Directory
Nineteen links,
and no more.
Everything worth bookmarking in this trade, and nothing else. No content farms, no outsourcing vendors' blogs, nothing that exists to rank. Checked and resolving on 20 September 2026.
The standards
The bodies that publish what your specification points at. Read the standard, not somebody's summary of it.
woodworkinstitute.comWoodwork InstitutePublishes the sample shop drawing set this site is read off, and the submittal requirements behind it.awinet.orgArchitectural Woodwork InstituteAWI. Co-publisher of the Architectural Woodwork Standards and the certification programme a specification means when it names a grade.awmac.comAWMACThe Canadian body, third co-publisher of the same standards.bwf.org.ukBritish Woodworking FederationThe UK equivalent, and the place to start when the drawing says joinery rather than millwork.Hardware, from the manufacturer
Every boring dimension on this site comes from one of these. Never from a forum, and never from memory.
blum.comBlumHinges, runners, lift systems. The technical downloads carry the boring patterns and the clearances.hafele.comHäfeleThe broadest catalogue, and usually the one a specification names when it does not name Blum.hettich.comHettichTechnical library, drawer systems, planning data.Safety
The part of this trade that actually injures people. All of it is free, and the HSE sheets are the best written.
hse.gov.uk/woodworkingHSE — woodworkingThe UK regulator's woodworking pages. Machinery guarding, dust, noise, and the information sheets are plain enough to pin on a wall.monographs.iarc.who.intIARC MonographsWood dust is classified a Group 1 carcinogen. This is the primary source, not a safety poster's paraphrase of it.osha.govOSHAUS standards for woodworking machinery, dust and respiratory protection.safeworkaustralia.gov.auSafe Work AustraliaCodes of practice for machinery, hazardous chemicals and manual handling.ccohs.caCCOHSCanada's plain-language occupational health answers.If the job is the problem
The industry runs its own mental-health bodies, which tells you something. These are the numbers worth having before you need them — each one is run by the people named, not by us.
mates.org.auMATES in ConstructionAustralia and New Zealand. Built by the industry, for the industry.lifeline.org.auLifelineAustralia, 13 11 14, any hour.constructionindustryhelpline.comConstruction Industry HelplineUK and Ireland, free and confidential.Where the trade actually talks
Small, and worth more than any content farm. Read before posting.
reddit.com/r/Millworkr/MillworkUnder five hundred people, and the source of the two quotes this site is built on.reddit.com/r/cabinetryr/cabinetryBusier. Shop owners, rates, software arguments, and people hiring drafters in the open.woodweb.comWOODWEBThe professional forums, running since the nineties. The cabinet and business sections are where shop owners argue about what drafting is worth.18 links. If something belongs here, say so — the bar is that a working drafter would keep it open in a tab.