Wood and Shop

Dave Heller: Fine Furniture Maker & Marquetarian
A few months ago Dave Heller, a custom furniture maker and Marquetry expert, reached out to me about teaching at the Wood and Shop Traditional Woodworking School. When he brought over some of his fine furniture, I was really impressed. He's truly an artist, and way better than me! (You can see his furniture here on his website and here on his Instagram account). Like many woodworkers, Dave first pursued woodworking as a hobby. He
Making White Oak Ladders
Recently I taught a private two-day class to a nice lady named Michelle, from New York City, and her father Brian, who lives here in Earlysville, Virginia. Michelle was eager to learn how to build ladders and step stools, so I came up with an antique-style ladder, patterned after photographs that I found, and a super cool Shaker wall-hanging step stool. I wanted the ladders to be very strong, so we used 6/4 white oak (1.5-inches thick when rough),
Build a Sailor’s Tool Chest with Tom Calisto Class
In this video Tom Calisto shows his lovely reproduction Sailor tool chest, in anticipation for the upcoming October 17-20th class "Build a Sailor’s Tool Chest with Tom Calisto". Tom is not only an expert furniture maker and tool maker, but an avid sailor. He modeled this sailing tool chest on an antique that he fell in love with years ago. In this 4 day class students will learn the invaluable skill of cutting angled through
How to Make Half-blind Dovetails for Drawers with James Huggett
In this video James Huggett shares a very detailed tutorial on how to cut a half-blind dovetail joint with hand tools, for use on drawers and case pieces. Jim has cut many dovetails over the years, and here are some of the lovely dovetailed drawers that Jim has made using this half-blind dovetail joint: Notice the deeply scribed layout line on these drawers. That, along with irregular and more delicate pins, are a sure sign
James Huggett’s Dream Woodworking Workshop
In the above video James "Jim" Huggett shares a recent tour of his Furniture Making workshop in Earlysville, Virginia, just a few miles from the Wood And Shop Traditional Woodworking School. Jim reached out to me over a year ago, after he learned that my shop & school were just down the road from him. I dropped by his workshop (J.F. Huggett Custom Furniture), and was amazed that such an accomplished and skilled furniture maker
Make a Tusk Tenon Joint with Hand Tools (Part 1/5)
In this video, hand tool woodworking expert Will Myers shows his method for making the strong and attractive wedged tusk tenon (or keyed tenon), and he demonstrates it during his building of a Moravian Workbench at Roy Underhill's Woodwright's School. A tusk tenon is especially great for furniture that needs to be collapsible. A wedge is tapped down into a mortise, and tightens the mortise and tenon joint right up. And tapping the bottom of the wedge
Shave Horse for Green Woodworking with the Ellis Bros.
Recently my friends Ervin & Willie Ellis came to visit my school, to plan out an upcoming class called “Make a German Shave Horse with Ervin & Willie Ellis”. In the above video they demonstrate how to use a shaving horse for making timber frame pegs, a tomahawk handle, and traditional roof shingles. You can learn more about their two day shaving horse class here. There are no openings for the July class, but the October

TOOL BUYING GUIDE

Joshua’s buyer’s guides for which hand tools to buy for traditional woodworking.

WOODWORKING PROJECTS

Woodworking projects for beginners and more advanced woodworkers. Build your hand tool skills!

WORKSHOPS & TOURS

Watch video tours of traditional workshops and other fascinating places for woodworkers.

20 BEGINNER’S HAND TOOLS

See the most basic list of tools to buy first when starting traditional woodworking.

10 STEPS: GET STARTED

Learn Joshua’s simplified 10 steps of how to get started in traditional woodworking.

WOOD JOINERY

Learn how to cut different joints like dovetails and mortise & tenon by hand.

DIMENSIONING WOOD

Learn how to dimension wood so it is square, true, flat, and smooth.

CHOOSING LUMBER

Learn how to choose & buy lumber that is stable, beautiful, and useful for furniture.

TOOL SHARPENING

Learn how to sharpen & tune different traditional woodworking hand tools.

TOOL REFURBISHING

Learn how to refurbish antique woodworking hand tools to usable condition.

JOSHUA’S BLOG

See a full chronological list of Joshua’s woodworking video blog posts & articles.

HAND TOOL TUTORIALS

Learn how to use hand planes, hand saws, chisels, & many other hand tools.