carving on furniture has its origin in purely practical reasons, such as the need to shed water, prevent dust buildup, disguise joints, or provide softer edges. Similar to molding, which may be thought of as a form of carving, carvings evolved to lessen the chance of damage, either to the woodwork or the user. ARTICLES: All About Carving Techniques, The ABCs of Letter Carving C-CLAMP - A clamp with a fixed head and a handscrew shaped like the letter C. CHAIR - The simple definition of a chair as a movable seat, with a back, for a single person gives no indication of the truly vast range of objects that qualify under this description. ARTICLES: A Short History of Chairs, Chair Making Simplified CHAMFER - A beveled edge. CHECK - Longitudinal cracks in the ends of boards caused by drying. CHEST OF DRAWERS - The modern chest-of-drawers implies an actual case fitted with two or more drawers; any resemblance to an actual chest, fitted with drawers or not, is coincidental. In fact, any chest containing drawers is liable to be seen and spoken of as a chest, not of, but with drawers. Nevertheless, it is from chests that modern chests-of-drawers are descended. ARTICLES: A Short History of Chests of Drawers, Designing a Chest of Drawers CHEST - A chest may be defined as a storage receptacle, larger than a box, with access through the top, usually via a hinged lid. It may also be thought of as the ancestor to practically all furniture designed for storage, including buffets, bureaux, cabinets, chests-of-drawers, credenzas, dressers, highboys, lowboys, and sideboards. ARTICLES: A Short History of Chests, Hinges and Lid Supports for Chests CHISEL - A woodworking chisel is a basic handtool that consists of a metal blade sharpened on a bevel at one end and a wood or plastic handle. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and blade types. ARTICLES: All About Chisels and Carving Tools, Get the Most from Your Bench Chisels CHOPSAW - A powered circular saw mounted on guides with a fence to ensure accurate cuts at any angle. Also known as miter saw. CHUCK - The part of a tool that holds a bit. CIRCULAR SAW - The circular saw is a crossover tool more popular with home builders and home-improvement hobbyists than woodworkers. However, with the right features and techniques, the circular saw can succeed in the wood shop at cutting sheet goods, straight edges, and ripping and cross-cutting lumber to length.. ARTICLES: All About Circular Saws, A Circular Saw in the Furniture Shop?  CLAMP - Clamps (or cramps, as the English like to say) come in a variety of sizes and styles. A clamp can be as simple and inexpensive as a heavy rubber band, but most woodworking clamps are constructed largely of metal and can develop hundreds of pounds of pressure. ARTICLES: All About Clamps, Get Serious About Clamping CLEAT - A piece fastened to or across something to give it strength or hold it in position. CLOCK - The clock became an article of furniture as a result of the discovery by Galileo of the pendulum, which made necessary a long case to protect the cords and chains on which the weights providing the movement were hung. ARTICLES: A Short History of Clocks, Making a Wood Clockworks COLLET - A device that holds a bit in a chuck by compression. COLORING WOOD - Woodworkers are sometimes baffled and intimidated by the many choices available to them when they want to add color to their projects. Some techniques are easy to accomplish, others can be more complicated, but just like applying clear finishes, none of the methods used to add color are really too difficult to master with a little practice. ARTICLES: All About Coloring Wood, Avoid Color Mistakes in Finishing Wood and Learn How to Fix a Blotchy Stain COMBINATION SQUARE - A measuring and layout tool that combines a sliding rule with a base capable of measuring both 45 degrees and 90 degrees. COMMON PINE - A grade of pine that is structurally sound but that allows for knots. Grade 1 pine has the fewest knots, whereas Grade 5 has the most. COMPOUND MITER SAW - A miter saw capable of tilting the blade off the vertical, a critical attribute for cutting crown moldings. COMPRESSOR - It's hard to overstate just how useful an air compressor can be in a woodshop. Compressors not only power a wide range of tools -- everything from nail guns to spray guns and sanders -- but they also clean off dusty tools and people. ARTICLES: All About Air Compressors, Choosing a Compressor CONDITIONER-STAIN or PRESTAIN - A sealer coat used on hard-to-stain woods. It soaks into the areas of end grain and seals them, making subsequent coats of stain absorb more evenly. CORNER CHISEL - A chisel with two adjoining faces used for squaring corners. COUNTERBORE (n.) - The bit used for counterboring a hole. (v.) The act of making a larger-diameter enlargement in the outer end of a hole for accepting a plug or a nut and washer. COUNTERSINK (n.) - The bit used for countersinking a hole. (v.) The act of making a funnel-shaped enlargement in the outer end