Have you ever dreamed of being able to work with wood with your hands, crafting a solid table, planter, or chair that will last for generations? The best beginner woodworking classes will teach you how to do just that, even if you have zero experience in the craft.
16 excellent woodworking classes for beginners
We’ve rounded up our favorite woodworking classes to help you start your woodworking journey. These courses cover the essential basics of the craft, from safety measures to common tools, to how to finish your piece and protect it to last a lifetime.
1. The weekend woodworker
- Platform: The Weekend Woodworker
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Steve Ramsey
- Duration: N/A
Steve Ramsey is legendary for his YouTube channel Woodworking for Mere Mortals, packed with beginners-level woodworking projects. This course draws on Steve’s decades of experience to present the craft’s essentials to anyone just starting out.
You’ll gain the skills and knowledge you need to craft beautiful pieces of furniture and even customize them according to your own needs and tastes. The course covers 12-weekend projects, with the key difference from Steve’s video tutorials being that he goes over each project step-by-step, in detail.
You’ll also receive printable plans and diagrams which are easy to read and understand, along with comprehensive lists of the tools, supplies, and lumber you’ll need for each project. This combination of in-depth instruction and extra resources makes this course ideal for beginners.
2. The basic woodworking kit
- Platform: Udemy
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teachers: Brian Steckler and Bill Martin
- Duration: 1 hour, 1 min
Before you can throw yourself into woodworking, you’ll need to have certain tools and equipment. It can be overwhelming, as there is so much available these days, and there’s a risk of over-investing in poor-quality or unnecessary items.
Furthermore, having the right tools is critical, as this can make all the difference, making it much easier to achieve great results. This course covers the basic tools and accessories that are critical for woodworking, as well as the key supplies you should have on hand.
It makes an excellent starting point for absolute beginners: equipping yourself with the right tools will set you up for success!
3. Professional woodworking for beginners
- Platform: Domestika
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Patricio Ortega
- Duration: 4 hours, 1 min
In this course, architect and co-founder of the Maderistica workshop Patricio Ortega shares the essential concepts, tools, and techniques you need to know to start your professional woodworking journey. You’ll then put this theory into practice as Patricio shows you how to make a pine plywood stool.
This course is excellent for absolute beginners with zero experience, as it starts from the ground up, covering themes such as how to order the right wood with the correct dimensions, as well as how to use a cutting table, milling machine, jigsaw, and circular saw.
We also like how instructor Patricio shares how to customize your design by adjusting the dimensions and personalizing the details.
4. Woodworking for beginners: Source, design, and sculpt with confidence
- Platform: Skillshare
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Anne Briggs
- Duration: 2 hours, 39 minutes
This course is specifically designed to be approachable so beginners can dive in without feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. Founder of online community Anne of All Trades Anne Briggs and her business partner Josh Nava aim to help newbies discover the joy of woodworking.
They also emphasize a hands-on approach: across 18 lessons, you’ll learn fundamental safety techniques, foundational woodcuts, and how to design in 3D, before putting it all into practice by making your own customized wooden spoon.
Anne and Josh will inspire you to connect to nature, and provide for yourself in a sustainable way, such as spotting wood in the wild that can be used for your next woodworking project. You’ll also learn how to stay safe at all times while carving and cutting wood using tools like a handaxe and woodcutting knife.
5. Woodworking: Fundamentals of cabinet making
- Platform: Udemy
- Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate
- Teacher: George Vondriska
- Duration: 3 hours, 24 minutes
Cabinet making is a foundational part of traditional woodworking, so this course is an excellent choice for any budding woodworker. Developing master cabinet-making skills will allow you to execute a range of impressive projects, such as bookcases, dressers, and kitchen or bathroom cabinets.
You may think that cabinet making is too challenging for beginners, but this course breaks the art down into manageable steps, making it approachable for learners of all levels.
