1. Core Tools in Use

The first course in the series follows on naturally from Get Started in Woodworking, taking a deeper look at the core hand tools — planes, chisels, and saws — and the techniques required to use them well and consistently. The focus throughout is not on producing a finished piece but on building the kind of reliable, adaptable understanding that carries into any project. Each exercise is designed to isolate a specific skill, build on what came before it, and leave you with something you can practise and develop independently at the bench.

Topics covered include layout and sawing straight, chopping and paring with a chisel, chamfering and planing to a line, surface preparation with a smoothing plane, and working with a card scraper when the grain fights back.

 

2. From Rough to Ready

Before any joinery can be cut, the timber has to be prepared. This course is concerned entirely with that process — taking rough-sawn stock and bringing it to flat, square, and true dimensions ready for the next stage of work. It is one of those topics that many woodworkers learn partially, or learn badly, and then spend years working around. Getting it right, and understanding why each step matters, changes everything that follows.

We look at how to read grain and make good decisions about which face to start from, how to work efficiently and accurately with hand tools, and how to develop the kind of spatial awareness that makes dimensioning timber feel methodical rather than uncertain.

​

3. Joinery Demystified

Joinery is where accuracy, layout, and tool skill come together — and where most of the anxiety in woodworking lives. The aim of this course is to take the mystery out of it. We work through the principles and practice of traditional woodworking joints, developing not just the ability to cut them but the understanding of why they work, how to lay them out with precision, and how to approach them calmly and methodically when it matters.

​​​

Formats & Scheduling

Each Foundations course is available in a range of formats to suit different schedules and working lives:

• Multi-day intensive — consecutive days in the workshop, which allows for a natural rhythm and momentum.

• Weekly full days — one day per week over several weeks, giving time between sessions to practise and consolidate.

• Evening term — a series of evening sessions, suited to those who cannot give up full days during the week.

All formats cover the same content. The right choice depends on your schedule, your learning style, and how quickly you want to progress.

​

Foundations courses are currently available on a one-to-one basis.

Group course dates for 2027 to be confirmed — join the class register to be notified.

​

Get in touch to discuss which course and format is the right fit, and to find out about current availability and pricing.

​

What Comes Next

The Foundations series is designed to sit between Get Started in Woodworking and the more advanced, project-led work of the Project Based Classes. Completing the series — or the courses most relevant to your current skill set — puts you in a strong position to take on a project class with confidence, or to pursue your own woodworking independently with a solid grounding beneath you.

Alternatively you can simply book another session at the bench. One-to-one Instruction is available at any time.​