of a hole for accepting the head of a fastener. CROOK - A type of warp in which a board isn't straight end-to-end along the edge. CROSSCUT - A cut across the width of a board. CROSS-GRAIN - Grain that runs perpendicular to the length of a board. CUP or CUPPING - A condition of a piece of wood in which it is warped across its wid. CUPBOARD - One or more boards for storing cups formed the first "cupboard." As a place to deposit leftover or surplus food for distribution to the poor as a form of alms, built-in shelves, and later, freestanding enclosed shelving units -- or cupboards with ventilated doors -- became known as almeries or aumbries. ARTICLES: A Short History of Cupboards, Corner Cupboard DADO - A square-bottomed groove running the width of a piece. Properly, a groove runs lengthwise, a dado across the width. DESK - A desk is a table dedicated to reading or writing and, as such, originally implied a sloping top. ARTICLES: A Short History of Desks, Build a Computer Desk DIMENSIONAL LUMBER - Lumber that has been dried to about 10% moisture content and surfaced on four sides to standard dimensions. DOOR - There are a number of design and construction options to consider when making doors for cabinets and other woodworking projects. ARTICLES: Door Essentials, Frame-and-Panel Doors  DOVETAIL JOINT - Considered one of the strongest and certainly the most beautiful of joints, the dovetail exacts a stiff price in terms of skill for the strength and good looks it provides. The dovetail joint provides considerable mechanical strength because when the joint is assembled, it can't be twisted or racked. And the shape of the dovetail (pins on one end and tails on the other) makes it impossible to take apart in one direction and difficult in the other. ARTICLES: All About Dovetail Joints, My Favorite Dovetail Tricks DOWEL - Relatively speaking, the dowel is a modern innovation in joinery that has come about with the invention of power tools and jigs. As mechanical means of joining two boards, dowels are adequate substitutes for more traditional joinery techniques. ARTICLES: All About Dowels and Biscuits, The Dowel Joint DRAWER - From quick and easy to hand-cut and fussy, there are a number of ways to design and construct drawers for furniture. Drawer fronts can be inset (or flush), full overlay, or half overlay. The construction can range from dovetail to nailed and glued. And hardware can range from none at all to metal drawer slides and factory-made knobs and pulls. ARTICLES: Drawer Essentials, Quick and Sturdy Drawer Construction DRILL PRESS - Drill presses are precision tools, capable of boring holes in exact locations at carefully controlled depths. ARTICLES: All About Drill Presses, Get More From Your Drill Press DRILL-DRIVER - The technical name for an electric drill that drills holes and drives screws. Drills with power cords have gradually morphed into cordless tools that are used as much for driving screws as they are for boring holes. ARTICLES: All About Drill-Drivers, Best Practices for Drilling DRILL-DRIVER ACCESSORY - Drills and drivers are versatile tools, thanks to the variety of bits and accessories available to woodworkers from chucks to jigs to specialty bits. ARTICLES: All About Drill-Driver Accessories, Brad-point Bits DUST COLLECTION - Woodworking inevitably creates piles of shavings and clouds of airborne dust -- at best a housekeeping inconvenience and at worst a serious health hazard. There are a variety of devices that will help, from ceiling-mounted air cleaners and efficient shop vacuums to full-blown dust collection systems that can serve several stationary tools at once. ARTICLES: All About Dust Collection, Dust Collection Demystified DYE STAIN - A water- or alcohol-based stain that penetrates the surface of the wood and often enhances the appearance of the grain. ARTICLES: All About Dyes and Stains, Dyes Can Do It All  END GRAIN - The open grain showing at the end of a board, and sometimes on the face of the board. ENGINEER'S SQUARE - An all-metal fixed square. EPOXY - Epoxy resin is a versatile material that finds uses as diverse as boatbuilding and fine furniture making. It can be used in finishing, as an adhesive, or for a variety of specialty applications such as inlay. Epoxy is also a waterproof glue. Open times are typically short, with the cure time ranging from five minutes to overnight depending on the formulations and conditions. ARTICLES: All About Epoxy, Epoxy Inlay FACE GRAIN - The familiar cathedral grain pattern seen on the face of most flatsawn boards. FILE AND RASP - Files and rasps are shaping tools that with practice can offer more control than power tools while reducing the amount of time you'll have to spend sanding. ARTICLES: All About Files and Rasps, Shape Wood with Rasps and Files FIXED-BASE ROUTER - A router in which the motor and bit are fixed while the bit is turning. FIXTURE - A device for supporting work during machining. FLAT SAWN - A method of sawing logs by cutting along the length of the