How to Square Boards with Woodworking Hand Tools
Make your lumber flat and square for woodworking
By Joshua Farnsworth | Updated 27 July, 2023 (Published 20 July, 2023)
Part 1/5: Flatten the first board face:
Part 2/5: Square the first board edge:
Part 3/5: Thickness the board:
Part 4/5: Square the ends of the board:
Part 5/5: Square an edge, parallel to the first edge:
How to Square Boards with Woodworking Hand Tools
By Joshua Farnsworth | Updated 27 July, 2023 (Published 20 July, 2023)
Part 1/5: Flatten the first board face:
Part 2/5: Square the first board edge:
Part 3/5: Thickness the board:
Part 4/5: Square the ends of the board:
In the above videos, Jeremy Tritchler begins his in-depth tutorial on four squaring boards / rough lumber using woodworking hand tools. This is the method that Jeremy has used while working in the Hay’s Cabinetmaking shop at Colonial Williamsburg.
Jeremy will be teaching this method in his upcoming (September 8-9, 2023) woodworking class at our school: 18th Century Colonial Pipe Box Entirely by Hand with Jeremy Tritchler.
In the class students will make this lovely hanging pipe box / candle box from scratch. Students will learn to resaw the rough wood, square the wood by hand, and shape the box and drawer. Beginner woodworkers welcomed!
Thank you both for putting this together. I thought I understood how to 4-square a board with hand (not that I’ve done it much) until Jeremy crammed this intense amount detail into such a small set of packages. One question/observation: I notice that Jeremy talks about a marking gauge when he sets up baselines for thickness, but the tool he uses looks to me like a slitting gauge. So, is that the case? And if so, does that affect how… Read more »
Glad you enjoyed it! Pointed marking gauges won’t create the little feather when you plane down to the line. A cutting / slitting gauge is the best option.