Skip to Main Content

Home, Crafts and Hobbies Atlas

How Hands Make A Home

Sign In

Text size

100%

Theme

Switch Atlas

Interactive AtlasThe Family Home

The Inner World

Divinity AtlasSacred Correspondences
Language AtlasHow Languages Connect
Philosophy AtlasHow Thinkers Disagree
Arts and Music AtlasWorks, Makers, Traditions
Literature AtlasHow Stories Are Told
Sport and Games AtlasHow The Game Is Played
Psychology AtlasHow The Mind Works
Education AtlasHow Knowledge Is Built
Film and Media AtlasHow Stories Are Broadcast
Architecture and Design AtlasHow Space Is Shaped
Home, Crafts and Hobbies AtlasHow Hands Make A HomeCurrent Atlas

The Civil World

The Natural World

Craft

Woodworking

Wood

The craft of shaping wood into useful and beautiful things: furniture, cabinetry, carving, joinery and turning. One of the oldest of all human skills, developed to a high art in ancient Egypt and China, and still the gateway craft for most home workshops, where a few hand tools and a bench are enough to begin. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Craft Class

Wood 1

Earliest Evidence (Circa)

The oldest known worked wood is a set of shaped, notched sticks from Kalambo Falls in southern Africa, dated to roughly 476,000 years ago, older than Homo sapiens itself. 1

Origin

Chinese woodworking tradition traces its origin to the legendary craftsman Lu Ban, placed in the Spring and Autumn period (roughly 771 to 476 BC), credited with introducing tools including the woodworking plane and the chalk line to China; the manual of techniques later attributed to him was compiled roughly 1,500 years after his death. 1

Origin

Documented as a developed craft in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and China, with joinery, carving and fine furniture surviving from both 1

Woodworking

50 entries

Tool Family

Introduced Era

Group

Adze

Backsaw

Bedrock Plane

Belt Sander

Bench Dog

Bench Hook

Block Plane

Brace (Tool)

Bradawl

Broadaxe

Bucksaw

Card Scraper

Chamfer Plane

Chisel

Combination Square

Coping Saw

Crosscut Saw

Drawknife

Finger Plane

Fore Plane

Fretsaw

Froe

Gimlet (Tool)

Grooving Plane

Hand Plane

Handsaw

Jack Plane

Japanese Plane

Jointer Plane

Lathe

Mallet

Marking Gauge

Miter Box

Moulding Plane

Razee Plane

Rebate Plane

Router Plane

Scrub Plane

Shooting Board

Shoulder Plane

Slick (Tool)

Smoothing Plane

Spill Plane

Spokeshave

Steel Square

Thickness Planer

Try Square

Winding Stick

Wood Auger

Woodworking Vise

Connections

Associated With

Adirondack Chair Plan

Classic Birdhouse Plan

Dovetailed Keepsake Box Plan

End-Grain Cutting Board Pattern

Farmhouse Trestle Table Plan

Wood carving is catalogued among folk art's own materials, forms and crafts.

Additional Source Folk Art (Wikipedia)Materials, forms, and crafts section

Mission Style Table Plan

Morris Chair Plan

Shaker Ladder-Back Chair Plan

Shaker Oval Box Plan

Traditional Roubo Workbench Plan

Weathervane Woodworking Plan

Windsor Chair Plan

Has Figure

George Nakashima

Source George Nakashima (Wikipedia)

Source Sam Maloof (Wikipedia)

Tools Used

Adze is used in Woodworking.

Backsaw is used in Woodworking.

Bedrock Plane is used in Woodworking.

Source Belt Sander (Wikipedia)

Source Bench Dog (Wikipedia)

Bench Hook is used in Woodworking.

Block Plane is used in Woodworking.

Brace (Tool) is used in Woodworking.

Bradawl is used in Woodworking.

Broadaxe is used in Woodworking.

Bucksaw is used in Woodworking.

Card Scraper is used in Woodworking.

Chamfer Plane is used in Woodworking.

Chisel is used in Woodworking.

Combination Square

Combination Square is used in Woodworking.

Coping Saw is used in Woodworking.

Crosscut Saw is used in Woodworking.

Drawknife is used in Woodworking.

Finger Plane is used in Woodworking.

Fore Plane is used in Woodworking.

Fretsaw is used in Woodworking.

Froe is used in Woodworking.

Gimlet (Tool) is used in Woodworking.

Grooving Plane is used in Woodworking.

Source Hand Plane (Wikipedia)

Handsaw is used in Woodworking.

Jack Plane is used in Woodworking.

Japanese Plane is used in Woodworking.

Jointer Plane is used in Woodworking.

Source Lathe (Wikipedia)

Mallet is used in Woodworking.

Marking Gauge is used in Woodworking.

Miter Box is used in Woodworking.

Moulding Plane is used in Woodworking.

Razee Plane is used in Woodworking.

Rebate Plane is used in Woodworking.

Router Plane is used in Woodworking.

Scriber is used in Woodworking.

Scrub Plane is used in Woodworking.

Shooting Board is used in Woodworking.

Shoulder Plane is used in Woodworking.

Slick (Tool) is used in Woodworking.

Smoothing Plane

Smoothing Plane is used in Woodworking.

Spill Plane is used in Woodworking.

Spokeshave is used in Woodworking.

Steel Square is used in Woodworking.

Thickness Planer

Thickness Planer is used in Woodworking.

Try Square is used in Woodworking.

Winding Stick is used in Woodworking.

Wood Auger is used in Woodworking.

Woodworking Vise

Woodworking Vise is used in Woodworking.

Sources

1. Woodworking (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia Foundation

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking
shaped sticks displaying notches from Kalambo Falls in southern Africa, dating to around 476,000 years ago
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking, Ancient China section
Lu Ban is said to have introduced the plane, the chalk line, and other tools to China.

View the Source

Hand Plane (Wikipedia)

WikipediaTools Used: Hand PlaneView the Source

Folk Art (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Folk Art, Materials, forms, and crafts section

Quote, Associated With: Folk Art, Materials, forms, and crafts section

Wood carving

View the Source

Bench Dog (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationTools Used: Bench Dog, Body text, dog holes sentence

Quote, Tools Used: Bench Dog, Body text, dog holes sentence

Dog holes are arranged in a line perpendicular to the jaws of a vise, typically in intervals of four to six inches.

View the Source

Belt Sander (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationTools Used: Belt Sander, Body text, sanding process sentence

Quote, Tools Used: Belt Sander, Body text, sanding process sentence

Belt sanders can have a very aggressive action on wood and are normally used only for the beginning stages of the sanding process, or used to rapidly remove material.

View the Source

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is credited with founding Chinese woodworking?

Tradition credits the legendary craftsman Lu Ban, active around the Spring and Autumn period.

Chinese woodworking tradition names Lu Ban, working in the Spring and Autumn period (roughly 771 to 476 BC), as its founding figure, crediting him with introducing tools including the plane and the chalk line. The manual of techniques later attributed to him, the Lu Ban Jing, was compiled roughly 1,500 years after his death, so the historical craftsman and the craft lore built around his name are not the same thing.

Take a Related Quiz

Crafts and Hobbies: Craft FactsCovers this kind of entry.

Comments (0)

No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.

Reader Challenges (0)

No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.