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A cabinet on a stand, doors open
Come in.
Open the doors.
This kind of craft is within your grasp.

You've watched
a thousand videos.

Have you had a single lesson?

Everything I know is free on YouTube. What you can't get there is someone to look at your work and tell you the truth about it.

Rafael at the bench, being filmed
Who's teaching
I'm Rafael.

I trained at the Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking under Robert Van Norman, who trained with James Krenov. I've taught hundreds of students in my own workshop, and I build furniture to commission.

Cedrus is where I'm putting all of it: for people with no school nearby, and for anyone looking for craft at this level. Come and walk the path with me.

James Krenov→Robert Van Norman→Rafael→you
“
Refael is not only one of the finest craftsman to come out of our school, but has a gift for sharing his passion for the craft with others.
Robert Van NormanFounder, Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking · British Columbia, Canada
What my students say.
Ten years of teaching. Hundreds of students.
Rafael is an excellent teacher and an inspiring person. With great patience he teaches an impressive range of techniques, to a high standard. The real magic is his philosophy of work, which looks for the balance between machines and traditional hand tools.
Nimrod
One of the best courses I've taken. Rafael is a true professional: exceptional skill with traditional and modern tools, and a way of teaching that is orderly and gradual.
Yinon
It's easy to see that he truly loves working with wood. You feel it in how much he knows, and in his view that the work shouldn't be rushed and that the process matters no less than the finished piece.
Guy
Rafael teaches clearly and precisely, with enormous patience and attention to every detail, from planning the board to the fine lines before the finish.
Michael
He brings a great deal of knowledge and explains patiently, and you end up with a piece of a really high standard. It left me wanting more. Careful: this hobby is addictive!
Adi
Rafael is a super patient teacher who stays with you through the whole process and explains every step in depth. Beyond the technical knowledge, the course opened me to the patience, precision and attention this craft demands.
Yuli
The course taught me a great deal, and above all it changed how I think about building. It opened a whole world of making from a calm, unhurried place: a kind of therapy with the material, the tool and the hands.
David
A person and a woodworker head and shoulders above the rest: an excellent, patient teacher, and a great pleasure to learn from.
Dan
Rafael was very professional. You can see how much he loves the craft, and how he invests in the smallest details of everything he does.
Melany
A master woodworking course at a high, exacting level, with instruction that is second to none.
Arik
A quality course with a quality person. It was a pleasure to know Rafael and to learn from him. For anyone who wants a little sanity through fine traditional woodworking, this is the place.
Amit
Opening soon · limited places
Start today. Be first through the door.
Two small hand-carved pulls on figured wood
Amateur · from the Latin amator, one who loves

The best work has always been done for love.

James Krenov wrote his books for “amateurs in the true sense of the word”. He had a name for them: “the impractical but dedicated amateur.”
Who this is for
This is not for everyone.
one

You have a workshop. Good machines, and a drawer of fine hand tools you don't fully trust. You have never been sure whether that is the tool or you.

two

You have built things for years. Everyone says they are beautiful. You know something is missing, and you can't say what.

three

And nobody has ever told you the truth. No one who would know has stood over a piece of yours and said what is wrong with it, and why. That is what this school is for.

a club as much as a school: small, serious, and made of people who care about the same things you do
Choosing your first saw? My films on YouTube are free, and they are the right place to begin. Looking to build faster, or to sell more? That is a different school.
FoundationsStages 1–3
01
The Cabinet opens first
where it all begins
02
The Box
spiralling upward
03
The Table
an easy path through the forest
AdvancedStages 4–6
04
The Cabinet on a Stand
the deep dive in the lake
05
The Veneered Cabinet
the mountain
06
The Chessboard
whales in the ocean
A wooden hand plane and its shavings
A gift · open now
The Plane.
the heart of the work

The Krenov plane stands for everything this school believes: a tool you make yourself, tune to your own hand, and trust with your finest work. Make one from a single blank, in twelve films.

A real course at the school, and it's free. Ask under any film or show me your work, and I answer within 24 hours, the way it will be in every course to come.

Free, and it puts you on the waiting list too.
What you get inside
The films are free.
This is what the school adds.
  1. 01“In ten years, no one who would know has looked at my work.”Show your workSend photographs or a short film of your piece. I look closely and tell you the truth about it, within 24 hours.
  2. 02“I can't see my own mistakes.”The weekly critiqueEach week I go through one member's piece on camera: what works, what doesn't, and why.
  3. 03“I keep making the same mistake.”The critique archiveEvery critique, sorted by problem. Find the one that is yours.
  4. 04“I work alone, and there's no one to ask.”A question thread under every filmAsk right where you got stuck. I answer within 24 hours.
  5. 05“The videos taught me projects. Nobody taught me the craft.”The PathSix pieces in order, each asking more of you than the last.
  6. 06“Is it the tool, or is it me?”EssentialsSharpening, tuning a plane, joints and machines, to the standard fine work asks for.
  7. 07“I forget the steps once I'm at the bench.”Shop notes with every filmThe steps, the measurements, and the things I forgot to say on camera.
  8. 08“I can't plan a piece.”Drawings and cut listsFor every piece, ready to print and take to the bench.
  9. 09“I own good tools. Which ones matter?”The tools worth owningWhat to buy once and buy well, and what to leave on the shelf.
  10. 10“Nobody around me cares about this the way I do.”The GalleryFinished pieces by members who care about the same things you do.
The Founders' Club
Fifty places. The founding price, for life.

The first fifty members keep the price they joined at for as long as they stay. The waiting list is invited first.

If you want a deep dive
A private half hour with me.

Thirty minutes on a video call, one to one: a piece you're stuck on, your workshop, whatever you need help with. Ask me about it.

Opening soon · limited places
Be here when the doors open.
Free. One short email a week, and you can leave whenever you like.