Produced in conjunction with the Woodworkers Guild of America, the course covers the cabinet-making process from start to finish, including design, material choice, handling large sheets of wood, joinery, and accenting. It’s excellent for beginners, as it covers all the details you need to know to make beautiful pieces.
6. Beginner woodworking: Building a simple table
- Platform: Skillshare
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Brittany Joyner
- Duration: 48 minutes
This entry-level course is geared towards budding woodworkers with no experience, though you will need a few basic tools. The first lesson of the course covers how to set up your workshop and the supplies you’ll need.
This simple table makes a great entry-level project for beginners. Along with showing you how to make the table from start to finish, teacher Brittany Joyner also covers the design process and how to plan the dimensions.
7. How to cut basic joinery by hand
- Platform: The Free Online Woodworking School
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Matt Estlea
- Duration: 1 hour, 21 minutes
In this introduction to hand-cut joinery, woodworking expert Matt Estlea details everything you need to know about halving and dovetail joints, including marking, cutting, and refining. All three lessons can be accessed online completely free, making it ideal for beginners as you can explore the craft without investing any cash in instruction.
This course is designed for beginners, though it does assume that you’ve already set up your workshop and planned your materials. Therefore, if you’re completely new to working with wood, it’s a good idea to check out one of the courses on this list that covers basic tools and setup.
8. Woodworking: How to build a micro workshop
- Platform: Skillshare
- Suitable for: All levels
- Teacher: Oivind Lie-Jacobsen
- Duration: 12 minutes
If you want to get into working but space is limited, then this is the perfect class for you! In this mini-course, instructor Oivind Lie-Jacobsen shows you how to set up a workshop in your apartment, small patio, or basement.
As part of the class, you’ll make a wooden micro workshop made from wood and canvas. Note the project also involves some sewing to prevent the edges of the canvas from fraying.
Not only is this a very simple project that’s suitable for beginners, but it’s an excellent place to start, as you’ll make an essential piece of equipment that you’ll need to continue your woodworking journey.
9. All about wood
- Platform: Woodworkers Guild of America
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: George Vondriska
- Duration: 1 hour, 26 minutes
In this course, George Vonsdrika explains everything you need to know about wood to get started with the craft. This includes the differences between common materials such as solid wood, plywood, particle board, and MDF.
The course not only includes 15 online lessons but also a comprehensive resource book, Woodworker’s Guide to Live Edge Slabs.
This is another vital topic for beginners, as it helps you understand the materials you use, allowing you to make the best choices for optimal results. This course will also give you an understanding of how trees are converted to lumber, the milling process, and how to order hardwoods, as well as the hardwood grading system.
10. How to make a Kentucky stick chair
- Platform: Skillshare
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Auke & Jildou
- Duration: 40 minutes
In this course, teachers Auke and Jildou show you how to use these techniques and theory to make a classic Kentucky stick chair in a traditional, centuries-old design. They go over each part of the process step-by-step, from making a cutting plan, cutting, and sanding, to painting and assembling the piece, before finishing and fastening.
These chairs don’t just make an excellent addition to your patio, but the folding design means they’re also versatile and portable.
We love this course for beginners, as it helps you put your newfound knowledge into practice. Not only will you create a functional chair at the end of the 11 lessons, but you can make it with just a few basic materials and tools, minimizing your investment when you’re just starting out.
11. Make your own planter: Woodworking for beginners
- Platform: Udemy
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Mark Shorter
- Duration: 30 minutes
This is another beginner-level course that walks you through making a simple project to get a hands-on introduction to woodworking: in this case a planter. Instructor Mark Shorter walks you through the process step by step, and also covers how to adjust the measurements if you would like.
Not only is the project incredibly simple to make even with no DIY experience, but it uses only wooden decking boards and thin timber posts, which are affordable and easy to source. This cute planter would look great in any yard, deck, or balcony filled with flowers or herbs.
