The Woodwright's Shop(1981–)

Maul & Glut

Watch Roy make two traditional tools by first felling a tree then shaping a maul and glut using period iron woodworking tools.

Shaving Horse

Learn how to make a shaving horse – one of the most important hand-tool shop fixtures for working with drawknives and spokeshaves.

Shaving Horse Part 2

Learn how to make a shaving horse – one of the most important hand-tool shop fixtures for working with drawknives and spokeshaves.

Hay Rake

Spend time with Roy as he shows you how to build one of his favorite projects: a hickory hay rake that is both strong and lightweight.

Lathes

Join Roy on a tour of the history and development of human powered machines, including one of his favorites: the lathe.

Rocking Chair

Learn how to build a classic armless rocking chair using traditional tools and techniques. Then create a woven white oak seat for the rocker. Plus, watch as Roy’s guest Bryant Holsenbeck demonstrates how to weave a traditional basket.

Rocking Chair Part 2

Learn how to build a classic armless rocking chair using traditional tools and techniques. Then create a woven white oak seat for the rocker. Plus, watch as Roy’s guest Bryant Holsenbeck demonstrates how to weave a traditional basket.

Log Cabin

Watch as Roy demonstrates the steps and hand-hewn joinery used in building traditional log cabins.

Timberframe Construction

Watch and learn as Roy addresses the details of timber framing, including post-and-beam and mortise-and-tenon construction techniques.

Dough Bowls and Pitch Forks

Watch as Roy makes a pitchfork and a dough bowl, each from a single piece of wood.

Blacksmithing

Spend some time at the forge with Roy to learn basic blacksmithing techniques and discover how to create a spike dog (a tool used in timber framing).

Panel Frame and Dovetail

Follow along as Roy discusses frame-and-panel construction for doors, and the basic steps for cutting a dovetailed joint.

Getting a Grip on It

Watch as Roy examines a number of tool handles, then creates an axe handle from a split of hickory and turns a chisel handle.

Candle Stand

Follow along as Roy walks you through the steps of creating a classic walnut candle stand.

Plane Truth, Version 1

Learn the history of a wide variety of handplanes as Roy explains their many and specialized uses.

Plane Truth, Version 2

Learn the history of a wide variety of handplanes as Roy explains their many and specialized uses. Lost episode.

Getting Into Drawers

Join Roy as he makes a hand-hewn, half-blind dovetailed drawer for his workbench, and discusses many of the techniques used in traditional drawer making.

Finding and Fixing

See what Roy discovers at a scrap yard, antique store and flea market on his way to “The Woodwright’s Shop.”

Cutting your Teeth

It’s all about staying sharp, and in this episode Roy examines the dizzying array of saws available, from familiar panel saws to bowsaws and pit saws. Plus, as a special bonus Roy shows you how to sharpen a bowsaw.

While the Iron’s Hot

Accompany Roy on a visit to Colonial Williamsburg to work with the living history museum’s blacksmiths as they make a froe, and forge a cant hook.

Straight and Narrow

Lost episode.

Vernacular Sash

Roy takes us through the hand-crafted creation process of a sash-style window, explaining the stiles, rails and muntins.

Woodwright at Sea

The evolution of modern boat building in America starts with simple designs such as those found in rough-hewn canoes – and its surprisingly fundamental. Watch Roy explore how to build a boat as he visits the Hampton Mariner’s Museum and discusses boat building that’s large and complex. There is a clear evolution in tools and techniques and it’s both instructive and entertaining to watch this process.

Jefferson's Ladder

Boxwood Recorder

The Dominy Shop

Roy takes us on a tour the Dominy Shop at Winterthur Museum. The shop holds the tools and shop items used by three generations of craftsman from 1750-1850.

Turning of the Screw

Traditional woodworking required making much of your own tools and machinery, and the wooden screw is a major component in those. Roy looks at the making of wooden screws for use in the shop.

Making a Butterfly Table

Dovetailing Drawers

Inner Woodworking

Observe as Roy looks at the mechanics of wood and how a trees’ growth affects how you work wood once you have it in your shop.

Workbench (Part I)

Roy hand-crafts the frame for a massive, classic workbench using pegged and keyed mortise-and-tenon construction.

Workbench (Part II)

Roy finishes the workbench started in the previous episode.

Blanket Chest

Follow along as Roy builds a stunning nailed-together, six-board blanket chest with an interior till.