boards. This is the most cost-effective way to produce lumber. Also said to be sawn through-and-throug. FORSTNER BIT - A type of drill bit used mostly for larger-diameter holes. Two or three spurs are surrounded by a toothed rim. Forstner bits work well for angled cuts or when part of the bit must be off the workpiece. FRAME-AND-PANEL- Frame-and-panel construction is a popular method for making doors, cabinetry, and a variety of furniture and architectural components. Its primary purpose is to create a large panel with minimal wood movement. ARTICLES: All About Frame-and-Panel Construction, Frame-and-Panel Doors Made Easy GARNET - A soft abrasive best suited for sanding bare wood. It leaves a slightly burnished surface that often results in a lighter, more even color when used before staining.  GEL STAINS - Stains that are thickened for ease of use on vertical surfaces. GLUE-UP - The assembly and glue-up phase is a critical step of any woodworking project. To ensure the quality and integrity of the finished piece, the final assembly process requires adequate preparation and an assembly strategy. ARTICLES: All About Assembly and Glue Up, Hide Glue: A Closer Look GRAIN - Generally refers to the direction of cells in a piece of wood. The term also refers to the appearance of a board, which is distinctive for each species of wood as well as for how the piece was cut from the log. GRINDER - A grinder offers a quick way of sharpening dull edges and resurrecting nicked or chipped edge tools. They range from bench grinders (mounted to a bench) for sharpening tools and grinding away material, to hand held right-angle grinders used in furnituremaking for shaping wood. ARTICLES: All About Grinders, Grinding Wheel Primer GROOVE - A wide kerf running the length of a piece. Properly, a groove runs lengthwise, a dado across the width. GULLET - The valley between the teeth on a sawblade. HAMMER AND MALLET - Woodworkers are forever pounding, tapping, or adjusting something, or so it seems. There are nails to drive, plane irons to set, furniture to assemble, and dovetails to chop. And for all of these jobs, there is at least one specially designed hammer or mallet. ARTICLES: All About Hammers and Mallets, Hammers and Mallets HAND PLANE - Hand planes represent an important group of tools, not only for woodworkers pursuing traditional techniques but also for woodshops that rely mostly on machines. Planes do everything from remove milling marks on the edges of freshly sawn or jointed lumber to surfacing large table tops. ARTICLES: All About Hand Planes, Handplane Blade Angles HANDSAW - Power tools have largely replaced handsaws in the toolboxes of many carpenters but furniture makers, especially those who like to cut joinery the traditional way, could not get along without them. There are many styles and sizes to choose from and yet there are only two traditional types of Western saw -- rip and crosscut. Japanese crosscut saws, which many Western woodworkers have adopted, are fundamentally different. ARTICLES: All About Handsaws, Japanese-Style Dovetail Saws HANDSCREW - The modern version of this clamp, patented in 1901 by Hans Jorgensen, has two swiveling steel screws, driven by a handle on each screw, that pull together the wooden jaws. The swiveling screws allow this clamp to hold work with non-parallel surfaces. Earlier handscrew clamps had non-pivoting wooden screws and required parallel surfaces. (submitted by Tom O'Brien) HAND-SANDING BLOCK - A block of felt, cork, rubber, or wood around which sandpaper is wrapped. A sanding block ensures flatness when sanding. HARDBOARD - A very dense homogeneous product made by combining finely milled sawdust with binders and adhesives. This is the material used to make pegboard. Often used for jigs and drawer bottoms. HARDWOOD - The wood of deciduous trees, which are those that lose their leaves in autumn. HATCH MARK - Straight or squiggly lines drawn on a workpiece to show where the parts of a joint overlap. It's an informal marking, intended to delineate the area where glue will be applied. HEARTWOOD - The mature wood in a tree between the pith in the center and the sapwood near the edges. HOLDFAST - A forged piece of curved iron used to fasten a workpiece securely to a workbench top by way of holes in the benchtop. (submitted by Tom Fidgen) HOLLOW-CHISEL MORTISER - Mortising machines are really specialized drill presses that combine an auger with a hollow chisel to bore square holes. The auger removes most of the waste, while the chisel edges shear off remaining material on the sides of the cut. ARTICLES: All About Hollow-Chisel Mortisers, Master the Mortiser HOLLOW-GRIND - A concave profile on the bevel of a chisel or plane blade, usually created when the bevel is ground on a bench grinder. HONING - part of the sharpening process where a blade's bevel is abraded with ever finer abrasives at a set angle (most often 30 degree) to make it level, flat, and smooth. HORIZONTAL MORTISER - A drilling machine with the bit oriented