FAQ

A complete, start-to-finish video course on one project, plus everything around it:

• Ad-free video lessons
• Printable cut lists and PDF plans
• 3D SketchUp model, if applicable to the course
• Lesson discussion monitored by the instructor
• Vendor discounts
• Bonus video content: monthly demos, Guild Meetings, interviews and more
• Private moderated forum and group access
• Personalized support through Ask Marc

Courses start at $49 and it is a one-time purchase. There is no required monthly fee to keep what you bought, and no charge to stay a member. Prices vary by course depending on length and complexity, and every price is listed in the course catalog.

If you purchase a course, you are a member. No additional fees are required to maintain membership.

Beginners are welcome, and a lot of our members started with us. Every cut, joint and finishing step is shown in full rather than skipped over, so you are not expected to already know the technique. Courses do vary in difficulty, and each course page tells you what it involves, so start with a project that matches the tools and space you have rather than the piece you want most.

Each course page lists the tools used for that project. Most of Marc’s project courses assume a table saw, a way to flatten and dimension lumber, a drill, and a sander, though plenty of members adapt with less. If you are still building out a shop, pick a course whose tool list you already mostly own. You do not need our exact machines, and you do not need to buy anything to watch a course.

You can buy from any local lumberyard, but for most Guild builds there is an easier route. We have a lumber page listing the Guild projects that have a matching hardwood package from Bell Forest Products, a family run supplier in Ishpeming, Michigan with over 100 species in stock. The boards arrive already sized for the project, so you are not guessing at dimensions in the lumber aisle, and you can pick your species. Guild members save 10 percent on every Bell Forest order, and your code is on the member discounts page once you log in. Don’t see a bundle for a Guild course you want to build? Reach out to Bell Forest Products directly and request the bundle.

Yes, quite a lot. Every video on thewoodwhisperer.com is free to watch, including full project builds, and there is usually a set of free PDF plans to build from. The Guild courses are the paid, in-depth version with plans, downloads, and an instructor answering your questions. Need a place to start? Check out these 10 easy projects Marc has made over the years.

Yes. For any course you purchase, you can ask questions in the comment section of the lesson and your instructor will usually respond. In many cases, your question has already been asked and answered, so check the comments on each lesson first. You can also use the Ask Marc form to ask Marc directly.

Yes. Any course you purchase is yours to watch whenever you want, for as long as you have your account. There is no expiry and no renewal to keep it. Courses you watch through Guild Stream work differently and are not added to your permanent library.

It means the life of the Guild. Courses you buy stay in your library with no renewal fee for as long as we run the Guild website and have the rights to offer them. If we ever shut the site down, we will make every reasonable effort to give members advance notice and a chance to download their materials. Lifetime membership means you never pay to stay a member, though specific member perks may change over time. Full details are in our Terms of Service.

Yes, for most of our courses. When you finish, you can get a Certificate of Completion, and we are rolling out certificates signed by the instructor who taught the course. There is no exam, so the certificate marks the work you actually did rather than a test you passed.

Yes. The courses are online video, so they work anywhere with an internet connection, and we have members across the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada and beyond. Every lesson is closed captioned when streamed on the site, which helps if English is not your first language. Nothing physical ships with a course, so there is no customs or duty to worry about.

As long as you like. Nothing is scheduled and nothing expires, so you can watch a lesson, go build that part, and come back weeks later. Most members work through a project over months rather than days.

Log in at thewoodwhispererguild.com/login rather than on thewoodwhisperer.com, since the two sites have separate accounts. Then check that you are using the same email address you bought with. If the course is still missing, email us at info@thewoodwhisperer.com with your order number and we will sort it out.

Only pre-orders are refundable. If you purchase a complete course we cannot provide a refund, because the product is digital and access is immediate. Full details are in our Refund and Cancellation Policy.

No, everything we teach is online. That is deliberate: you learn in your own shop, on your own schedule, and you can rewind the tricky cut as many times as you need. If you want a teacher you can ask questions of, that is what a Guild course plus our community gives you.

Yes. Over the years a lot of people have told us they simply want to watch the videos. Guild Stream adds Marc’s Guild courses to a monthly rotation for subscribers to view. Courses are available throughout each calendar month and change on the 1st, so there is always something new. Check the schedule to see what is on.

$19 a month or $199 a year. That gets you two of Marc’s Guild courses each month, and an automatic 10 percent discount on any Guild course you buy. You cannot download the lessons, but you can download the plans and cut list. Check the schedule to see what is planned for the year.

A purchased course is yours permanently, with downloadable videos and plans. Guild Stream is a subscription that lets you watch two rotating courses each month. Stream courses are not added to your permanent library, but you can watch them as many times as you like while they are in rotation, and Stream entitles you to 10 percent off if you decide to add a course to your library for good.

From My Account, go to the My Subscription tab and click Cancel. You can change the renewal option on that page as well.

Guild Stream renews automatically until you cancel, and we do not provide partial refunds for the remainder of a billing period. You can cancel any time from My Account under the My Subscription tab, and you will keep access through the end of the period you already paid for. If you were charged for a renewal you did not intend and have not streamed anything since, email us at info@thewoodwhisperer.com and we will take a look.

For courses, yes. For Guild Stream subscriptions, no. We offer a student discount for middle and high school students with a valid student email, and it also applies to shop teachers. These discounts are intended for personal use and not as part of a shop class curriculum. Email us through the contact form and we can confirm your eligibility and send you the discount.

For courses, yes. For Guild Stream subscriptions, no. Click here for details.

Yes. Purchase a Gift Certificate in the amount of the project and it will be sent directly to your recipient by email.

Once you purchase a course, head to our private Facebook group and click request to join. This requires a Facebook account, and your Facebook name and the name you used to join the Guild must match so we can verify you. If you have not been added within 24 hours, contact us using our contact form.

Yes, and there are several ways depending on your hardware. Videos can be streamed directly to some TVs using AirPlay, and Apple TV, Fire TV and Chromecast all work. If your TV is not AirPlay compatible, look into Plex, a video server you install on a computer at home: the videos you download from the Guild can be imported into Plex, then you add the Plex app to your smart TV or set top box. If you are a Guild member, you can see what other members are doing in these Facebook group conversations.

Yes. We use an unlisted YouTube live stream for all meetings, and the link is made available before the meeting by email or on the Guild website. You will need a YouTube account to save the video to a playlist and then open it from your TV.

Yes. Captioning is available when streaming on the website, though not on the downloads.

Avatars on the Guild site are generated by a free service called Gravatar. Create a free account and upload your photo, and your avatar will show up on our site as well as on most other blogs and WordPress sites you comment on.

No. The drawings and measurements we offer are intended for use with the video series and are not available separately.

SketchUp is a program for sketching projects in 3D. You can use the browser based free version or buy SketchUp Pro. We provide the SketchUp file as a courtesy for folks who want to modify the design, but you do not need SketchUp to complete our courses. The supplied PDFs and videos give you everything you need.

Guild designs are intended for personal use as educational projects, and you are free to build as many as you like for yourself or as gifts. Selling them on an ongoing basis, as regular stock in a store or as part of your business, is not covered, so please contact the instructor for that course directly about licensing first.

This applies to physical products rather than courses, since courses are digital and nothing ships. If an order is returned to us for an incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise undeliverable address, the customer is responsible for the additional shipping cost to send it a second time. International shipments are always subject to import fees, duties and taxes, which are levied once the shipment reaches the destination country. Those charges are the recipient’s responsibility, as we have no control over them and cannot predict what they will be.