Woodwork Merit Badge
Seven requirements. Safety, first aid and the Totin' Chip; how timber becomes lumber, and six labelled wood blocks; tool care and sharpening two tools; something useful made with a saw, plane, hammer, brace and bit; your own project, with drawings, a materials list, and its time and cost tracked; TWO of five more projects or a service; and a talk with a cabinetmaker or finish carpenter.
Elective Merit Badges Hobbies Merit Badges Requirements Safety
The plan behind this
The projects
| requirement | what you make |
|---|---|
| 4 | something useful of wood, made with a saw, plane, hammer, brace and bit; cut the parts from lumber you have squared and measured from working drawings |
| 5 | your own project: working drawings first, then a list of materials, then build it; keep track of the time you spend and the cost of the materials |
| 6 | two of the five below |
Requirement 6: do TWO of five
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 6(a) | working drawings of a project needing beveled or rounded edges, and build it |
| 6(b) | working drawings of a project needing curved or incised cuttings, and build it |
| 6(c) | working drawings of a project needing miter, dowel, or mortise and tenon joints, and build it |
| 6(d) | a cabinet, box or something else with a door or lid fastened with inset hinges |
| 6(e) | help make wooden toys for underprivileged children, or help carry out a woodworking service project approved by your counselor for a charitable organization |
Before the projects
1 is safety: the likely hazards and how to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate and respond to them, and precautions for using tools safely; first aid for splinters, scratches, cuts, severe bleeding and shock, protecting eyesight and hearing, and when a dust mask is needed; and earning the Totin' Chip recognition. 2 is the wood: how timber is grown, harvested and milled, how lumber is cured, seasoned, graded and sized, and six kinds of wood collected as labelled blocks with their qualities and best uses. 3 is the tools: the care, use and storage of the tools you own or use at home or school, and sharpening the cutting edges of two different tools.
What this page is
The Woodwork merit badge, drawn so the projects stand out, with the time and cost record of requirement 5 marked and the two projects of requirement 6 drawn as a question. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Woodwork Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .