Woodworking Tutorial Monthly

What Woodworking Tutorial Monthly Actually Is

It is a monthly digital publication that delivers one detailed woodworking project per issue, complete with cut lists, material specs, and step-by-step photographic guidance. Some people treat it like a magazine you buy at the stand. That is not really what it is. It is more of a subscription service aimed at makers who want consistent, project-based learning without hunting through YouTube or forum threads. You subscribe, you get a PDF package in your inbox on roughly the first Tuesday of each month, and inside is enough detail to go from raw lumber to finished piece. The layout is standardized across issues. Table of contents, bill of materials, tool requirements, then the build sequence broken into numbered phases. There is no fluff section at the end either, which you might find refreshing if you have read other hobby publications that pad articles with filler. The photos are taken by the writer or a dedicated photographer, not scraped from free stock sites. This matters more than you would think because grain direction, joint fit, and clamping pressure are hard to convey in text alone. Seeing a properly fitted mortise and tenon joint in a clear overhead shot saves you guessing at angles.

The Practical Reality of Using It

I have been working through these issues for about two years now. Most projects land somewhere between beginner-intermediate and advanced. A few are genuinely but they do not dumb things down. The instructions assume you know what a table saw is and roughly how to set a blade height. One thing that surprised me early on was the emphasis on material selection. Every issue includes a section on wood species, where to source it, and what problems to expect. I ran into a real snag with Issue 14. The project called for quarter-sawn white oak, and my local supplier kept sending me plain-sawn stock that looked similar but moved differently. The instructions do not explicitly call out the difference between those cuts, and that cost me about three hours and a warped shelf before I caught it. My workaround was simple: I started asking suppliers to photograph the end grain before shipping. It took some phone calls, but one shop in particular changed their policy for me within a week. That kind of proactive communication is something the publication does not teach, but it is exactly the kind of thing you pick up while actually building. Another practical consideration is time. The stated completion time for most projects is optimistic. If they say eight hours, plan for twelve to fourteen depending on your shop setup and how comfortable you are with joinery. I learned this during Issue 17, a dovetail nightstand. The instructions assumed you could cut compound angle dovetails on the first try. I could not. I ended up spending two full evenings on the front panel alone, and the final fit was acceptable but not clean. The tutorial covers basic dovetails well. It does not address the curve ball of compound angles unless you already know how to handle them.

Common Pitfalls and What They Miss

The biggest gap I have found is tool variance. The material list will tell you what tools are needed, but it rarely accounts for the fact that your table saw might run fifty dollars cheaper than the one they used to measure against. Jig compatibility, fence accuracy, and blade quality all change outcomes. Issue 9 had a routing instruction that worked flawlessly with a new Porter-Cable router and a brand-new bit. When I tried the same pass with my older DeWalt and a worn bit, the edge chattered badly. The fix was not in the tutorial. I had to slow the feed rate by about forty percent and switch to a fresher bit. Worth knowing. There is also a silent assumption that most readers have a dedicated workspace. Several projects require simultaneous use of a jointer, planer, and drill press for extended periods. If you work out of a garage with a folding table and a bench vise, some of these builds become significantly more complicated. The publication mentions this in passing but does not offer alternative workflows for small-shop builders. That is a genuine limitation if your space is tight.

Who This Is Actually For

It works well if you want a structured progression of projects that get harder over time. The issues are sequenced deliberately. Early months focus on carcass construction, joints, and basic finishing. Later months introduce curved laminations, complex joinery, and full finish-level sanding and oiling. If you follow the sequence in order, you build skills cumulatively. It does not work well if you are looking for quick weekend fixes or one-off repairs. This is not a reference manual. You will not find it useful for fixing a cabinet door that is sagging or selecting a stain color. It is a curriculum, not a handbook. I would recommend pairing it with a second resource for tool-specific troubleshooting. The publication assumes a certain level of mechanical intuition. If you are new to power tools, you will hit walls that these tutorials do not anticipate. A video channel that focuses on tool maintenance and setup adjustments fills that gap reasonably well.

Where to Get It

The official site is woodworkingtutorialmonthly.com. Subscription runs about fourteen dollars per month or a discounted annual rate if you commit upfront. They occasionally run promotions around Black Friday, but those are rare. New issues drop on the first Tuesday. Back issues are available for separate purchase if you want to start mid-sequence, though the skill progression is designed so jumping ahead can feel jarring. The sample issue is free on their homepage. I suggest downloading it before paying anything. It gives you a clear sense of whether their writing style and photo quality match what you need. Some people find the tone a bit dry. I find that to be a feature rather than a bug.