Is Woodworking Easy? 2024

Woodworking Is Easy: 5 Reasons Why 

As a hardwood lumber professional, I interact with small, medium & large size woodworking shops. Is woodworking easy? In my opinion, woodworking is easy to start due to:

1. Low barriers to entry. Many popular woodworking projects require  just a few basic tools (saw, hammer, drill, etc.) which many homeowners already have. Thus, a basic woodworking shop is easy to set up.
2. Widespread woodworking information available online. There are many online woodworking easy resources, like tutorials & books, describing basic woodworking principals.
3. Relatively low cost of basic woodworking tools. The tools & materials needed to start woodworking easily are relatively affordable and readily available.
4. Technologies such as CNC which make advanced carving skills available to novice woodworkers.
5. Wood is forgiving and mistakes are often fixable. Thus, wood is a beginner-friendly resource.

With some experience and the proper tools, woodworking is a straightforward & easy hobby to start.

Of course, woodworking has its challenges. It’s difficult to achieve high skill levels & artistic proficiency.  Essentially, the same factors that make woodworking easy, also raise the standard by which woodworking is evaluated.

Simplest Woodworking Easy Projects

For beginning woodworkers, the ideal woodworking project is one that can be well- made with few tools and skills. In other words, the final product is not just simple but also looks like it required more skills than it did.

Here are a few of my recommendations for easy wood crafts:

• Cutting boards
• Wood shelves
• Small tables
• Picture frames
• Wood stools

Obviously, the ease of construction depends on the intricacy of the design. However, even crafting & installing unsophisticated linear wood shelves gives the maker insight into wood construction concepts. These concepts can be used to expand into increasingly complex designs. Thus, shortening the woodworker’s learning curve!