He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a degree in Theater. In the late 1970s, Underhill moved back to North Carolina and Duke University, pursuing a multi-disciplinary course of study including engineering, forestry, and history and was subsequently awarded a Master of Forestry in 1977.
Since 1979, he has been the host of the Public Broadcasting Service series The Woodwright"s Shop. As of 2011, the show was the longest-running Public Broadcasting Service "how-to" show. Underhill was introduced to traditional woodworking by a sister who worked at the Smithsonian Institution.
When that failed, the Underhills moved to a remote area of New Mexico where traditional woodworking was one of the few means of survival.
Initially rejected, the idea was finally accepted. In 1979, filming began on The Woodwright"s Shop at West Point on the Eno in Durham, North Carolina Around the same time, he also took the job as master housewright and later director of interpretive development at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
More recently, Underhill also works as a communications consultant. He is the author of several books, including The Woodwright"s Eclectic Workshop and Woodwright"s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft.
Underhill has started teaching traditional woodworking in a classroom environment he calls "The Woodwright"s School".
As of January 2014, his classroom is located in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Many hand tool aficionados hold Roy Underhill in extremely high regard and may refer to him with the shorthand "Saint Royal".
