Fundamentals of Hand Tool Joinery with Bill Pavlak

Fundamentals of Hand Tool Joinery

with Bill Pavlak

FULL COURSE CONTENT AVAILABLE JUNE 18, 2026

The Art of Hand Tool Joinery: Precision, Technique, and Timeless Craftsmanship

Course Overview

Bill Pavlak has spent his career inside the 18th century. As head cabinetmaker at a living history museum, he doesn't just study period furniture — he makes it, every day, using the same hand tools, techniques, and workflows that craftspeople used centuries before power tools existed. In this course, Bill brings that deep, practiced knowledge to the bench and walks you through the foundational joints that underpin nearly all fine furniture construction.

“Fundamentals of Hand Tool Joinery” covers three essential families of joints: the workhorse housing joints — rabbets, grooves, dadoes, and sliding dovetails — which are the backbone of frame-and-panel and casework construction; the mortise-and-tenon family in its many variations, from basic through-tenons to bridle joints and wedged tenons; and the dovetail in its full range, including the half-blind dovetail that defines drawer construction in period furniture. Along the way, Bill shares the fitting sequences, troubleshooting approaches, and shop-floor judgment that only come from cutting these joints day in and day out.

Whether you're new to hand tools or looking to deepen your understanding of how furniture actually goes together, this course offers a rare window into a living craft tradition.

What You'll Learn:

How to lay out and cut rabbets, grooves, and through and stopped dadoes
The mechanics of sliding dovetails — both through and tapered — and how to fit them for a precise, no-play connection
How to chop clean mortises and saw consistent tenons, and the fitting sequence that brings the two together
The logic behind bridle joints, half-laps, double tenons, and angled tenons — when to reach for each and how to execute them
How to approach wedged and through tenons for both structural and decorative effect
How to cut through and half-blind dovetails

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR -
Bill Pavlak

Bill Pavlak has come a long way from the workbench in his old apartment’s bathroom. His most notable space is Colonial Williamsburg’s Hay Cabinet Shop, where Bill serves as the supervising cabinetmaker, which means that he’s earned the bench with the best natural light. His home shop is less historic, but that makes it a better fit for his 18-in. bandsaw and combo jointer/planer. Bill doesn’t only burn electrons there, though. His bench’s location took priority once more; it’s near windows that let in wonderful light for handwork.