Intro to Joinery 1: Frame Joints: 2 Day Weekender

This is where your woodworking journey gets serious. Over two full days at POW Workshops in London, you'll learn the core joints used in tables, chairs, frames, and carpentry structures of all kinds. The same joints that have been the backbone of furniture making for centuries.

No experience needed. You'll start from the basics of measuring and marking, and by the end of the weekend you'll be cutting mortice and tenon joints, the single most important joint in woodworking. Along the way, you'll develop your sawing, chiselling, and marking skills to a level where you can execute joints with real precision. You'll put it all together by building a trivet that incorporates the joints you've learned.

Here's what you'll cover:

• Halving joints (half-lap joints): the foundation, and a joint you'll use again and again

• Bridle joints: an elegant frame joint used in table and chair construction

• Mortice and tenon joints: the single most important joint in furniture making

• Tool sharpening, learning to maintain a sharp edge on your chisels and plane irons

• Precision marking and layout, the skills that separate good work from rough work

• Posture and body mechanics: how balance and positioning give you more control than brute force

• Building a trivet project, putting your new joints into practice

This course is modelled on the structured approach used by London's best furniture-making schools, adapted for a weekend format so you don't need to take time off work. With a maximum of 8 people per class, you'll have plenty of time with your instructor.

Whether you're a complete beginner or you've done our Joinery Taster and want to go deeper, this course is for you. If you've already got some experience with hand tools, you'll find the structured approach fills in the gaps and sharpens your technique.

What you'll get

A completed trivet built with joints you've cut yourself, plus the core skills to take on Joinery 2: Dovetails and more ambitious woodworking projects. All tools and materials are provided.

What's next?

Joinery 2: Dovetails. You'll learn the joint that every woodworker wants to master: through dovetails, half-lap dovetails, and mitred dovetails. Together with Joinery 1, these two courses give you the complete foundation for furniture making.