Simple Gifts

Watch and learn as Roy builds three simple gift projects, including a flapping duck toy, a small pine knock-down bench and a wooden egg beater.

Whimsy Diddling

Join Roy as he walks you through the process for making a Gee Haw Wimmey Diddle, a quintessential mountain folk toy, along and a willow whistle.

Furniture Carving

Watch as Roy’s guest Colonial Williamsburg’s Wallace Gusler talks about the techniques and tools needed for carved furniture.

Whetstone Quarry

Take a trip with Roy through the geological history of whetstones, then head out on a hunt for rough materials to make your own whetstone for sharpening.

The Gunsmith

Spend time with Roy and gunsmith Gary Brumfield of Colonial Williamsburg as they discuss the steps to making a handcrafted 18th-century-style rifle.

Wood for the Weaver

Discover details about some of the traditional wooden implements used by weavers, including spinning wheels, clock reels and niddy noddys; and watch as Roy makes a swift and a tape loom.

The Luthier

Join Roy in learning the techniques and processes used to create a violin in the 18th century.

Cooper’s Bucket

With some help a couple of coopers from Colonial Williamsburg, Roy shows the steps to creating a cooper’s bucket.

Dovetail a Triangular Box

A three-sided box?! Well that’s different. Let Roy show you how to make a triumphant triangular box for your trifocals.

Shaker Work Table

Clever, elegant and delicate beauty. Roy shows you how to produce a wonderful little Shaker work table.

Craftsman Wall Cabinet

Roy's bringing craftsmanship back into our lives with an Arts & Crafts style cabinet.

Scandinavian Milking Stool

Have fun building a folk milking stool. Think of the possibilities!

Spill Plane & Book Stand

What the heck is a spill plane and how do you make a hinged book stand out of one piece of wood?

Canadian Cradle

Roy shows you how to build a delightful rocking cradle for a newborn baby.

Shutter Dogs from the Blacksmiths

Roy learns how to make shutter dog that is used to hold open shuttles when not to use.

Rustic Furniture Maker Dan Mack

Meet Dan Mack, and see how he fabricates fascinating furniture out of naturally occurring materials.

Williamsburg Wheelwright

Find out what it takes to make a wheel at the Palace Wheelwright Shop in Colonial Williamsburg.

Limberjacks & Dancing Dolls

Roy shows you how to build wonderful articulated dancing toys called Limberjacks!

Plymouth Plantation Woodworkers

See how the Pilgrims performed early American woodworking with just a few basic tools.

The Colonial Carpenters

Learn the difference between a carpenter and a joiner. Hint: Think doors, windows & stairs.

Rustic Rockers

Roy starts off the “Making Things From Nature” season by giving us some history of rustic furniture and walks through the steps necessary to make a Rustic Rocker.

Bark Bottoms

To finish up the Rustic Rocker, Roy takes us into the woods to gather hickory bark, and then heads into the shop to create the woven bark seat for the rocker.

Baby Cradle

Roy takes us into the shop to finish up a pilgrim-style oak cradle that he started, but never finished, reviewing the “tricky” parts necessary to create the whole project.

Chris' Workshop

We visit with a 14-year-old traditional woodworker who sells his wares (walking sticks, toys and more), to make more money to buy tools he can’t make for himself.

Iron Machine, Foot Power

A collector of cast-iron, foot-powered woodworking lathes and fret saws visits with Roy and they try out a number of the machines.

Hutch Table I

In part one, Roy starts the base of a classic early-American project that serves as a tilt-top table, chair and storage unit.

Hutch Table II

In part two, Roy finishes the base and completes the top of the early-American tilt-top table. He also shows how to make a traditional milk paint finish for the piece.

Iron Bloomery

Roy visits with David Harvey, a Blacksmith at Colonial Williamsburg, and learns how to turn bog ore into a woodworking chisel.

Berry Buckets, Sussex Trugs and Bark Sheaths

Roy shows how to create three projects that are created directly from trees and bark, with very little refinement.

Wheelwright

We head back to Colonial Williamsburg where Roy visits with master wheelwright Dan Stebbins to discover the mysteries and realities of making wheels for early American wagons and carts.

Music Mill

Roy makes a six-note music mill from wine bottles that is powered by hand crank (but can also be powered by a water wheel).

Secrets From the Cabinet Shop

Roy travels back to visit with master cabinetmaker Mack Headley at the Anthony Hay shop at Colonial Williamsburg. He shares some of the secrets that were standard fare for 18th century American woodworking.

