Learning About Wood: how to become a successful woodworker.

Name: Learning About Wood: how to become a successful woodworker.
Rating: 4.5 (116 reviews)

Describes woods structure, characteristics, and limitations - things that every woodworker should know.

Created byBrian Steckler

Last updated 12/2020

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

The structure of wood
Parts of a tree trunk
A description of some wood species
The importnace of understanding wood grain
How and why wood moves
To spot common defects and how to deal with them
How to avoid the "fatal flaws"
The terminology of wood dimensions
How to figure out the quantity of wood to buy
The characteristics of veneers and plywood
Some tips on how to buy wood

Course content

1 section • 7 lectures • 51m total length

Introduction; meet master woodworker Bill Martin; KNOWING WOOD !11:24
Wood Grain5:09
Learn how wood grain direction and humidity drive movement, compare face grain, edge grain, and end grain, and plan glue ups to accommodate movement and prevent joints from cracking.
Wood Strength4:41
Explore wood strength through specific gravity, compression performance, and common issues like sag in long spans; learn about splintering risks and the reliability of glue joints in projects.
Wood Defects6:47
Introduction of your instructor, Bill Martin, and the layout of the courses next six modules.
Species Choice4:42
Buying Wood17:00
Choose wood wisely for your project, understanding board feet, nominal versus actual sizes, and surfacing four sides, then plan cut lists and plywood options with extra material.
Summary: Nature of wood, types/species, grain, defects, strength and buying tips2:04
Explore wood anatomy and varieties—from pith, heartwood, sapwood, and cambium to hardwood, softwood, plywood, and MDF—along with green wood, glue joints, defects, strength, and buying tips for selecting wood.

Requirements

Just an interest in discovering wood !

Description

This course is designed to give you, the student, a grasp of wood characteristics which will result in more attractiveness and structural integrity in all your future projects. You will learn:

- the five parts of a tree trunk and the two that are most serviceable

- how wood structure makes end grain gluing worthless

- how to read wood grain and why its important

- how wood grain relates to wood movement

- why reading wood grain is critical to proper planing direction

- about wood strength and how heavy loads are handled with wood in compression

- how to avoid boards with uncorrectable defects

- how to select good boards

- what species and types of wood are suitable for your projects

- to do a “cut list” to figure out how much wood to buy for a project

- characteristics of veneers, plywood, and marine plywood

- when it is necessary to use dimensionally stable material.

Who this course is for:

Beginners interested in becoming woodworkers
Intermediate and more experienced woodworkers