Woodshop (workspace)

Woodshop

Woodshops is a woodworking workshop space dedicated to the processing, shaping, and assembly of wood into finished products or components. Woodshops can be found in schools, makerspaces, fab labs, flex spaces, homes, garages, community centers, and professional manufacturing environments. They typically include a combination of hand tools, power tools, and stationary machinery for cutting, shaping, joining, and finishing wood.

Educational use

In schools, woodshop classes are part of industrial arts, technology education, or career and technical education programs, where students learn tool and material use, measurements, project planning, and craftsmanship. In fab labs and makerspaces woodshops often serve as a skill sharing environment for hobbyists and entrepreneurs.

Safety

Woodshops pose hazards including sharp blades, airborne dust, and noise exposure. Proper training, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and adherence to safety protocols are critical in personal, educational, and professional woodshop settings.

Types of PPE

Woodworking apron
  • Chainsaw safety clothing
  • Coveralls
  • Dust mask
  • Eye protection
  • Face shield
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Hard hat
  • Hearing protection
  • Powered air-purifying respirator
  • Protective clothing
  • Push stick
  • Respirator
  • Safety boot
  • Safety glove
  • Woodworking apron

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Common tools

Common tools and machines found in a woodshop

Tool

Table saw

Band saw

Drill press

Radial arm saw

Router

Other woodshop tools

  • Screwdrivers – list of screw drives
  • Wrench – list of wrenches
  • Hammers – list of hammers, nail gun, staple gun, nailset, punch
  • Measuring tools – speed square, ruler, calipers, tape measure, protractor, plumb bob, combination square, laser rangefinder, level
  • Drills – hammer drill, drill bit
  • Cutting tools – hand saw, bow saw, coping saw, utility knife, chisel, hand plane, jigsaw, circular saw, scroll saw, router table, miter saw, reciprocating saw, thickness planer, jointer, wood shaper, mortiser, spokeshave, drawknife
  • Abrasive tools – files, rasp, sandpaper, grinding wheel, belt sander, orbital sander, hand scraper
  • Holding tools – vise, clamps, pliers, bench hook, biscuit joiner, locking pliers, tool belt
  • Marking tools – carpenters pencil, marking gauge, scriber, chalk line, scratch awl
  • Miscellaneous – workbench, sawhorses, dust collection system, paintbrush, shop vac, air compressors, wood lathe, rotary tool

Products used

  • Brackets
  • Dowel
  • Hinges
  • Lacquer
  • Lumber
  • Masking tape
  • Mineral spirits
  • Nails
  • Paint and spray paint
  • Paint thinner
  • Polyurethane
  • Plywood
  • Rag
  • Saw blade
  • Screws
  • Staples
  • Varnish
  • Wood filler
  • Wood glue
  • Wood stain

Types of woodshop work

  • Boat building
  • Carpentry
  • CNC machining
  • Framing
  • Furniture making – list of furniture types, cabinetry, upholstery
  • Instrument making and luthier
  • Intarsia
  • Joinery
  • Laser engraving
  • Marquetry
  • Model building
  • Wood carving
  • Wood engraving
  • Wood veneer
  • Woodturning
Box truck woodshop
CNC machine
Laser engraved wood
Tool trailer
Woodshop
Woodworking apron

See also

  • Do it yourself (DIY)
  • Glossary of woodworking
  • List of building materials
  • List of building information modeling software
  • List of computer-aided manufacturing software
  • List of 3D modeling software
  • Maker culture
  • SketchUp and SketchUp Free
  • Superwood

Woodshop magazines

  • American Woodturner Journal
  • Canadian Home Workshop
  • Craft (American magazine)
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Lesnaya Industriya
  • Popular Woodworking
  • Wood