Woodworking/Workshop notebook

A workshop notebook is where a woodworker sketches ideas, records designs, jots down ideas, and generally scribbles and notes whilst working things out. It lives in the workshop, on the bench, and is the product of one author (i.e. don't pry without permission!). It's a woodworker's lab notebook (but, usually, without the requirement for proving intellectual property).

Starting a workshop notebook

1. Procure a well-made, sturdy, blank book, of A4 dimensions or larger.
2. Don't worry about too many implements:
   • a pencil, probably mechanical (which can double as your main marking-out pencil at the bench),
   • an eraser (not that it should be used all that much),
   • a scale rule (with 1:3, 1:5, and 1:10 scales, and probably others), and
   • a pen (to finalise these drawings and words, and help them become solid reality!).
3. If the spectre of a blank, new, visual diary is too much — tear out (or deface in some other way) the first page! This 'breaks the ice'.
4. Keep the notebook nearby, right where you're working, to make it easier to use.
5. Because, to start with at least, you should write and draw everything! No ideas are too small. The great thing is just to get in the habit of recording them, and working through things on paper. Designs on paper are so very much quicker to execute than when they take shape in wood. The notebook is the first thing to reach for, when starting work, and the last thing to be put away at the end.

Using Wikiversity

A vital part of developing one's practice is to be exposed to the critique of others, and to this end it can be helpful to share select parts of one's workshop notebook. Wikiversity can serve as an online home for this sharing:

1. Create your learning blog (see Wikiversity Blog howto).
2. For each project or idea that you want to share, create a new page. E.g. [[User:Username/Blog/Table design]] (where Username is your username).
3. Add these pages to your personal blog category [[:Category:Username Blog]], and to the general category Category:Woodworking blog posts.
4. List these pages on your main userpage.

The pages themselves can be simple unadulterated scans (or photos) from the notebook. Or they can be more textual and descriptive, and illustrated with scans. Include whatever you like; these blog pages are your personal space here on Wikiversity.

Look at what other people have done, leave comments on their posts, and invite them to comment on yours.

External links

• Notebooks section of the General Engineering Introduction wikibook.