horizontally rather than vertically. The machine's table supports the work piece and can be adjusted up or down. The work piece is the fed into the bit either by hand or with the aid of an X-Y Table. (submitted by Scott M. King) INDIA STONE - A honing stone made from aluminum oxide grits. INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY - Shapers and combination machines, to name a few, are powerful woodworking tools more commonly found in professional and production woodshops. ARTICLES: All About Industrial Machinery, Consider a Shaper IRON - The blade of a handplane. JACKING - A condition that occurs in a screw-fastened joint when the threads grip the upper piece and force the two pieces apart as the screw is driven. Can be prevented by boring a properly sized pilot hole in the upper piece. JIG - A device used to maintain parts in the correct position during cutting or assembly. JIGSAW - A hand power tool with a reciprocating blade used for cutting curves. Jigsaws are versatile, maneuverable power tools that can make both straight and curved cuts. A jigsaw cuts with a saber-shaped blade that moves up and down as it cuts. ARTICLES: All About Jigsaws, Evaluating Eight Professional-Grade Jigsaws JOINERY - The process of joining pieces of wood together; the word embraces many methods. JOINTER - A stationary power tool with a rotating cutterhead set between two tables. Jointers are used to flatten and straighten the face of a board, or make an edge square to the face. ARTICLES: All About Jointers, Get the Most From Your Jointer KERF - The groove left by a saw. Sometimes refers to the material removed in making the groove. KICKBACK - When a piece of wood binds on a tablesaw blade, and the speed and power of the blade launches the wood back at the operator with potentially lethal force. KILN - A chamber for drying wood using a complex interplay of heat, steam, and sometimes vacuum. LACQUER - Lacquer is often regarded as the best all-around finish for wood. It dries quickly, and it's durable. There are several different types of lacquer available to woodworkers. ARTICLES: All About Lacquers, Finish Recipe: Spraying Lacquer LAG SCREW - A long, large-diameter coarse screw with a hex head. LAP JOINT - The lap joint comes in a number of styles and applications, but each follows the same general principle: Two joining parts are cut to overlap. ARTICLES: All About Lap Joints, Perfecting a Lap Joint LATHE - All lathes consist of a motor that turns the work through the headstock, a set of rails that supports a tool rest and an adjustable tailstock that moves along the rails. Where lathes differ is in the size and power of the motor, the maximum length of work that can fit between head and tail stock, the maximum diameter of work that will fit between the headstock and the rails (called the "swing"), and the method used to control the turning speed of the work. ARTICLES: All About Lathes, Homemade Lathe on a Budget LEG, FEET, AND BASE - The foundation of any piece of furniture is the base on which it rests. In addition to providing structural support, the base will set the tone for the design. Whether you're constructing feet or legs, there are a number of options to consider. ARTICLES: All About Legs, Feet, and Bases, Three Federal Legs LIGHT-FASTNESS - The ability of a product to resist a change in color when exposed to light. LONG GRAIN - Grain that runs parallel to the length of a board. MARKING TOOL - Marking gauges and knives are simple but essential layout tools for furniture making. There are several styles, but all of these tools are used to scribe reference lines in wood, either with the grain or perpendicular to it. A marking gauge has a narrow fence and a short pin used to mark layout lines. ARTICLES: All About Marking Tools, 11 Essential Measuring and Marking Tools MEASURING AND MARKING JIG - Every woodworking project, from simple to complex, involves measuring and marking. In projects that lean toward complex, standard marking tools don't always suffice. In these cases, a jig or fixture can help. ARTICLES: All About Measuring and Marking Jigs MEASURING TOOL - Accurate measurements are the foundation of just about anything produced in a shop. Measuring devices are just as varied as the objects they are designed to measure, good for extremely small distances as well as very large ones. ARTICLES: All About Measuring Tools, 11 Essential Measuring and Marking Tools MDF - Medium-density fiberboard, made by combining finely milled sawdust with binders and adhesives. Sold in 4x8-ft. sheets like plywood, MDF is strong, heavy, stable, and easy to machine and paint. MDO - Medium-density overlay, a type of plywood with a tough, smooth coating. Also called signboard. MICRO-BEVEL - A secondary, narrow bevel applied to the cutting edge of a plane blade or chisel. MILLING LUMBER - Square and straight stock is essential to woodworking. If you lay a foundation of accuracy when milling lumber, then your joinery and assembly have a much better chance of going