Learning the art and craft of woodwork will never not come in handy at some point in the future, whether it’s building something from scratch or merely reattaching a broken wooden chair leg.
If you’re looking for a new creative hobby or maybe you’re even interested in using woodwork as a side hustle, then you’ll need to know the basics so you can get started and make some functional or decorative creations.
This article will show you where and how you can learn woodworking, whether that be online courses or somewhere local to you.
Local Options
If you’re someone who prefers hands-on or in-person learning, then there are plenty of resources around the country that you can use to learn.
Woodcraft - Some Woodcraft store locations have classes and workshops available that people can attend to learn woodworking.
Community College - Plenty of local colleges offer woodworking classes, some of which are available in the evenings so you’ll be able to attend after your main job. You’ll also get to work in a workshop with all the tools available to you.
Home Depot - Certain Home Depot stores offer free woodwork and DIY classes every week to their customers. Home Depot also has online classes available on their website which you can sign up to attend.
Rockler - Go to your local Rocker and see what woodwork classes and workshops they have available for you. They are one of the best resources in the country and you’ll be able to learn a lot during your classes there.
Local Woodwork Schools - There may be small schools or companies in your area that have a woodwork school that you can attend, a quick Google search will probably help you find your nearest school or workshop the easiest.
If you’re interested in learning more about woodworking and want to find out about the tools and materials you use then an Instructables pass would be a good fit for you.
The 9-part course is completely free and has basic instructions on how to use your tools and everything you’ll need to know to get started.
The course is not project-based, so you won’t be able to follow along at home with your materials, so if you were looking for a more practical approach this won’t be it.
However, as a free resource, this 9-part class cannot be faulted exemplified by the fact that nearly 50,000 have enrolled on the course.
When it comes to learning any new skill SkillShare will always be amongst the top recommendations for resources. It’s one of the largest learning online platforms and fortunately for people like us, has over 30 woodworking classes for us to learn from.
SkillShare also offers the option to preview the first part of the course before you purchase it and unlock it so you can see if the content is aligned with your preferred learning style. You can also see how many people are currently taking the course and see the reviews of people who’ve finished taking it so you can see if it’s worth your time.
$19 a month will give you unlimited access to all the woodworking content and any other courses you would like to take, you can even download the content to use offline, so great if you’ll be working in a workshop with no internet connection.
You can even try out a SkillShare membership for a month for free before committing to a paid membership.
Udemy is probably one of the most flexible and convenient choices for online learning for woodwork.
They have a large array of woodworking classes from the Fundamentals of Cabinet Making to Bandsaw Essentials, so regardless of if you’re looking for a project-based course or somewhere where you can learn the basics, then you’ll be able to find it on Udemy.
Courses can be as affordable as $10 and many will go on sale throughout the year to entice new students. You can read reviews of the course to see what other people have made of it and you have the option to preview a part of the course so you can see if it’s for you.
If you’re a complete novice to woodwork then The Weekend Woodworker will benefit you greatly. The course is led by Steve Ramsy and will teach you how to build six projects whilst also helping you learn the necessities of woodwork.
With the course, you’ll get diagrams, plans, video resources, tool guides, and specific material lists throughout the course to help the process be as streamlined as possible.
The course is around $150, but it’s most definitely worth it and will enable you with everything you need to know to get a good start in this creative field.
Once you’ve completed the Weekend course, you can choose to move on to Steve Ramsy’s more advanced woodwork courses to help you progress.
Understand not everyone wants to pay a monthly subscription fee, that’s why Woodworkers Guild of America is great as you only pay for what you use.
Classes either come in the form of a stream or DVD option so you can learn right from within your workshop and follow along with the instructor.
Classes vary in price depending on the content included and the length of them, but many do go on sale so it’s best to also check back on the website to see if you can get lucky.
The platform is packed with woodworking content which you can access for an additional monthly fee if you want to follow step-by-step guides to making certain woodwork pieces.
Suppose that you’re already experienced with woodwork, then you'll want to sign up for a more advanced online course. Woodworking Masterclasses is a subscription-based platform where you pay $15 a month for access to the library of courses and knowledge.
There is also the option to sign up for a free membership so you can get an idea of what some of the courses are like.
As a more experienced woodworker, you’ll benefit from the community area where you can interact with like-minded people, which is also a good way to find out what courses are worth your time.
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