Opinions on online woodwork tuition

[Andy F]

I would like to get some tuition for basic hand tool use, sharpening planes, cutting straight lines, making boards flat etc. Every time I try and make a straight piece of wood on a table saw it still ends up being ever so slightly off, or miles out. I made a shooting board out of melamine using the factory edges and I still cannot make things square. I have all the machinery tools anyone could want but they take time to get out of the cupboard, set up, mess up a piece of wood quickly, clean up the mess and put away. I have hand tools that I don't know how to use properly too. Sometimes I get it right, but that is more by luck then design.

Where I live, there is no option for attending courses, even without Covid, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience with online courses and tuition? Were they useful and got you where you wanted to be?

I don't mind spending money if that is what it takes.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Jacob]

Problem is there are 1000s of online offerings, many contradictory, many insane, many purely commercial and trying to sell you something you don't need.
Paul Sellers is good though and worth having a look. Not an actual course as far as I know but plenty of practical/sensible detail of various processes. Perhaps buy his book and then follow him on line.

 

[Andy F]

I have watched Paul Sellers on You tube, I like his quiet relaxing approach, good for ASMR and meditation if nothing else. I think he does a "paid for" website, I will have a look at that , will happily listen to any other recommendations as well.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Andy - I would recommend taking a look at Richard Maguire

https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/
cheers

 

[AJB Temple]

I suspect you will find that any single source quickly get dull or receptive. Rob Cosman has a lot of online content, both free and prepaid. He is undeniably skilled and has many good tips, but he is a marmite character to many.

Peter Millard who posts here has a lot of short videos on YT, covering tools and techniques.

 

[AESamuel]

I don't know much about paid courses or schools but youtube is a goldmine for learning a new skill!

Check out Matt Estlea, he's a very talented woodworker who has a bit more of a modern take on the skill compared to many others on youtube. It's quite refreshing not hearing "I've been doing it this way for 30+ years so it must work". He has an online woodworking school but that has taken a bit of a back seat due to lockdowns etc. His youtube channel has tons of tutorials, tool comparisons and projects as well.

Richard Maguire is fantastic so another vote for him. I find he tends to be a bit more of a traditionalist which there is nothing wrong with, just a different way of working. He's very thorough with his teaching, and he's very entertaining too!

Paul Sellers' videos got me into woodworking originally but the more time goes on the more I tend to disagree with his views and ways of working. For some he's the bee's knees though.

Rob Cosman has some good tutorials on his channel, but watch out for repeats - I've lost count of how many videos he's made about a single method of sharpening. Also keep in mind many of his videos are tutorials under the guide of selling you things. Still very good things you can learn from him though.

David Charlesworth is a member here on the forum, and has a few dvd's which look excellent. He has some shorter clips which will give you a preview of what to expect, and his method of teaching.

 

[C64]

In addition to the above names, I like Bob Rozaieski’s YouTube videos and his own website focusing on traditional hand work. I tend to avoid those woodworking YouTubers that has a lot of edited action shots and slo-mo close ups with punchy music because they can give a misleading impression of how long and/or tricky some tasks are.

 

[AJB Temple]

Also buy a book: The Why and How of Woodworking by Michael Pekovich. Read it and copy his system of marking and making joints. Several very adaptable projects too.

 

[Droogs]

Peter Sefton has dvds on toolery use as does Steve Maskery and on yt you also have matt eastleigh. look up the woodwrights shop for good traditional techniques from the US on PBS, avoid most of the rest
Cosman is a snakeoil salesman who has a bit of knowledge but is mostly trying to sell to kit he makes

 

[thetyreman]

I have found the woodworkingmasterclasses (dot) com by paul sellers to be the best place for me to learn new skills, some of the paid for projects on there are very rewarding as well as challenging. I'd avoid having more than one mentor whilst you're starting out at least, it just causes confusion.

 

[Fitzroy]

There I lots of online ‘watch me’ material but is there any courses by zoom that have popped up with the pandemic? My wife did a live online cooking course, and we’re looking into online language tuition for our kids with the tutor in the foreign country. It’s pretty amazing how people have so quickly adapted their businesses to be online/remote and global.
Fitz.

 

[Ttrees]

I'd start with Charlesworth, for pure excellence.
You won't fail following those techniques, simply the best person at describing everything in a language that will make things crystal clear.
If I were to buy anyone's publications, it'd be him.

And giving you a list of whom I think you can learn the most from,
And then in no particular order as I am looking through my subscriptions.
I will try and pick the best channels, and or folks who might have videos elsewhere.
I hope I haven't left too much out that I watch out for..

Phil Lowe's the art of woodworking is a nice compilation, pity he doesn't have a channel of his own.

Rob Cosman if you can wade through skipping the sharpening/maintenance of waterstones or sales pitch, and all too basic questions all over again.
His older videos might be worth looking at, aswell as a few I know of without as much faff might be...
Rob Cosman teaches Elder Torrie, or Flawless dovetails with Rob Cosman.