together smoothly and sweetly. ARTICLES: All About Milling Lumber, Getting Started in Woodworking: Milling Rough Lumber MITER BOX - A device for guiding a handsaw for making square crosscuts or angled miter cuts. MITER JOINT - A miter is the division, into two equal parts, of an overall angle created by intersecting (frame) parts. In order for miters to be effective and look good, they must fit together perfectly. Any minute inaccuracy will affect both looks and strength. ARTICLES: All About Miter Joints, A Stronger Miter MITER SAW - An electric saw that swivels on a base used for making square crosscuts and angle cuts at virtually any angle from 0 degrees to about 50 degrees (depending on the brand). Mitersaws have evolved from basic tools that could make simple miter cuts in relatively small stock into much more complicated machines that are indispensable to all kinds of carpenters and furniture makers. ARTICLES: All About Miter Saws, Choosing and Using a Miter Saw MORTISE-AND-TENON JOINT - A mortise-and-tenon joint is a means of joining two pieces of wood at an angle (usually 90°) to each other. A protruding tenon, cut at the end of one piece, fits into a corresponding recess, called a mortise, in the other. This joint is a staple in the construction of chairs, tables, cabinets, frames, doors, windows, and paneling. ARTICLES: All About Mortise-and-Tenon Joints, Build Your Own Mortising Jig MORTISE GAUGE - A handtool with a narrow fence and two short adjustable pins used to mark the sides of a mortise. NIB - A slight roughness left on the surface of paint, varnish, shellac, and similar coatings that can be removed by a light sanding. NOMINAL DIMENSION - Standardized widths and thicknesses of lumber sawn from a log. The actual sizes are reduced by shrinkage in the drying process, and by planing. (submitted by Bruce Bartlett) OIL FINISH - Terminology in the coatings industry can be confusing: what is often called an "oil finish" is in fact an oil and varnish mixture. Examples of oils commonly used in these formulations are linseed, soybean, and tung oil. Takes a long time to dry but enhances the grain. ARTICLES: All About Oils, Pros and Cons of Oil Finishes OIL/WAX FINISH - A very old recipe that combines oils, beeswax, and some dryers. Imparts a soft patina. OPEN GRAIN - Describes a type of ring-porous wood with large open pores. (submitted by Bruce Bartlett) OPEN TIME - The length of time available after adhesive application for adjustment of the parts being joined. After the open time has elapsed, adjustment becomes more difficult and may weaken the adhesive bond. Open times vary in length depending on the adhesive. For example, so-called "instant glues" and contact cements have very short open times, measured in seconds. Open time can be sometimes be controlled by application of heat or a catalyst. (submitted by Tom O'Brien) PAINT - The most obvious, and often the most overlooked way to add color to wood is to paint it. Some purists scoff at the idea, but it's a time-honored technique that's as old as custom-built furniture. ARTICLES: All About Paints, Three Steps to a Flawless Painted Finish PANEL CLAMP - A clamp used for joining wide panels. The work rests on the bars to keep the bottom side flat, while the narrow-throated jaws grip the edges of the panel. Sometimes called a sash clamp. PERIOD FURNITURE - Throughout history, trends in furniture design have evolved alongside societies, the materials they had access to, and advancements in technology. Today's historian thus has a variety of characteristics to apply to furniture to determine the date in which it was made. ARTICLES: A Short History of Furniture Periods, A Short History of Influential Designers PIGMENT STAIN - An oil- or water-based stain that colors the wood by applying a light film of pigment on the surface. PILOT HOLE - A small-diameter hole used to guide a screw or larger drill. When used in reference to screws, it refers to a hole as long as the screw with a slightly smaller diameter. PIPE CLAMP - A type of clamp made up of removable head and screw mechanisms mounted on standard black iron pipe. PITH - The center of a tree. Generally this wood is not desirable for woodworking. PLANER - A benchtop planer is basically a sheet metal box with a movable motor and cutterhead assembly that's adjusted up and down over a fixed bed by means of a hand crank. It has a flat table and a rotating cutterhead to remove wood from the top of a board until it reaches the desired thickness ARTICLES: All About Planers, Shopmade Planer Table PLUG - Also called bung. A round, tapered cylinder of wood set into a counterbored hole and cut flush. When installed properly, a plug is virtually invisible. Proper plugs are made with face grain showing at the top. PLUNGE-BASE ROUTER - A router that is designed to be raised and lowered into position while the bit is turning. PLY - A layer of veneer in a plywood panel. PNEUMATIC NAILER - Air-powered nail guns offer many advantages that the hammer-and-nail approach, no