Noveltails

Roy takes a look at the design and benefits of many traditional dovetails used in woodworking, then goes even further to look at some more unusual dovetails.

Longer and Stronger

When you need a longer board (or rafter), then a traditional scarf joint may be the answer. Roy discusses the history, value and creation of this important joint.

Country Comfort

Roy shows us the steps to create the perfect outdoor chair — the Adirondack.

Shaker Boxes

After a look at a number foot-powered woodworking machines, Roy and his guest show how to use a few of the machines to make traditional Shaker oval boxes.

Bookcaseology

This episode is Roy’s version of waste-not, want not. He shows how to build a coffin-shaped bookcase so that the materials involved aren’t wasted, but used during life — and after.

Woodwork, Needlework

Blending two traditional crafts, Roy builds an adjustable needlework stand or French design.

Whirligigs

Whirligig expert Andy Lundy stops by the shop to talk about the history, design and construction details of a variety of whirligigs.

Felling and Hauling

Traditional woodworking starts with the trees. Roy shares the traditional steps necessary to fell a tree and get the wood into the shop.

Bramble Work

Roy gives us a look at rustic Bramble Work furniture. He then creates a small table in this style, working with twigs fastened in geometric patterns.

Farmwood

Roy works through the varied historical uses of lumber. For use in construction, furniture, heating on your own farm, and for sharing with others. No part of the tree is wasted.

Old South Homestead

On a trip back to the Underhill homestead, Roy takes us on visit of some of the construction details used in building the 1850’s house and outbuildings.

Gameboards

Roy shows us how to make a couple of classic board games: Fox and Geese; and a checkers (or chess) board.

Arts and Crafts Bookcase

Learn the steps to recreate a knock down bookcase originally built by the Roycrofters of East Aurora, New York.

The Secret Dovetailed Box

Roy shows how to make a small box using a hidden dovetail joint that looks like a miter joint when complete.

Wood Inlay

This episode starts by making a scratch stock tool necessary to create the grooves for the simple Holly inlay that follows.

The Giant Chisels of Gaul

Roy visits local blacksmith shops and museums in the Alsace region of France in search of a giant chisel.

Roll Top Cabinetry

Using a roll-top joinery process, Roy creates a small box with tambour doors.

African Drum

Roy shows how to build an “African” drum that originally came from colonial America.

Woodcraft of Alsace, France

Roy continues his visit to the Alsace region looking at woodworking and timber-building traditions.

Comb-Back Windsor Chair, Part 1

In this two-part project, Roy shows the steps to create a classic comb-back Windsor chair.

Comb-Back Windsor Chair, Part 2

In this two-part project, Roy shows the steps to create a classic comb-back Windsor chair.

Sand-Powered Wooden Toys

Roy builds two simple toys: an interlocking-joint puzzle; and a sand-powered whirligig.

Cutting the Knuckle-Hinge Joint

Learn to create the useful knuckle-hinge joint and, just for fun, whittle a wooden pair of pliers.

Making Wooden Screws

Roy shows how to use a tap and screw box to create wooden screws for use in shop and furniture projects.

Woodworkers of the Red Dragon

Roy visits a recreated Celtic village in Wales, looking at Welsh woodworking including building construction, clog making and traditional carved Welsh love spoons.

English Walnut Music Stand

Build a beautiful music stand that adjusts for height and angle to best suit the musician.

Dovetailing Little Drawers

Underhill fits out a tool cabinet with shelves and dovetailed drawers

The Yoke's on Me

Roy shows how to hew, carve and turn a shoulder yoke for carrying those heavy sap buckets.

Making a Tuckaway Table

Roy shows how to make a little table from the 1600s with a unique folding design to save space in the old home place.

Lyle Wheeler-Chair and Spinning Wheel Maker

In this episode of The Woodwrights Shop, special guest Lyle Wheeler shows viewers how to construct their own spinning wheel.

David Calvo-Master Woodcarver

Master carver, David Calvo gives lessons in high relief carving. Instructed in the "Old World" tradition, Calvo guides viewers step by step as he creates a Fleur de Lis woodcarving.

Building the Clipper Amistad

In this episode of the Woodright Shop, Roy Underhill visits a Connecticut shipyard, the Mystic Seaport. Here, Roy is taken on a tour of their current project, an exact replica of the famous Amistad clipper. He is given a brief history lesson of events leading up to the revolution aboard the notoriuos ship.

