New Whole Earth Reference Library · Practical Skills
Description: Joshua Farnsworth teaches traditional hand tool woodworking — buying guides, step-by-step skill-building articles, shop tours, and project plans — alongside a paid video course library and an in-person woodworking school.
Why it matters: Hand tool woodworking is a dwindling skill set; this site makes the learning curve approachable with free, well-organized beginner content before asking anyone to pay for more.
Strengths: Extensive free how-to content organized into a clear step-by-step learning path; detailed tool buying guides; active forum.
Limitations: Free content is spread across dozens of separate buying-guide pages rather than one structured course, so newcomers may need to dig around; forum runs on Facebook rather than an independent platform.
Link: Wood and Shop
Cost: Free & Paid
Note: Start with the “10 Steps to Get Started“ series — it’s free and walks through the whole learning path.
Search the Reference Library: New resources are added regularly. If this library is useful to you, consider a paid subscription. It helps us keep building it—more tools, more resources, and more practical knowledge every day.
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