Course description

There's real satisfaction in making something useful from wood with your own hands: a box for the desk, a shelf for the kitchen, a stool to reach the top cupboard, a table beside your chair. This course teaches you woodworking properly with hand tools, from choosing timber and sawing to a line through to cutting joints and finishing, then puts it all together in four furniture projects you can make at home.

It's a full course, not a quick tour. There are 10 sections and 52 written lessons, and every technique is explained step by step, with the mistakes to avoid and how to put them right. You follow Sheila, 56, a school receptionist in Walsall, from clearing out her brick outhouse in February to her six-month review in September, with help from Lloyd, a retired shopfitter two doors down. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, key points and original drawings, and Section 10 has full project plans and a cutting list calculator spreadsheet.

What you'll learn

• Getting started safely: safe habits with sharp tools, what to do if you cut yourself, wood dust and why hardwood and MDF dust need extra care, eye, ear and dust protection, children and pets, a first toolkit and setting up a small workspace.
• Understanding timber: how wood grows and moves, softwoods, hardwoods and sheet materials, nominal and finished sizes, checking boards for faults, reclaimed wood and storing timber.
• Measuring and marking: tape and rule, the combination square, pencil, marking knife and gauge, face side and face edge, cutting lists and rods.
• Sawing: choosing saws, sawing to a line, crosscutting with a bench hook, ripping, shoulders and cheeks, curves with a coping saw, and clean cuts in plywood.
• Planing and smoothing: the parts of a plane, setting it up, planing edges straight and square, faces and end grain, and sanding and scraping by hand.
• Chisels and sharpening: paring and chopping safely, what makes an edge sharp, sharpening chisels and plane blades with a honing guide, and caring for your tools.
• Drilling, screws, glue and clamping: drilling straight and to depth by hand, clearance and pilot holes, glue and nails, clamping, and planning a glue-up that comes out square and flat.
• Joints: butt, half-lap, housing, dowel, and mortise and tenon joints, step by step, and a simple dovetail as a stretch.
• Finishing: preparing for a finish, oils and wax, varnish and paint, fixing finishing problems, and using finishes safely, including oily rags, which can catch fire on their own.
• Four projects and next steps: planning and buying, then a small storage box, a wall shelf, a one-step stool and a small side table, each with a full cutting list and drawings, and where to go next.

Who it's for

Adults who want to make small furniture and shelves at home and would like to learn the hand tool skills behind them. You don't need any experience, a big workshop or power tools: a sturdy table, a small space and a starter set of tools are enough, and the course tells you what to buy first. It follows HSE guidance on wood dust and NHS advice on cuts and eye injuries. Everyone in the course is fictional.

What will I learn?

• Work safely with sharp hand tools, control wood dust, and set up a small workspace with a sturdy bench
• Choose and buy timber and sheet materials, read the grain, and check boards for faults
• Measure and mark accurately with a square, marking knife and gauge, and write a cutting list
• Saw straight and square to a line, and set up and use a plane on edges, faces and end grain
• Pare and chop with chisels, and sharpen chisels and plane blades to a keen edge
• Drill, screw, glue and clamp, and plan a glue-up that comes out square and flat
• Cut butt, half-lap, housing, dowel, and mortise and tenon joints, and try a simple dovetail
• Finish your work with oil, wax, varnish or paint, and deal with oily rags safely
• Plan and make four projects from full cutting lists: a box, a wall shelf, a step stool and a small side table

Frequently asked questions