The New Mission (2010)
Beginning woodworkers face many hurdles. It’s unlike me, but there are so many hurdles, I’m not even going to list some of them here. Two of the greatest hurdles I, and many others that I’ve talked to, is actually beginning a new project that must be finished, and showing that finished project to other people.
As beginners, some are afraid of criticism. Here, we offer it up freely, but hopefully we do it in a tactful and helpful manner. We do this through our Build Challenges. The Sawdust Chronicles Build Challenges occur each September through October and were initially targeted at beginning woodworkers. However, since beginners aren’t always too eager to enter contests, we’ve opened it up to all woodworkers. The all-access pass to the contest will hopefully show beginners that we care more about cultivating a deep interest in designing and building with wood, than we do in giving away prizes.
The most prevalent aspect of The Sawdust Chronicles, though, is the ongoing production of completely unscripted interviews with prominent, and some unknown, woodworkers throughout the world. Most of these interviews are offered up as a way to show other woodworkers how these people got their starts, or about what they are engaged in presently. You never know what kind of information you’ll find in one of these discussions.
The Old Mission (like 2008)
There are plenty of woodworking techniques, tools, materials, etc. that really beg to be explained in depth to the beginning woodworker. Rick Waters and Erik Pearson identified this deficit in freely available and centrally located education as beginning woodworkers themselves.
Through podcasting and community work The Sawdust Chronicles pledges to help reduce the amount of confusion and intimidation with regard to the ambiguity of terms used in woodworking.
Though it may seem that such a task should be simple and quickly resolved. Simply put, it’s not. Although I (this is Rick speaking) have only been a self-proclaimed woodworker since the Spring of 2008, my confusion about certain terms, techniques, tools, and wood species is constant, but waning each day. We pledge to pass along all knowledge that we come by to you, our audience.
Join us as novice woodworkers help other novice woodworkers.
Rick and Erik
The Sawdust Chronicles 
thank you!
As someone with a large theoretical knowledge of woofworking but little hands on experience, places like this are a God send. Short of actually doing it, the explanations given here are the best thing to come along since some dude way back in the day decided to hook a water wheel to a saw.
Even more valuable than the directions and such is the support an encouragement you offer those of us that barely know which end of a chisel bites. Before joining here and a few other similar sites, I would never have dreamed of entering a woodworking competition, let alone one where I had to design my own item.
Thank you from the bottom of my aged heart.