7 Woodworking Skills You Should Have Learned in High School

In the 1880s, secondary schools began offering "industrial arts" classes, and for the next century, taking a course in woodworking, mechanics, drafting, or printing was a typical educational rite of passage for young men.

Then, starting several decades ago, shop classes were phased out of high school curricula. Schools began to eliminate electives, implement stiffer graduation requirements, and focus more on college prep courses and the topics required for passing state examinations as educational funding decreased and the emphasis on standardized testing increased. Because there was neither money nor time to maintain tools and sawdust-filled workshops, school districts began to eliminate shop classes, assuming that kids interested in trade skills could pursue them later at a vocational institution.

This is a pity because shop lessons were never simply to educate students for trade jobs. Rather, whether they were a carpenter or a doctor, they taught all men manual skills that they could use and enjoy throughout their life. They were seen as essential to developing a well-rounded man who could use both his hands and his brains.

The woodshop is arguably the most underappreciated industrial arts class. Learning to work with wood is not only useful for making and repairing objects around the house, but it also helps you to connect with a long tradition of craftsmanship. Woodworking was one of the first talents created by mankind; the pre-industrial world was mostly built of wood, and for thousands of years, all men had a basic understanding of how to shape and manipulate it. Tradesmen and professionals alike had the confidence to create wooden shelves, cupboards, and even seats for their families up until the second part of the twentieth century.

Woodworking has evolved from a common necessary skill to something nearly mystical or awe-inspiring in our day of plastic and machines. Because most 21st-century consumers are accustomed to traveling to large box stores to buy another mass-produced replacement when their desk or chair breaks, any man who can stroll up to a lumber pile with a saw and plane and form a beautiful and long-lasting replacement is regarded as a "genuine craftsman."

Although there is widespread reverence for manual skills, the truth is that woodworking is not a secret. And, happily, it's never too late to learn if you didn't take a thorough shop class in high school and feel unprepared to attempt a simple carpentry project. Here's a list of some fundamental abilities you should work on. None of these abilities necessitate the use of pricey, dangerous machinery or unusual tools. They are the fundamental abilities that any woodworker should possess.

1. Gain a thorough understanding of how wood functions and behaves.

Before you use any tool on your timber, you must first determine its proper orientation and the direction in which you should plan the board. Growth ring layers continue to accumulate on one another as trees grow, resulting in lovely grain in our boards. If we neglect the best working direction, this grain can make planning more difficult. Working with wood grain is similar to petting a cat: if you go from tail to head, the hair will stand straight up, resulting in hissing dissatisfaction, but if you go "with the grain" from head to tail, the hairs will lay down lovely and smooth, resulting in purring.

It's also crucial to know how wood expands and shrinks when humidity levels change throughout the year. This natural feature is taken into account in any timber building, and ignorance of it can be devastating.

2. Sharpen saws, planes, and chisels as needed.

Too many people have promoted the misconception that working with wood by hand is extremely difficult merely by using a dull instrument. It's an aphorism among woodworkers that you should "let the tool do the work" if you want things to go smoothly. You aren't doing yourself any favors if your saw requires a lot of push to cut or if you need a running start to make shavings with your hand plane. Sharpening your tools is a fundamental skill because it is something that must be done regularly. Working with dull instruments is not only inefficient but also dangerous. When you feel like you have to push your chisel with your body weight to finish the cut, pop it free, You'll lose control, and your tool will stab whatever it comes across. If you know how to sharpen your tools, you'll discover that woodworking is fun, safe, and efficient.

3. Make use of a hand plane

The basic process is relatively self-explanatory with a bunch of woodworking tools. However, not all of them are as intuitive as others. To gain the sense of altering the cut from coarse to fine, proper use of hand planes necessitates some education and practice. Furthermore, the edge may be crooked or the cap iron may be positioned incorrectly. Although it takes a little bit of research to figure out how to use a hand plane effectively, it is an undoubtedly attainable skill. Grab an old plane and go to YouTube to look for "how to tune up an old hand plane" or "how to utilize a hand plane." There will be plenty of videos to compensate for what you missed in shop class.

