Bench Hook & Wood Mallet

Beginner friendly course to learn basic woodworking joinery by building a bench hook and wood mallet -- essential woodworking tools!

No prior experience needed for this course, all supplies and materials are provided. Partcipants will be introduced to each machine, provided operational overview, safety considerations, and have hands-on experience. $150 per participant, $120 for CCM members.

This 3-hour workshop focuses on the sliding dovetail and handcut mortise and tenons. These joints are using in cabinetry, chairs, desks, and other fine furniture. Participants will build a bench hook and wood mallet. These are essential woodworking tools and we will be using them throughout the next workshop in this series, Dovetailed Step Stool.

Emphasis is placed on safety, accuracy, alignment, and understanding when and why each joint is used.

Please wear comfortable well-fitted clothing, close-toed shoes, put your hair up, and be prepared to get a little dirty :)

Discover the joy of turning raw wood into something beautiful with my 5-part woodworking series—designed for absolute beginners and guided step-by-step. You’ll build real projects, learn essential tools and joinery, and leave with the confidence to design and create your own custom pieces. I recommend taking these courses in order as each subsequent course will layer on more advanced topics. That said, none of these courses will have pre-requistives, so feel free to take any course that piques your interest. Take all five and I will present you with a custom built piece to award your journey with me!

• -- Learn how to safely use essential wood shop equipment such as the miter saw, planer, jointer, table saw, bandsaw, router table, and more.
• -- Beginner joinery such as butt, rabbet, dowel, domino, pocket holes, grooves, dados, french cleats and more.
• Woodworking II: Bench Hook and Wood Mallet -- Intermediate joinery such as sliding dovetails and the mortise and tenon.
• Woodworking III: Dovetailed Step Stool (TBA)-- Advanced joinery such as handcut dovetails. This course will focus on layout, cutting pins and tails for a perfect fit... and fixing gaps post-mortem.
• Woodworking IV: Bending & Laminations Serving Tray (TBA)-- Advanced topics such as bending on a hot iron and using multi-part or structural forms to build laminations.

Picture Frames, Woven Cutting Boards, End Grain Cutting Boards (TBA), Marquetry Keepsake Boxes, Hardwood Knife Scales

We will take hardwoods and build a bench hook and wood mallet.

As part of the course, you'll learn:

• Dimensional construction lumber vs hardwood
• How to set-up and cut sliding dovetails on the router table
• How to accurately layout and cut a mortise by hand
• How to accurately layout and cut a tenon on the table saw
• Cutting and fitting a wedged tenon
• Hand shaping your mallet handle to a custom fit

David is a skilled handyman and fine woodworker with a passion for building, fixing, learning, and teaching. He runs Applewood Handyman as well as Moon Rabbit Woodworker, small businesses where he design-builds custom pieces ranging from hardwood picture frames and flamingo-inspired bent lamination side tables to built-in cabinets and solid wood tabletops. With a background in mechanical engineering, David combines creativity and technical precision to his work. Follow his Instragram @MoonRabbit.Woodworker!

Also check out other Workshops in Wheat Ridge.