The federation was established on 1 April 1903, on the initiative of the Central Union of Carpenters and Kindred Trades of Germany.
This union provided the leadership for the international, and remained its largest affiliate.
[1] At its peak, the union also had affiliates from Austria, Bohemia, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, but by 1923, it was left with only the German and Danish unions.
[2] The federation's final leader was Adolph Schönfelder.
In 1925, it merged into the larger International Federation of Woodworkers, which allocated one seat on its four-person executive to a representative of the carpenters, this initially being Wilhelm Wolgast.