As woodworkers, we use a variety of materials in our craft: Solid wood in the form of hardwoods and softwoods; domestic and imported woods; plywood; MDF; melamine; multi-ply plywood, and more.

Like choosing the right tool for the job, it’s important to choose the correct material. That’s why we created this course in conjunction with Woodworkers Guild of America. We want to help you better understand the material you’re working with, and educate you about materials you may not be familiar with.

In addition to understanding material, it’s also important to understand what happens behind the scenes. How are trees converted to lumber? How are hardwoods ordered? What’s the difference between particle board, MDF and plywood?

Woodworkers Guild of American instructor, George Vondriska will comprehensively cover the following in this course:

• Man-made materials (plywood, MDF, particle board, melamine, multi-ply, grades)

• Where to buy quality materials

• Milling lumber (plain sawing, quarter sawing, air drying, kiln drying)

• Using construction grade lumber

• Hardwood, softwood, and what those names mean

• Mastering board foot calculations

• Hardwood grading (firsts and seconds, select and better, #1 common)

• Paying for machining (surface two sides; straight line one edge)

• Veneers

• Incorporating defects into your projects (wane, spalting, blue stain, insect holes)

• Exotic/imported woods

Having this information at your fingertips will make you a more educated consumer, help you save money on your projects, and ensure that you’re choosing the best material for the job at hand.