What is the “Journeyman Challenge?”


In addition to your basic weekly assignments, you can earn the “Journeyman” status (and, at the end, special acknowledgement) by completing at least 5 of the 8 journeyman projects during the course of your apprenticeship: 

  • Restore a wooden-bodied handplane
  • Build a staked bench
  • Build a small table with mortise-and-tenon joinery
  • Build a small dovetailed box
  • Build a half-blind dovetailed drawer
  • Build a bookshelf
  • Carve a spoon and eat a meal with it
  • Apply decorative/creative painting to one of your projects

This challenge is not for everyone because it is completely self-guided. We do not provide designs, plans, or cut lists. If you would like advice about a particular aspect of your projects, we’re happy to give our thoughts, but this challenge is for self-directed learners. 

Qualifying journeyman projects must be started and completed within the 8-week term. Past projects do not count toward the Journeyman status.