The Foundations of Better Woodworking (PDF)

The secret to producing beautiful furniture that your family will treasure for generations, starts with fundamentals. The essential principles upon which all of your skills should be based.

Learn the fundamentals as craftsman, teacher and author Jeff Miller lays out these basic concepts, helping you understand:

• The importance of proper body position and mechanics. With this knowledge you will improve your ability to cut precise joints, as well as add to your efficiency and safety.
• What it means to cut to a line.
• The details of how the wood works, so you'll avoid tear out, splitting and warping — whether you use hand tools, machinery or both.
• How woodworking tools do their work, so you will be able to use them more easily, effectively and accurately.

By using the advice in this download, you will build the foundation for significant advances as a woodworker. You will find that your time in the shop is more rewarding, and your results more satisfying.

Jeff Miller has been a professional furniture designer and craftsman for nearly 30 years. He is the author of three woodworking books (and a contributor to two others), including the best-selling Beds, and Chairmaking and Design. He teaches woodworking fundamentals and other classes around the country and at his studio in Chicago.