4. Hand Tools for Lumber Preparation

You might already have a table saw and a 13-inch thickness planer, but most of us don't. Make sure you don't get caught up in the idea that you have to buy expensive machines to produce things. I solely use hand tools when working with wood, and I enjoy every minute of it. Woodworking by hand is economical and viable if you study how artisans worked their lumber before machines controlled the furniture industry.

There are several tried-and-true methods for speeding up the process that relieves us of the burden of having to execute machine-perfect work by hand. The trick is to use the appropriate tool for the job: coarse tools for coarse labor, fine tools for fine work. Still not persuaded? Take a look at the story of one of my good friends, Jim. I hope it gives you some ideas.

5. Create a Mortise-and-Tenon Joint

In all wood construction, this is the most basic joint. We must interlock horizontal members (such as a chair rail) with vertical members (such as a leg) at a straight angle whenever we link them. We can make a solid 90° junction by fitting a tenon into a corresponding mortise (hole). While it may appear simple to create, attaining a beautiful, snug fit takes careful technique and experience. There are a variety of ways to build a mortise, but I prefer to use a sturdy chisel built for the job and just calculate the width of the tenon using that chisel's dimension. Four straight saw cuts are normally required to cut the tenon. When you figure out how to properly draw out this joint and cut it to a tight fit, the world of woodworking opens up to you. You should now be familiar with all of the joinery required to construct most tables and chairs.

6. Prepare the Dovetail Joints

What if you want to construct a box, though? The famous (and overly-mystified) dovetail joint is a powerful means to unite boards at their corners. The dovetail joint is the most awe-inspiring of all the features that non-woodworkers admire today. It's made up of wedge-shaped "tails" on one side that fit into similar "pins." The wedge form prevents the boards from slipping apart in one direction when they are placed together. Since the 1700s, this joint has been a highly common design. Never intended to impress, it was frequently disguised by veneer, molding, or paint so that no one had to see the “ugly” joinery.

Visible joinery was not considered an aesthetic value until the arts and crafts movement. Making dovetail joints has become a litmus test for serious woodworkers in recent years, but don't let that deter you from giving it a shot. Get into the shop after seeing a couple of the four million "How to Cut Dovetails" videos available online. It's a lot simpler than most people believe: Tails must be cut. On the other board, trace the tails. The waste you traced should then be taken out. That's all there is to it. All of the fine tweakings are only a matter of practice.

7. Put the finishing touches on your furniture

How are you going to finish a lovely table or chest after spending several weekends working on it? Finishes enhance and protect the piece you've worked so hard to create, so don't take shortcuts and just "rub it with oil." There are so many lovely finishes to choose from that it becomes second nature to work with them. Shellac is what I use 99 percent of the time. It's incredibly quick to apply once you get the hang of it, highly forgiving, easily repairable, and you never have to clean a brush (since it re-softens in alcohol)! Other varnishes that are suitable for outdoor use are also available. Pick up an excellent beginner's book, such as Jeff Jewitt's Hand Applied Finishes. It's plain and easy to understand. without delving too deeply into the details

One of my mentors began his career as a cabinetmaker who enjoyed working with wood but despised the finishing process. He began digging to understand more about it and became so enamored with the process that he now despises having to construct anything since all he wants to do is complete! I guarantee that if you devote a little time and effort to learning how to properly finish your work, your love of the end product will skyrocket. These finishing touches will entice you to take on another job.

Where Should We Go From Here?

Has this article piqued your interest? Do you wish you could go back in time and learn these skills in the woodshop?

If you want to learn more about how to work with wood, you can do a Google search for each of the areas mentioned, but I recommend starting with a few excellent books. The first two are primarily on skills, while the third focuses on how to choose which hand tools to buy.

Jim Tolpin's The New Traditional Woodworker

Robert Wearing's The Essential Woodworker

Christopher Schwarz's  The Anarchist's Tool Chest

One of the most fulfilling activities a guy can engage in is learning how to use tools to construct what he envisions in his head. Even though many of us today missed out on this hands-on instruction in high school shop class, many people are buying books and reading blogs about it. By learning how to tune up their grandfather's hand plane, they hope to rekindle a long-buried yearning to create and build using their minds and hands.