matter how honorable, can't hope to match. ARTICLES: All About Pneumatic Nailers, Tool Test: Brad Nailers POCKET HOLE - A long, angled hole bored in the face of a board near the edge that nearly pierces the side of the board. A pocket-hole jig is a tool used to drill the angled holes needed for pocket-hole joinery. POLYURETHANE ADHESIVE - A waterproof adhesive that cures in the presence of moisture. POWER TOOL JIG - The anticipated use for any given power tool is only a small portion of what it can actually accomplish in the shop when coupled with innovative jigs and fixtures. ARTICLES: All About Power Tool Jigs, Strong Miter Joints with a Biscuit-Joiner Jig PUSH STICK - Push sticks, push blocks, hold-ins, and featherboards are simple little things, usually made up from scraps around the shop. But there's a common thread among the woodworkers who unfailingly use them -- more than likely they've got all ten fingers. ARTICLES: All About Push Sticks, Essential Push Sticks QUARTERSAWN - A method of sawing logs that involves rotating the log to yield the maximum amount of clear, straight, dimensionally stable lumber. RABBET - This simple joint, in which the ends of boards are joined at right angles by removing a portion of one board's thickness to accommodate another board, is very easy to make. In addition to increasing the glue surface, the rabbet also provides support and alignment for the two pieces. ARTICLES: All About Rabbet and Dado Joints, A Lesson in Basic Joinery RABBET PLANE - A plane with a blade that extends to the edge of the sole, a feature particularly useful when cutting or trimming rabbets. RACK (v.) - To be forced out of square and into a parallelogram shape. RADIUSED - A rounded surface. Usually used in reference to corners and edges. RAIL - The horizontal part of a frame. RAY FLECK - The peculiar grain structure shown in quartersawn lumber caused by the sectioning of storage pockets in the grain. The degree of flecking varies from species to species. RESAW - The process of ripping a board (on a bandsaw or tablesaw) to make it thinner. RIFTSAWN - A board that shows the growth rings on the end grain as lines running about 45 degrees off the vertical. RIP - A cut made the length of a board, parallel to the run of the grain. ROOT DIAMETER - The diameter of the core of a threaded object, such as a screw or drill bit. ROUTER ACCESSORY - Routers get much of their versatility from the wide assortment of bits, guides, and work tables that are available for them. Although many jigs and fixtures can be made in the shop, sophisticated accessories are readily available from a variety of manufacturers. ARTICLES: All About Router Accessories, Sorting Out Straight Router Bits ROUTER JIG - Out of the box you can use a router for edge shaping, routing slots for inlay, and trimming laminate. Shaping trim is probably the first and foremost use for the machine, and there is a large and ever-growing selection of router-bit profiles to choose from. However, it is with the addition of jigs and fixtures that the tool's versatility multiplies. ARTICLES: All About Router Jigs, Build Your Own Mortising Jig ROUTER - There are many variations on this tool but only two basic types: fixed base and plunge routers. Some routers are available as kits that include both a fixed base and a base for making plunge cuts. These offer a less costly alternative to buying two different tools. ARTICLES: All About Routers, 12 Tips for Router-Table Safety S2S - Boards that are surfaced on two sides but where the edges are not necessarily machined. S4S boards are surfaced on four sides.. SANDER - Sanders come in as many varieties as any tool in the shop, from detail sanders that can reach into corners or smooth molding profiles to heavy belt sanders that quickly grind down uneven edges and flatten rough panels to stationary drum sanders. ARTICLES: All About Sanders SAPWOOD - The younger wood near the bark of the tree. In many species this wood is a different color than the heartwood and is less stable. SAW BLADE - Although blades for a miter saw or a tablesaw represent a sizable investment, they have a great deal to do with the quality of cut and how much attention a sawn edge will need after it comes off the saw. ARTICLES: All About Saw Blades, Tool Test: Bandsaw Blades SCROLL SAW - Scroll saws are very useful for specialty work such as inlay and marquetry, fretwork, instrument making and for detailing period furniture and architectural millwork. They cut with a short up-and-down motion, just like a coping saw, in material up to about 2 in. thick. ARTICLES: All About Scroll Saws, Choosing and Using a Scroll Saw SEALING AND PRIMING - Most finishes are self-sealing, meaning that the first coat that goes on the wood soaks in, dries, and does the job of preparing it for subsequent coats of finish just fine. But there are three reasons to consider using another type of finish as the sealer coat. ARTICLES: All About Sealing and Priming, A Durable Exterior Finish SELECT PINE - A