Library
Basic Woodworking

Basic Woodworking

Image
man and young man working on wooden post

Purpose

See that broken chair in the corner? You can save it! Learning basic woodworking will be a blessing to you and to others for the rest of your life. You can learn to fix what’s broken, create something beautiful from raw materials, and serve others with valuable skills.

Description

Hold a hands-on learning activity for basic woodworking skills. Find someone who knows how to work with hand tools and ask him or her to demonstrate their use. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish with inexpensive hand tools. After all, the pioneers didn’t have modern tools when building temples. Start small, learn the basics, and see what you can build together.

As you plan this activity, please follow the counsel given in chapter 13 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010) and review “Safety Recommendations for Church Activities.”​

More Ideas

  • Make it beautiful—Get some simple wooden items, such as spools, small blocks, or boxes, and some inexpensive paints. Let participants pick a wooden item and paint it.

  • No-cost crafting—If the group can find raw materials, such as driftwood or fallen branches, invite everyone to build something from what they find. You could even hold a contest for most creative, most useful, and so forth.

  • Power tools—Invite an experienced instructor to show your group how to use various power tools such as a saw, lathe, sander, or drill. Using these tools, make something simple out of wood (such as a shelf or picture frame). Be sure to follow the recommended safety guidelines for using power tools.

  • Build and serve—Consider building a chair or some other useful piece of furniture as a group. You will learn valuable skills, and you could donate the furniture to someone in need. A chair can be as simple or as intricate as you choose.

  • Finish with finish—As your skills grow, you could invite an expert to show you how to finish your projects with sanding, staining, protecting, and other finishing techniques. When items are finished properly, they are more beautiful and last longer.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why do you think it is important to learn new skills such as woodworking?

  • How has learning a new skill helped you serve someone else?

  • What thoughts or impressions do you have about learning new skills?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

Other