Mitch Peacock
Mike Pekovich
KillenWOOD
Frank Strazza, and his homestead heritage channel
Chris Tribe
The English woodworker
Scott Horsborough
Rowden Atelier
Derek Cohen
David Boeff
Wood and shop channel has some good videos


David W, to stop anyone from thinking they need to buy fancy hand planes,
the last word on dimensioning and smoothing troublesome species, without scrapers (no main stream gurus will go into much detail at all on this, and will duck and dive around the subject)

Andy Lovelock's sharpening western saws for all your saw sharpening needs

Frank Klausz has some old publications
You might find some stuff on Alan Peters if you look around,
Roy Underhill for some get it done in 10 mins fun to finish it off.

You should get quite a bit of knowledge from those guys.
I did regrettably leave a few out, due to them repeating themselves, I'm not going to learn something new in this video kinda thing.

Have fun watching
Tom

 

[billw]

I'd second picking someone you can learn from and sticking with them - lost count of the times I've watched YT to try and see how something is done and then been flooded with contradictory methods and I end up just as confused as when I started.

 

[mr edd]

+1 for starting with David Charlesworth.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Online learning with someone with a generally good reputation can be useful, but from personal experience I would suggest keep it simple.

This forum could generate a 100+ post thread on different sharpening methods. I use a honing guide having come to the conclusion it was better to become reliably competent in one method rather than try many and never be proficient.

On a part-time fine woodworking course (sadly unable to complete it) I came to the conclusion that proficiency is about taking care. It is a state of mind - it is not about how quickly something can be done, it is about getting it as good as you can irrespective of time.

Doing things quicker comes naturally when you can already do them adequately well.

Setting up machines needs thought and some instruction. Possibly take the table saw and practice cutting 25mm strips (of MDF?) until you have adjusted it so that it cuts reliably square, straight etc. You will learn a lot about refining the set up at low cost.

Many try to become better woodworkers by buying any more expensive kit in the hope that it compensates for their deficiencies. Bear in mind that traditional furniture makers had a fairly basic set of hand tools - they produced high quality through skill, not a credit card.

You may already know and do all this and I apologise if it is teaching granny to suck eggs. It's just what I have learned about myself!

 

[pryere]

I have learnt a lot from some of those mentioned already.
I still suffer with some of the faults you mention but it's getting better all the time.
If you know where you went wrong, you can fix it next time.
I am no where near the 10,000 hours that you need to be good at something but I' chipping away.

There are no shortcuts, just keep at it.

Have you made a crosscut sled for your table saw? It can help a lot with accuracy I have found.

 

[furnace]

On a part-time fine woodworking course (sadly unable to complete it) I came to the conclusion that proficiency is about taking care. It is a state of mind - it is not about how quickly something can be done, it is about getting it as good as you can irrespective of time.

+1

If you're doing it for pleasure, not professionally, take your time. Observing great care in the process will make the outcome more of a formality.

 

[NewbieRaf]

+1 for Matt Eastlea particularly for hand tools, in fact if you google his name he has a free online course which is apparently very good.

Personally I have struggled like you, the amount of times cutting and not getting things dead on well, it’s infinite and still happens, but that’s how you learn. You have many many experienced people both here on the forum but also on YouTube although IMO there is a hole or need for someone to explain the basics as in why is square important and how you should visualise it in your head or on paper before making the cut. I think too many people these days assume that basic geometry is a given when in fact me personally, I need contestant reminding.

although I am by no means an experienced woodworker I am thinking about setting something but on your tube that will not only take us back to basics but also enable collaborative learning without calling it a boring course. Trouble is - I have a one year old and it’s taking me time haha - I hope to start soon though

good luck and keep watching YouTube and ask ask ask questions - no such thing as too many.

 

[timothyedoran]

I really struggled cutting straight for years. I am 35 now and have some mates who also got into wood work. One bought a super dooper expensive chop saw because he couldn't get the accuracy he wanted by had. I watched Paul Sellers videos, normally at 1.5 speed. He has fixed it for me and I can now cross cut and rip cut square and straight. Knowing how to plane ends truly square or use a shooting board ensures squareness after the saw.

Paul Sellers might be a bit marmite with his opinion that his way is best. But it seems that his ways work so are defacto best for me.
Paul's other content is great. It's slow paced, just like real hand tool woodwork is like. For me this made me realise that preparing and cutting stuff takes me ages and that's part of my fun.

I can recommend his series on making a pencil or chisel box as a beginner's project.

Good luck.

 

[MikeK]

Videos and books are great resources, but I learn best with hands-on and face to face training. There are several courses in Germany, but all were structured around a lengthy apprenticeship program that could take several years to complete. I briefly considered enrolling in a 12-week program in the northwest U.S., but the course schedules didn't align with my availability.

I decided the best sources for me would be in the UK, but was having trouble finding any that made it cost effective. The transportation, lodging, tuition, and shipping of tools add up quickly, so any course had to be at least a week in order for me to consider it. This narrowed the selection considerably.

I was fortunate to be able to attend four of David Charlesworth's week-long classes in Devon and highly recommend them for anyone. The first two courses, Tool Tuning and Dovetail Making, were in late 2019. The Mortise and Tenon and Drawer courses were in early 2020. I can safely say I would not have been able to accomplish what I did in the same amount of time by videos and books alone. The lectures and hands-on training made the difference for me, and while I still have much to learn, I know know what "good" looks like and how to achieve it.