grade of pine that is nearly clear, allowing for only a few pin knots. SET - On a saw blade it refers to how a saw tooth bends away from the centerline of the blade. The combination of the alternately set teeth creates the kerf width. In gluing, it refers to the process in which the glue dries. (submitted by Jason Young) ARTICLES: Video: Sharpen a Dovetail Saw SHANK - The unthreaded portion of a wood screw just below the head. Also, the portion of a router bit or drill bit that fits into a chuck. SHARPENING - The tremendous variety of cutting tools found in a woodworking shop has helped to create a similar variety of sharpening systems. They range from the plain to the exotic, and almost always rely on some kind of abrasive material. ARTICLES: All About Sharpening, Sharpening Services SHELLAC - Shellac is often used as a sealer coat and as a barrier coat between other finishes, such as oil and varnish, or when refinishing antique furniture. Over itself, each coat of shellac melts into and bonds with any previous coats. ARTICLES: All About Shellac, Mixing Shellac SHELVES or BOOKCASE - While a case suggests a closed object, bookcases are now very commonly open fronted, and as such are often really no more than a simple series of shelves designed to hold books. ARTICLES: A Short History of Shelves and Bookcases, Quick, Sturdy Bookcase SIDE GRAIN - Straight, even grain running along the edge of a flatsawn board. SIDEBOARD - The first sideboard was doubtless a simple shelf on the wall near a dining table used for plates and food during meals (in distinction to a cupboard which constituted a more permanent repository for plate and cups). By the 18th century, the sideboard had retreated to the kitchen where it became a more utilitarian item sometimes known as a Welsh dresser, containing not only open shelving but also enclosed cupboards below -- effectively becoming the ancestor of today's kitchen cabinetry. ARTICLES: A Short History of Sideboards, Sideboard Strategies SILICON CARBIDE - A very aggressive sandpaper abrasive intended for use on finished surfaces. SOFTWOOD - The wood of conifers. SOLE - The bottom of a plane; its plane of reference. SOLID WOOD LUMBER - A term used to describe hardwood and softwood lumber, as opposed to manmade wood products and sheetgoods like plywood and multidensity fiberboard (MDF). ARTICLES: All About Solid Wood Lumber, Lumber from Mini-Mills SPALTING or SPALTED - Partially decayed wood with irregular discoloration bounded by darker zone lines. Spalting is considered a weakness in certain woods and highly sought after in others. (submitted by Bruce Bartlett) SPECIALTY JOINT - Joinery can always be accomplished with simple means, but with a little creativity a simple joint can become a complex one. Combining components of several joints into one advanced operation can be accomplished to create a wide variety of specialty joints. ARTICLES: All About Specialty Joints, The Wizard's Secrets SPLINE JOINT - A spline is a strip of wood, plywood, or other material (such as Masonite), inserted into matching grooves or plows, along the edges of two boards. The purpose is to reinforce and align the edges. A spline can be used as a substitute for the tongue and groove. ARTICLES: All About Spline Joints SPLITTER - A piece of shaped wood or metal that sits behind the tablesaw blade to prevent kickback by keeping the wood from binding on the blade. A riving knife is a variation on the splitter. SPRAY GUN - In professional shops, where time is money, spray guns rule. And new innovations in spray equipment have made this technique suitable for the hobbyist. ARTICLES: All About Spray Guns, Make a Simple Spray Booth STICKERING - A method of stacking wood that keeps air circulating around all sides. Rather than piling one board atop another, several pieces of wood about 1 in. high rest between each layer to allow air to circulate. A sticker is a small piece of wood placed between layers in a stack of wood to provide space for air to circulate. STILE - The vertical member of a frame. STOP COLLAR - A ring that fastens in place around a drill bit or countersink to control the depth of cut. STRETCHER - A structural member between the legs of a chair or table. SURFACE PREPARATION - No matter what type of finish you choose to put on a project, the end result will depend upon the degree to which the surface was properly prepared. ARTICLES: All About Surface Preparation, When to Stop Sanding? TABLE - Although there are innumerable uses for tables, they all share one thing in common: a surface, typically flat and horizontal, that may be used for working on or eating from. Beyond this there are probably more kinds of tables than there are types of any other class of furniture. ARTICLES: A Short History of Tables, The Right Edge for Your Tabletop TABLESAW - A tablesaw is capable of a wide range of jobs -- from ripping solid lumber and sheets of plywood to precise crosscuts and joinery. Few tools are as versatile or used as often. ARTICLES: All About