WOODWORKING
Chapter 1INTENTIONAL BEGINNINGS
Introduction
Preparing to start a wood project must be an intentional act. In other words, you must set out the time
to think through what you’re going to do before you ever begin cutting. The person who begins a project
without planning properly wastes time, energy, money, and materials. This type of negligence will
produce nothing but frustration.
Project preparation begins with knowing where you are and where you want to be. Sure, that may
sound easy when it comes to a woodworking project. Anyone can say, “I don’t have a cabinet in my room.
I want a cabinet in my room.” But proper project preparation requires a whole lot more than that. Project
preparation begins with knowing how something will be built before you ever begin, and seeing in your
mind’s eye what the finished product will look like. That’s called forethought.
Next, you must develop a thorough plan. Without a detailed plan, the road to completion produces
more mistakes than results. This means taking the time to draw your building plans and write down
important notes.
After the plan is developed, envision the end product. Draw a picture of what the project will look like.
This will help you put the project together in your mind and it will give you a clear idea of what you want
to accomplish. Think of this pictorial as a snap shot of what you plan to build.
Finally, keep yourself organized by placing everything in a portfolio. Keeping organized will save you
a lot of headaches.
Forethought
Decide your Work Ethic: Before you begin anything, you
should know how much effort you will put into the project
and the degree of excellence you will work towards. Write
your commitment down and include it in your portfolio on
your cover page and the work agreement.
Imagine the possibilities: Think outside of the box. If you
can dream it, it can be done. Don’t just do what you’ve
always done. Stretch yourself. No one gets anywhere by
doing the same thing over and over again. Get new ideas from
the internet, magazines, and/or books.
Think it through: Once you’ve dreamt up the idea, think it
through. Consider how it will go together, the type of
hardware you will need, the type of joints you will use, the
type of wood, and more.
Sketch up the idea: Once you have imagined the possibilities
and thought through the process draw a rough sketch of your
project. This will further help you consider how the project
will be built and what it will look like.
Develop the plan:
Determine overall measurements: Dimensions don’t need to be exact at this time. Simply decide
the height, depth, and length of your project. Include these on your sketch
Draw the Plans: Plan the work, work the plan. At the very least, your plans will have a top view,
front view, and side view. If your wood project will be a case or box of any kind, you will need to
include a section (a look inside to show how it is built). If your project has more than one piece,
such as drawers for a cabinet, you will need to have separate views of each piece. Sketch these
drawings out in scale on graph paper first. After the corrections have been made, then draw your
final set of working drawings.
Develop the List of Materials: The list of materials is your shopping list. On it you will list
everything you need from lumber to stain, and from hardware to fasteners (see chapter 4).
Unit I: Project Preparation