Router 101 Skills and Safety Workshop

Learn to handle, set up, and cut confidently with a router — one of the most versatile tools in a workshop.

Spend a full day mastering the trim router and the handheld router on this hands-on router skills course, built for makers ready to add a transferable skill to their toolkit.This is a skills course rather than a single-project class, so instead of walking away with just one finished piece, you'll build real, lasting confidence with two of woodworking's most useful tools. You'll learn how each router works, when to reach for which, and how to keep things safe while still getting a clean, accurate cut – then move on to jigs, learning how to design, build, and use them to guide a router through your material with precision.Across the day, you'll:

• Understand router mechanics – how the motor, collet, and bit work together, and why feed direction is the single biggest factor in a safe, clean cut

• Choose the right tool for the job – the trade-offs between a trim router, a handheld router, and a router table

• Set up a router for repeatable results – dialling in material position, fence, and bit height

• Read and choose router bits – straight, profile, and spiral, and how each changes your result

• Get to grips with jig design – registration faces, clamping, and guide bushing offsets

• Build a straight-edge guide jig from scratch – a simple, reusable jig you'll make during the session

• Cut a template-guided recess – using a guide bushing and template to reproduce an identical cut safely

• Bring it all together on a sample board – combining trim router, handheld, and jig-guided cuts in one piece

By the end of the day, you'll take home a shop-made straight-edge guide jig ready for your next project, plus a router skills sample board that shows off everything you've learned.