Two Old Tool Pioneers

Roy visits two museums dedicated to two pioneers in preserving early technology--Henry Mercer and Eric Sloane.

Frank Klausz-Master Cabinetmaker

Roy meets Hungarian-born cabinetmaker Frank Klausz, gentleman, craftsman and the fastest dovetailer on the planet.

Sharpen Your Saw

Ultra close-up views give viewers the vision to sharpen their own saws.

Wheeled Toys in Wood

Roy shows how to make turned wheels and the wooden ducks that roll on them

Making the Ladder/Chair

Roy shows how to make a chair that can turn into a ladder.

Wayne Barton-Master Chip Carver

The director of the Alpine School of Woodcarving shows advanced techniques in chip carving.

Dovetailing a Cedar Box

Learn simple box dovetails and create some shop characters that can hang out inside.

Chip Carving

Dress up a small cedar box with a variety of chip carving designs.

Chairs for Children

Roy makes a walnut stick chair and a pine slab chair perfectly sized for children.

Bark and Rustic Work

Learn the details to add a hickory bark seat to a child’s chair.

Debate of the Carpenter's Tools

Roy draws on poetry from the 1400s to explain what tools were used by wrights of the day.

Treadle Lathe

Build an improved version of Roy’s 20-year-old treadle lathe design — and it starts with scrap lumber!

White Oak Basket

A class on basket weaving? You bet! Weave a white oak basket with Roy.

Wall Tool Chest

Roy uses a red oak tool chest to illustrate a discussion on hand planes.

Woodworking Gizmos

Learn to convert a treadle lathe into a treadle jigsaw.

Traditional Toys

Roy shows how to make a traditional Russian pecking-chicken toy.

Old Salem

Roy visits Old Salem, North Carolina, founded in the 1760s by the Moravians. Their craft lives on in the recreated town.

Swinging Cradle from Saxony

Learn to build a scaled-down German swinging cradle built with lapstrake construction.

Lap Desk

Watch and learn as Roy builds a reproduction of a simple walnut lap desk from the 19th century.

Turned Corner Chair

Follow along as Roy shows you how to make a circa-1550 three-legged chair from the Flemish town of Rotterdam.

Banjo Man George Wunderlich

Join Roy as he welcomes George Wunderlich and watch as he recreates a mid-1800s banjo.

Writer's Bookcase

Watch as Roy builds a small oak bookcase, without glue or fasteners, for easier disassembly.

Timber Corner

Pick up valuable tips for large-scale woodworking from Roy as he builds the corner of a timber-framed structure.

Decoy Carvers

Observe Nick Supone and Neal Conolly as they stop by “The Woodwright’s Shop” and demonstrate the hewing and carving techniques used in creating a duck decoy

Eastfield Village

Travel with Roy to Eastfield Village where he tours the museum’s restored historic buildings.

Marquetry Master Patrick Edwards

Watch and learn as Roy visits with marquetry expert Patrick Edwards, and discusses the technique of “painting in wood.”

In the Blacksmith's Shop

Join Roy for a visit with blacksmiths Peter Ross and Ken Schwarz where they demonstrate making bench chisels and more.

Toys that Make Noise

Watch as Roy soldiers a tin-can bird whistle and makes a boxwood whistling top.

Carving with the Cabinetmakers

Travel along with Roy to the Hay Cabinet Shop at Williamsburg for a furniture-carving talk with Master Mack Headley.

Windsor Chair

Watch as Roy visits with Mike Dunbar of the Windsor Institute as he demonstrates the process for building a sack-back Windsor chair.

Sharpening Tools

Roy builds a cedar box for an old sharpening stone while simultaneously teaching you the principles of sharpening and how to maintain the edges on the tools he uses. He also discusses the differences between various kinds of sharpening stones.

Jefferson's Walking-Stick-Chair

Roy shows you how to make a walking stick-chair – a walking stick that folds out to become a small chair – much like the one used by Thomas Jefferson as he laid out plans for the University of Virginia.

Chisels, Gouges and Mallets

Roy explores the wide, and sometimes strange, world of chisels. You’ll learn more about the tools you work with every day, and see how to use odd tools from history that you’ve likely never seen.

Trestle Table

Roy makes a “sawbuck” trestle table – first delving into the interesting details, and then actually building it.