Tablesaws, A Tablesaw Primer: Ripping and Crosscutting TABLESAW ACCESSORY - Tablesaws are central to many woodworking shops, and a long list of accessories make these versatile tools even more useful, and safer, than they already are. ARTICLES: All About Tablesaw Accessories, Shopmade Tenon Jig TABLESAW JIG - The tablesaw is not only the centerpiece of nearly every woodworking shop, it is almost a prerequisite for the practice of woodworking. The tool's unrivaled specialty is ripping lumber to width. But with the addition of simple jigs and fixtures, the tablesaw can become one of the most versatile machines in the shop, adapting itself to almost any operation. ARTICLES: All About Tablesaw Jigs, Two Versatile Miter Sleds THROAT CLAMP - A type of clamp where the head and screw are at least 4 in. or so from the bar. THROAT PLATE - The removable insert around a tablesaw with a slot for the sawblade. TONGUE AND GROOVE JOINT - These joints consist of a short tongue cut along one edge, usually centered on the thickness of the material. On the other edge, a corresponding groove runs the length of the edge of the board. One advantage is the edges are registered, requiring little planing or cleaning up later. Another advantage is the increased glue surface. The single disadvantage might be that the joint is visible from the end of the panel. ARTICLES: All About Tongue-and-Groove Joints, Starting Out: Simple Bookcase Joints TRIM, MOLDING, AND EDGING - Dress up an edge, conceal end grain or plywood edges, or add detail to a base or top with any number of trim, molding, and edging techniques ranging from simple to sophisticated. ARTICLES: All About Trim, Molding, and Edging, 10 Edge Treatments for Furniture TUNG OIL - Natural oil made from the seeds of the tung tree. Slow drying but flexible. TURNING - Wood turning is the shaping of wood using a wood lathe and hand-held chisels. Turning falls into two broad categories -- faceplate turning and spindle turning. Each one relies on a special set of tools and techniques. Faceplate turning is used for bowls, vessels, and other round objects, while spindle turning is used for such things as furniture legs and decorative elements. ARTICLES: All About Turning, A Short History of Wood Turnings, Wood Turning Photo Gallery TURNING TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES - Turning is its own specialty, and turners have developed a wide variety of cutting tools, some of them highly customized, that can be roughly divided into four basic groups: gouges, scrapers, chisels and parting tools. Like carving tools, they come in a wide range of sizes, and they can be custom-ground to suit individual preferences. ARTICLES: All About Turning Tools and Accessories TWIST - A defect in a board in which the ends of the board are not in the same plane. < |
Welcome to Fine Woodworking's online series "Getting Started in Woodworking," a multi-step program designed to guide you through the basics of woodworking and furniture making.
Typically a woodworking shop starts in a corner of the garage or basement with a few tools. Over time you develop new skills, add tools to take on new projects, and expand the shop as you acquire a greater interest (or obsession) with woodworking.
Cutting boards are a great first project for the novice woodworker because the process will introduce you to a number of basic woodworking tools and techniques and you end up with a project that is practical and attractive.
Joinery is one of the most essential elements of woodworking and furniture making. Almost everything you build from wood will require parts to be joined and in this episode of our series Getting Started in Woodworking we demonstrate the variety of techniques available to beginner woodworkers from screws to specialized woodworking joints.
Learn the basics of hand-tool woodworking in this two-part project video where we guide you through building a small elegant box.
Woodworking hand tools, most notably hand planes and chisels, are some of the most useful tools in the woodshop. In the time it takes to set up many power tool operations, you could have finished the job faster by hand. However, your success with hand tools depends on your ability to keep your planes and chisels sharp.
A block plane is probably the first hand plane you'll use when getting started in woodworking. It's a relatively affordable hand tool and it's versatile. Plus, its diminutive size makes it easy to use with one hand for all types of woodworking tasks, including smoothing edges, breaking corners, trimming one surface flush to another, cleaning up end grain, and fitting joinery.
In episode 10 of our series, Getting Started in Woodworking, we complete our first season with a demonstration on how to apply an oil-and-wax wood finish. This finishing recipe is extremely simple and very effective. It will work for about 95 percent of the projects most woodworkers build; the only exceptions are surfaces that need to take a lot of abuse, such as a dining table tabletop.