Utah Community Learning
Home Skills & DIY

Intro to Woodworking: Build a Small Shelf

Meets Mondays 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM · Fall 2026 · registration open
This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

This class is for anyone who has never touched a table saw and wants to leave with something they built with their own hands. Over six Monday evenings we'll build one small wall shelf, start to finish. You'll measure, mark, cut, sand, and assemble, and I'll walk you through the tools so they stop being scary.

We start with hand tools before we touch anything with a motor, because I feel like you learn more when you can feel a cut go wrong. We'll use pine, which is cheap and forgiving, so it doesn't matter if you ruin a board.

You'll leave with a shelf you understand, and can build again on your own. Not great, but it held. That's usually how it starts.

Lessons

  1. Before You Cut Anything

    We get comfortable with the shop, the wood, and why measuring is the part people rush.

  2. Marking and Cutting by Hand

    We start with a hand saw so you can feel what a cut does before a motor takes that away.

  3. Meeting the Power Tools

    Now we bring in the drill and the table saw, slowly and with the safety talk that actually matters.

  4. The Dry Fit

    We put the whole shelf together with no glue first, because I glued a joint upside down once and never want you to do that.

  5. Glue, Fasteners, and Assembly

    We commit to it, glue and screws or nails, and clamp it up right.

  6. Sanding, Finishing, and Hanging It

    The part where the project actually gets made, plus an honest word about finishing since it's my weak spot.

Class discussion

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