Wooden Schoop Shovel & Spoons

Starting with a raw popular log, Roy splits, chops, cuts and carves a huge wooden shovel. Along the way you’ll go through nearly every aspect of woodworking, from rough to fine work.

The Wooden Boat School

Roy travels to the Wooden Boat School in Brooklyn, Maine. See three distinct approaches to traditional boat building taught by three different instructors at the school

The Marionette Makers

Roy arrives to find his shop taken over by a gaggle of marionette puppets! We’re joined by a pair of professional puppeteers that demonstrate how to build three types of puppets.

Folding Workbench (Part 1)

Start learning to make a simple, yet sturdy, portable folding workbench.

Folding Workbench (Part 2)

Finish learning how to put the workbench together, plus add all-important workholding features.

Candle Stick Maker

Make a colonial threaded candle stand – the screw threads allow you to finely adjust the height and position of the candles.

Adirondack Woodcraft

Visit the shores of Blue Mountain Lake in Adirondacks – see how to make an Adirondack guide boat and an Adirondack pack basket. Plus see the region’s signature furniture.

Williamsburg Trunk Maker

Visit the harness shop of Jim Clatter in Colonial Williamsburg. Learn how to make a variety of leather items including a knife holster, pistol buckets and water buckets using 18th-century techniques.

The Sawhorse

The tools we use can be beautiful too! Roy shows you how to build beautiful saw horse.

Welsh Chair Bodger Don Weber

Roy teams up with the old Welsh Bodger himself and together they demonstrate how to build a classic Welsh Stick Chair.

Toolbox from the 1940s

You can learn how to build a timeless relic from past generations of fine woodworkers in this episode, a Joiner’s Tool Box.

Rounder Plane

An endless “pencil” sharpener to make round tapered handles for rake, boat spars- and more.

Walnut Krumhorn

Get down, get musical! Produce a wonderful old wind instrument from the Elizabethan era- the Krumhorn!

Timber Frame at the Folklife Festival

Join Roy at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival and learn how to build a timber-frame barn.

Impossible Joints

Make a mysterious puzzle mallet with a devilishly difficult dovetail that’s impossible to break!

Fools for Tools

Roy shows you how to find and restore traditional tools needed to do old time traditional woodworking.

Blacksmith Hinges

Join Roy at the Anderson Forge in Colonial Williamsburg and see how to make a traditional cross garnet hinge.

Tiny Furniture

Learn how to make “big” furniture by starting with scaled down versions.

Window from Williamsburg

Learn how to build a four-light Colonial window sash.

Flintlock Gunsmith

Roy visits the Gunsmith Shop at Colonial Williamsburg to see how 18th century flintlock rifles were made.

Make Your Shaving Horse

Roy shows you how to make a shaving horse from a single 2x10.

Whittling Chains and Ball in Cage

Learn to whittle the mysterious, impossible-seeming wooden chain and ball-in-cage.

Windsor High Chair

Roy make a child’s Windsor highchair showing classic Windsor techniques.

Chinese Bamboo Chair

Make a chair out of grass ... Chinese bamboo, that is.

Shaker Boxes

Make a No. 3 bentwood Shaker box – a deceptively simple design.

Panel-Framed Bench

Roy’s panel-framed bench has a storage space built beneath the seat.

Hanging Bookcase

Using thin wood and only tapered, sliding dovetails, Roy makes a sturdy hanging bookshelf.

Window Sash Restoration

Roy takes a rotted window sash and repairs it with weather resistant resinous wood.

Wooden Tea Machine

Make a cam-operated tea bag dunking machine that’ll save your arms from the repetitive motion of steeping tea.

Nuts to You

How do you get to the center of a walnut? Build a turned, decorated nut cracker, as well as a simpler version from one piece of wood.

Hancock Shaker Village

Roy takes a look at interior Shaker craftsmanship at the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass.

Shaker Side Table

Shaker furniture was made as if to be used for 1,000 years – see how that philosophy is worked into a small table.

A Ship in a Bottle

Raise the sails on a fleet in a flask with a master of the maritime miniature.

Barley Twist Table, Pt.1

Build an oak, three-legged drop-leaf table from the time of the English civil war.

Barley Twist Table, Pt.2

See how to turn and carve the double spiral of the barley twist leg from Cromwell’s time.

