Wood and Shop

Intro to Wood Veneering & Inlay with Dave Heller
In this video Dave Heller shares an introduction to wood veneering and wood inlay for furniture making. What is veneering and inlay? They are traditional methods used to embellish and beautify furniture. Veneering is the process of gluing thin slices of attractive (and often rare) wood onto core panels. Inlay involves insetting wood, precious stones, etc. into the wood. Here's a prime example of one of Dave's boxes that incorporates both techniques: Here is an example
Make Mitered London Style Dovetails with Dave Heller
In this video Dave Heller shares a detailed tutorial on making fancy London-style dovetails with a mitered corner. The London-style dovetail originated in, well, London where cabinetmakers sought to show off their joinery skills by cutting the finest pins possible. Adding a miter to dovetails is very useful for wrapping a dovetailed skirt around a tool chest, or for adding embellishment to a cupboard's carcass. In the very near future I'll be releasing the last video,
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
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
Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking Class
I recently taught a three day "Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking" class here at my traditional woodworking school in Virginia, and want to share the experience to give you an idea of what the class is like. The first thing students do in this class is learn about & try out workbenches and all the different hand tools in the shop. Then they jump in and use a folding rule to measure out a length
Woodturning Basics with Will Myers Part 1: Turning Tools, Lathe, & Roughing a Spindle
In the above video Will Myers teaches the basics of woodturning for woodworkers. He starts by showing how to prepare and center the wood, then discusses woodturning tools & parts of the lathe. And finally he begins roughing out a spindle for a classic cherry shaker candle table. This tutorial comes from the class and DVD: "Building the Hancock Shaker Candle Stand with Will Myers". If you'd like to build this historical candle stand along

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.