Making & DIY
Open now
Woodworking
Hand tools first. Build a shelf you'll actually use.
3levels, ending in furniture for your own home
45 mina Step, on average
$85to start Level 1
FreeLevel 1, always
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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