Rustic Chairs With Skye Gregson

A second generation Adirondack furniture maker shows how to build chairs - rustic style

Windsor Highchair With Curtis Buchanan, Pt 1

Learn how to bend and turn the stock for a wonderful Windsor highchair.

Windsor Highchair With Curtis Buchanan, Pt 2

Frame and finish the Windsor highchair with the master chair-maker and storyteller.

The Spirit of Woodcraft

Join in Thoreau’s search for moral lessons deep in the grain of the wood.

Japanese Planes With John Reed Fox

A master craftsman shows how to sharpen, tune and use the Japanese plane.

An English Garden Wheelbarrow, Pt 1

Oak, ash, elm and iron make the wheel of our barrow.

An English Garden Wheelbarrow, Pt 2

Fitting the beveled elm panels into the oak wheelbarrow frame.

Upholstering Your Seat

An expert shows how to make and restore webbed and stuffed chair seats.

Old Woodworking Machines

Beautiful belt-driven 19th century machines still make window sashes in this New York shop

Make a Chair

(Part 1) — Roy starts a classic post-and-rung rocking chair using traditional greenwood techniques.

Rollin' on the Rocker

(Part 2) — Work on the rocker continues; shaping the tenons, boring the mortises and creating the splats.

Splittin' and Sittin'

(Part 3) — Work on the rocker is completed with the creation of the rockers and adding a hickory bark seat.

Hewing a Dough Bowl

Roy creates a traditional dough bowl from tulip poplar.

Wood-Turning Tricks

Eleanor Underhill joins Dad in the shop to turn a painted candle stand.

Archer's Bow

Roy welcomes a bowyer and a fletcher to the shop to make a woodland Indian’s bow and river cane arrows.

Four-Poster Bed

This may not be the four-poster bed you’re thinking of, as Roy builds a rustic version from rough, red cedar logs

Blacksmith of Williamsburg

Roy visits Colonial Williamsburg to watch the creation of a set of hardware for window shutters.

Williamsburg Woodcraft

Continuing the Williamsburg theme, Roy visits the woodworker’s shop to watch frame-and-panel shutters made

Woodworker's Grab Bag

Daughter Rachel joins Roy in the shop to make a marble track toy and Kick-Me machine.

Thomas Jefferson, Woodworker

Roy visits Monticello to look at some of the architectural creations and innovations of the former President..

Dovetailed Bookcases

Roy recreates stacking “book box” shelves built to Thomas Jefferson’s specifications, and still on display at Monticello.

Case of the Corner Cupboard

Long splined miters anyone? That’s how you join the coffin-like case of this 18th-century corner cupboard. See how to make the special jigs to hand plane this crucial joint with precision and dignity.

Making Marvelous Moldings

You can make any complex molding you want with simple hand planes—just take it one curve at a time. Bill Anderson and Roy show how to flute your pilasters and carve your cornice for this comely corner cupboard.

Mind Over Miter

This butt joint of distinction joins everything from picture frames to crown moldings. Learn all the angles and see how to carefully cut corners as we master the miter box for fitting frames and fine furniture.

The Till in the Tool Chest

We’ll delve into the drawers in search of the secret of an old tool chest. The quality of the tools shows that it belonged to a first class joiner back in the early 1800s, but the dovetail joints break all the rules.

Continuous Arm Rocking Chair (1)

Chairmaker Elia Bizzarri joins us to make this elegant and comfortable rocking chair. We’ll turn the legs and frame the seat in part one of this American classic.

Continuous Arm Rocking Chair (2)

We’ll finish our rocking chair as we steam and bend the continuous arm's one-piece back. With its compound bend, this challenging chair is truly an American design innovation.

Who Wrote the Book of Sloyd

Sloyd, the late 19th-century Swedish system of learning woodworking was intended to develop skilled, industrious and morally upstanding citizens. We’ll give it a try, and hope it’s not too late for us!

The Case for Books

So many books, so little space! Say goodbye to cinderblocks and sagging shelves as you see how to cut the essential dado and sliding joints to build this better bookcase.

Sawing Secrets

Chris Schwarz, editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, joins Roy to explore the three classes of English sawcuts. Chris reveals the devious French tenon cheat, and even shows us how to saw without a saw!

The Tiny Tool Kit

How can you stretch a basic kit of tools to build impressive casework? Chris Schwarz, editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, shows how with the toolkit of young Thomas, hero of the 1839 book The Joiner and Cabinet Maker.

