Hand Tools Fundamentals: 5-Day Introductory Woodworking Course

This five-day introductory woodworking course is designed to give you a strong foundation in the essential skills of working wood by hand.Over five immersive days at Moonlite Studios, you’ll learn to use, sharpen, and maintain the core hand tools of furniture making while developing the accuracy, confidence, and understanding needed to work independently.We begin with timber itself: understanding grain, structure, and movement, and learning how to read wood before you cut it. From there, we work through accurate measuring and marking, sawing, chiselling and planing, sharpening, and tool setup. These skills are learned through beginning the construction of a small table, so each new technique has an immediate purpose and context.The emphasis is not simply on completing a project. You’ll learn why tools and techniques work, how to diagnose problems when they don’t, and how to develop reliable working habits that can carry into your own woodworking.The course is suitable for complete beginners as well as people who have already done some woodworking but want to establish stronger foundations. Classes are deliberately small, allowing plenty of individual guidance and time at the bench.“Great course that covered all the basics of hand tool joinery. Didn’t think that I could do this accurate timber work without machines beforehand, but learning well-taught processes and techniques meant I’ve now caught the hand tool woodworking bug, thanks to Ross. Highly recommended.” — Shaun RuddMoonlite Studios offers safe, welcoming, and inclusive classes. We are a working studio in a rural location, and some classes and activities may require particular levels of mobility or physical capacity. We recognise that access needs are individual and, wherever possible, will work with you to make participation practical and comfortable. If you have accessibility requirements or would like to discuss whether this class will suit your needs, please contact us before booking.You don’t need to arrive with a collection of expensive hand tools. The workshop is fully equipped, and the tools needed for the course are available for you to use.By the end of the five days, you’ll have a practical grounding in hand-tool woodworking and a much clearer understanding of how to continue developing your skills — whether your aim is furniture making, other forms of woodwork, or simply becoming more capable and confident in your own workshop.Mount Egerton is located on Wadawurrung Country in Central Victoria, approximately 90 minutes from Melbourne and 30 minutes from Ballarat. The studio is easily reached from Melbourne’s west and from Geelong, Daylesford, and regional Victoria. All timber and materials for the course, use of Moonlite Studios’ hand tools and workbenches, and five days of closely guided practical tuition. Read more details