WoodWorkers Guild of America

WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) is an online woodworking school built around a membership: a library of expert-led video tutorials, a library of downloadable woodworking plans, and admission to live streamed tutorials and Q&A sessions. Alongside the membership it sells individual woodworking classes, DVDs and other products. It is for home and hobby woodworkers who want to learn techniques and build projects by following along on video. The homepage pitch is "Discover the art of woodworking with guidance from skilled professionals. Follow step-by-step video lessons and start building timeless pieces with confidence."

The membership

The membership is the main product. The homepage headline is "Unlimited woodworking videos! Try it for only $1.79 for a whole year," with the note that the offer is valid for new members only. The site says membership is "No commitment. Cancel anytime." The menu banner promises hundreds of woodworking videos and plans for the same $1.79 a year. The "More Reasons to Join" section lists exactly three things a member gets:

• access to an extensive library of expert-led woodworking video tutorials;
• an extensive library of downloadable woodworking plans;
• admission to live streaming tutorials and Q&As.

The video library is split into Free Videos and Premium Videos, so some content is open to anyone and the premium material sits behind the membership. The site shows only the introductory price; it does not show what membership costs after that first year.

The video library

Videos are organized by topic, which is the clearest picture of what the library covers: Cabinet Making, Finishing, Furniture Making, Gluing & Clamping, Hand Tools, Hardware, Jigs & Fixtures, Joinery, Power Tools, Projects, Sanding, Shop Tips, Shop Safety, Table Saw, Understanding Wood, Woodturning and Working with Epoxy. There is also a Sponsored Videos category. The homepage features rows of most popular videos and new arrivals.

That spread runs from the basics a new woodworker needs, such as sanding, gluing and clamping, shop safety and understanding wood, to more specialized subjects like woodturning, epoxy work and building jigs and fixtures. The format is step-by-step video lessons, which suits learning a process at the bench: watch a step, do it, watch the next. A resource page explains how to stream the videos to a TV.

Plans

The plans library is the second half of the membership. Plans are grouped under Bandsaw Techniques, Cabinet Making, Furniture Making, Finishing, Jigs & Fixtures, Joinery, Miter Saw, Projects & Inspiration and Router Techniques. Members download them, so a project seen in a video can be built from a plan in the shop.

Woodworking classes to own

Separately from the membership, WWGOA sells classes that a buyer keeps. The woodworking classes page lists 51 of them, filterable by topic, instructor and "Price to Own," with price bands of under $9.99, $10.00 to $19.99 and $20.00 to $39.99. The classes listed carry a regular price of $39.99 and a sale price of $10.00, with Painting Your Projects at $19.99 and $5.00 on sale.

The instructors listed in the filter are George Vondriska, Jess Crow, Jimmy DiResta, Luke Goodhue, Tom Caspar, David Munkittrick and Elisha Albretsen, and George Vondriska teaches most of the classes shown. The titles give a good sense of the range:

• Furniture and home projects: How to Build a Dresser, Kitchen Table, Build a Bench, Build a Little Library, Build a Modular Craft Table, Build an Impossible Table, Build a Figured Wood Box and Camp Kitchen.
• Shop builds: Cordless Tool Station, Miter Saw Station, 8 Must-Have MatchFit Jigs, Build a Shave Horse, and from Jimmy DiResta, A Deluxe Shop Cabinet with a Stack of Pull-Out Drawers and Heirloom Toolbox.
• Techniques: Strategies for Banding Plywood Edges, Raised Panel Doors, Must-Have Table Saw Techniques (bridle joints, aluminum, plexiglass and more), Working with Live Edge Slabs, Advanced Hand-Held Router Techniques, All About Glue and Painting Your Projects.
• Materials and machines: Milling Lumber: From Rough to Ready with Luke Goodhue, Fundamentals for Epoxy in Woodworking with Jess Crow, and Benchtop CNC: The Next Level.

Several titles are complete builds of one piece, such as the dresser, the kitchen table and the little library, while others teach a single skill, such as banding plywood edges or making raised panel doors, that carries over into many later projects. The list can be sorted by date, title, instructor or price, which makes it easy to find the newest additions or every class by one instructor.

The class filter adds topics beyond the video categories, including Bandsaw Techniques, Benchtop CNC, Lathe Turning, Resin & Epoxy and Shop Setup. The menu also has a section called Master Courses.

Live events

The Live section covers Live Tutorials, Live Q&A, a Live Schedule and an All Live Events page, plus pages for WWGOA GOLD and Product Showcase. Admission to the live streamed tutorials and Q&As is part of the membership, which gives members a way to put questions to instructors rather than only watch recorded lessons.

Resources and shop

Outside the lessons, the site has a Resources area with Member Tips, articles, a Woodworking Q&A section, a Project Gallery and Tours. The shop sells classes, DVDs, bundles and sets, video downloads, books and guides, tools and accessories, and apparel, which makes it possible to buy a single class or a DVD without joining. A free newsletter sends new videos, plans, tips and techniques by email. Customer service runs through an FAQ and a contact page, and the site publishes an accessibility statement. Every page carries a safety notice that all activities undertaken with WWGOA are the user's own responsibility and performed at their own risk.

Who it suits

WWGOA suits a home woodworker who learns by watching and then building: someone setting up a shop who wants to build a miter saw station and a tool cabinet, a hobbyist ready for a first piece of furniture, or a more experienced maker looking at router techniques, live edge slabs, epoxy or a benchtop CNC. The $1.79 first year makes it cheap to try the full library, plans and live sessions, and the free videos and newsletter cost nothing at all. A learner who wants just one project can buy that class to own instead. Woodturners and anyone working with resin and epoxy will find dedicated topics as well.

The teaching is video and plans rather than a graded course with feedback on your own work, so it fits a self-directed woodworker best. The live Q&As are the place to ask questions.