Thomas Day, Cabinetmaker

In the days of slavery, Thomas Day, a free black cabinetmaker in North Carolina, was one of the most respected artisans in the South. We’ll look beneath the veneer on his furniture and discover his intriguing architectural work.

Oak Field Gate

Mortise and tenon joints frame this classic feature of the English countryside. It’s a rustic woodworking challenge as we balance both beauty and strength to make a gate that will keep swinging for decades.

The Boy Mechanic

Simple rainy day projects to "tink" around with - especially if you’re young at heart.

Making the New Workbench: Part 1

Build a solid, sturdy workbench without any screws, nails or glue—that you can break down and take with you!

Making the New Workbench: Part 2

Putting the finishing touches on your new workbench — the vices, the dogs, etc.

Inlay with Steve Latta

Beautiful "compass inlay" on a Pennsylvania Spice Box done in the Pennsylvania/German tradition.

Using Planes

Jack planes, combination planes, single iron joiners-Roy introduces you to the world of planes—not to mention snipe spills, skew mouth badgers, iron rabbits…

Roundabout Chair

Learn how to build an odd corner chair called a Roundabout Chair—found in the offices of Dr. Sigmund Freud.

Carving with Calvo

Need a sign? Let David Calvo show you how to carve one.

Woodcraft of the Southern Highlands

Take a trip to beautiful downtown Paint Lick, KY and meet the old bodger himself, Don Weber. Learn how it was done in the old country.

Woodcraft at Conner Prairie

Explore Conner Prairie, a living museum in the heart of Indiana. See how life was in the 1800's.

The Turning Triangle Table

How do you turn a round table into a triangle. Let Roy show you how.

Child's Rocker & Sliding Dovetail Stool

Let Roy show you how to make something useful out of scrap wood.

The First American Woodworkers

Roy shows you how the very first Americans worked with wood — the Cherokees of Cherokee Nation.

The Roubo Bookstand

Walnut bookstand.

As the Saw Turns

Bow saw.

Hurray for Hickory!

Making wooden rakes and rounded reels from steam-bent stock.

Painless Panel Doors

Making the stiles and rails of a classic raised panel door.

Hand Plane Essentials With Chris Schwarz

Gleaming surfaces, tight joints and crisp moldings through perfect planing.

English Layout Square With Chris Schwarz

A simple square with laps and bridles.

Elizabethan Joint Stool With Peter Follansbee

Traditional joint stool.

Carving Swedish Spoons With Peter Follansbee

Making spoons using an axe and traditional hook knife.

Inlaid Lettering With Steve Latta

Making a name in holly wood by setting slender stringing into the slotted surface.

Hammer Veneering With Steve Latta

Classic hammer veneering.

Iron Work for Timber Work

Spike dogs and cant hooks for log holding and handling.

Offset Turning

Turning ovals and offsets by measuring once and turning twice.

Bentwood Boxes of the Northwest Coast

Roy visits Gregg Blomberg and explores woodworking traditions of the Pacific Northwest.

A Civil War Quilting Frame

Roy is joined by his wife, Jane, to build a traditional quilting frame.

African Chair From the Ivory Coast

Roy and his friend Robert Watson make a “man’s chair” using tools from the Ivory Coast of Africa.

Hispanic Furniture-Making

Roy learns about northern New Mexico woodworking on the Santa Fe Trail.

Colonial Tape Loom

Roy begins making a tiny tape loom, used for making decorative fabric.

Dovetailing a Loom Box

Roy finishes the tape loom by making a beautiful box for it with dovetails and turned columns.

A Colonial Standing Desk

Roy makes a standing desk using mortise-and-tenon and tongue-and-groove joints.

Banding Together

Instrument maker Marcus Hanson makes inlay banding with Roy at the Anthony Hay Cabinet Shop.

The Art of Finishing

Roy returns to the Anthony Hay Cabinet Shop to learn finishing.

Fifteen Tools From a Dead Man's Chest

Roy restores the tools found in an antique chest.

A Pilgrim Chest of Oak

Roy makes a Spanish pilgrim’s chest from New Mexico.

Woodcarvers of the Sacred

Returning to New Mexico once again, Roy explores religious carving and woodworking in the mountains north of Santa Fe.

Shaving Horse

Roy shows you how to make a shaving horse to help you make ax handles, wheel spokes and more.

Tinsmithing with Anne Pederson

Not all good things are made out of wood. Anne Pederson shows Roy how to make things out of tin.