12. Beginner woodworking: Simple jewelry box
- Platform: Skillshare
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Brittany Joyner
- Duration: 19 minutes
In this course, you’ll learn how to make a simple jewelry box, proving that introductory woodworking projects don’t need to be large pieces of furniture. For beginners, this allows them to create a smaller item that you could use as a gift, without needing to buy large volumes of expensive materials.
Instructor Brittany Joyner of SoCal Wood Girl fame shows you how to make a jewelry box with a faux pearl inlay, going through each step in detail.
Although this is a beginners level course, it does assume that you have a basic understanding of woodworking tools and techniques. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to check out one or two of the starter courses on this list before you attempt this one.
13. Woodworking for beginners: Learn joinery techniques
- Platform: Domestika
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Cecilia Bolio and Rodolfo Morales
- Duration: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Joinery techniques are an essential skill for any woodworker, and instructors Cecilia Bolio and Rodolfo Morales from Estudio Caribe will show you how to design, assemble and build projects using wooden mounting.
This course is not just about basic joinery skills but creating works of art from wood that express your own personality. Suitable for complete beginners, the course starts by covering essential concepts and tools, how to choose and prepare the right wood, then moves on to creating your design and building it with your own hands.
Finally, Cecilia and Rodolfo will give you tips on how to protect your piece and keep it in good condition over the long term.
14. Traditional woodworking with hand tools
- Platform: Domestika
- Suitable for: Beginners
- Teacher: Bibbings & Hensby
- Duration: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Unlike most other online offerings, the course emphasizes hand tools and traditional techniques: you’ll learn how to craft wooden furniture using the same methods as carpenters have done for centuries. It’s also excellent for beginners as you don’t need any expensive or dangerous power tools.
Expert carpenters Jack Bibbings and Matthew Hensby combine age-old techniques with contemporary designs in their workshop, and they pass their approach on to you across this course. They detail the various hand tools you should be familiar with, and how to use them to build sturdy, solid wood pieces that will last for generations.
Specifically, they show you how to make a classic three-legged oak stool, from preparing and dimensions the materials, through drilling and shaping the timber to adding finishing touches such as flushing tendons, chamfers, and oils or paints.
15. 6 easy DIY wood projects
- Platform: Woodworkers Guild of America
- Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate
- Teacher: George Vondriska
- Duration: N/A
This class set from the Woodworkers Guild of America walks you through how to make six beginner-level projects.
The set includes six video lessons showing you how to make:
- A Miter saw station
- A bench
- A dresser
- A kitchen table
- An heirloom toolbox
- Raised panel doors
In each class, expert woodworker George Vondriska goes through each step in detail, telling you everything you need to not only make these pieces, but equipping you with skills and techniques to plan and build a range of other stunning, long-lasting projects.
16. Woodworking Masterclasses membership
- Platform: Woodworking Masterclasses
- Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate
- Teacher: Paul Sellers
- Duration: Various
This is not a specific class, but rather a subscription that gives you access to a wide range of projects, community advice, and online instruction.
You can sign up to the free tier of woodworkingmasterclasses.com which includes dozens of free projects and tool and technique videos, while there’s also a premium option that opens you up to literally hundreds of videos and resources.
This diverse range of resources makes it a good pick for beginners, and the site’s active online community also provides extra support and troubleshooting advice to help you on your journey. You can also start with the free option and upgrade to the paid membership once you’re committed to woodworking.
Wrapping up
Making your own projects from wood is not only fun and satisfying, it’s also an economical and sustainable way to furnish and decorate your home!
Thanks to the wealth of resources available online, anyone can learn the art of woodworking, even if you’re a complete beginner with no experience. There are some excellent classes available online through a range of platforms.
Although you’ll also find plenty of written and video tutorials, the advantage of online courses is that they’re more comprehensive, are often given by certified experts, and you’ll typically have the opportunity to ask the instructor questions and clear up any doubts.
If you’ve enjoyed this list of the best beginner woodworking classes and are looking for more craft and DIY inspiration, take a look at this post on the best wood-burning projects and best stained glass classes.