Acadian Chair

The Acadians, forbearers of the Cajuns, brought a clever idea for a chair with them to Louisiana. Roy explains…

White Cooperage with Norm Pederson

If you need a washtub, butter churn or water bucket – go see a “white cooper.”

The Foot Power Lathe

Roy shows how to build a “spring pole lathe” – powered by foot.

Wooden Thread Cutter

Need a big ol’ wooden screw for your cider press? Roy will show you how to make one.

Woodworking at the North House Folk School

Take a class in kayak building, or build a long bow or a berry basket – all available at the North Folk School.

Turned & Hewn Bowls & Spoons

Watch Roy transform a big log into a beautiful bowl. Hint: Just remove everything that’s not a bowl.

Norwegian Pram & Snow Skis with Mark Hansen

Let it snow, then go skiing with Mark Hensen.

One Piece Woodworking

Let Roy show you how to make useful & “useless” things out of one piece of wood – no kidding.

Turning Chess Pieces

Roy shows you how to make a standard chess set or a not so standard chess set. Check, Matey!

Chess Board & Box

Now that you have the chess pieces it’s time to make the chess board – and a box to put the pieces in.

Make This Rocking Horse!

Beat Your Ash Basketry

Make a Revolving Bookcase

Timber Building in Franconia

Secrets of German Woodcraft

Make a Garden Gate

Hooks, Crooks and Walking Sticks

Make a Music Mill From Bali

Dovetailing in the Tool Chest

As the Wood Turns

Boat to Build With the Kids

Rake's Progress

Peter & the Box

Master joiner Peter Follansbee of Plymouth Plantation carves a 17th century “bible box.”

Ball & Socket Embroidery Stand Pt.1

Turn the base and shaft of an 18th century embroidery stand from Colonial Williamsburg.

Ball & Socket Embroidery Stand Pt.2

Steam bent hoops and wooden adjusting screws complete the embroidery stand.

Screw Box for Wooden Threads

Down and dirty metalworking forges the cutters to make wooden screws.

French Work Bench, Pt.1

This workbench from Provence uses puzzling dovetails to join the legs to the bench top.

French Work Bench, Pt.2

A tool chest, drawers and vises complete the workbench from Provence.

Violin Maker Joe Thrift

Meet a modern luthier who works with tools and techniques unchanged for centuries.

Candle Box With Secret Drawer

A sliding side reveals the hidden drawer on this missionary’s candle box.

Parallelogram Plant Stand

Shelves that swing keep your plants in the sun on this Victorian contraption.

German Woodcraft in America

Explore woodworking traditions of the Moravian settlers at Old Salem.

Woodworking With Tillers International

Ox yokes & timber-framing number among the projects at a school using low-tech solutions.

The Sordid Blacksmith

A Williamsburg blacksmith forges hinges following instructions in a 17th century manual.

Van Gogh's Chair

The Season 36 premiere shows how to make a chair similar to the one portrayed in Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece.

Sliding Lid Boxes

Roy shows how to create easy-to-make wooden gift boxes with mitered corners and lids that slide in grooves.

Carved Oak Desk Box

Master of Pilgrim-century furniture Peter Follansbee joins Roy to make a slope-lidded, carved box from carved white and red oak.

Waving Arm Whirligigs

Figures from history including Benjamin Franklin and Muhammad Ali inspire Roy’s new line of waving arm wooden whirlygigs.

Wedged Tusk Tenon

Roy and workbench builder Will Myers test out the strength of the classic wedged mortise and tenon joint for take-apart furniture.

Swedish Shrink Box

Woodworker Peter Follansbee shows Roy Underhill how to make Swedish shrink boxes from hollowed wood with inserted bottoms.

Saw Like a Butterfly!

The great poet-athlete Muhammad Ali inspires the best lessons in woodworking – Saw Like a Butterfly, Plane Like a Bee!

Firewood Carrier

Chair-maker Elia Bizzarri shows Roy how to make a split oak firewood carrier inspired by the classic wooden harvest rake.

Double Casement Window

Roy Underhill makes a double, swinging casement window using wooden planes and premium pine.

Tool Chest Hinges & Latch

Master blacksmith Peter Ross shows how to forge hinges and latches for a replica tool chest.

Tool Chest From Bristol

Roy shows how to dovetail a stout, sloped top tool chest that came from Bristol, England in 1900.