Who uses plans???

[Brandon Shew]

Anyone here build mostly from plans or do you do all of your designs on your own? Just curious. I've never really found a set of plans for anything that I want to make. Do you look to plans for inspiration and then modify them to fit your needs?

To date I have "designed" all of the things that I have made. Not to say that I don't get ideas or inspiration from other works, nature, objects, etc. but I usually have a good idea what I want the finished product to look like and then go from there. I rarely ever start with a set of fixed dimensions and I usually let the materials and methods work themselves out in the process.

Of course - I have only been building furniture and not built-in cabinetry where set dimentions make all the difference. I'm not opposed to using plans, but most of what I see are Shaker and Mission style and I prefer something more contemporary. I have yet to find a good source for contemporary furniture plans.

[Steve Clardy]

No plans. I just kinda wing it I guess.
Scrap of paper, whatevers handy to write on, then go from there.
I do kitchens cabinets and staircases. Theres basic sizes I use, but everythings different.
This set of cabs in the shop now, Lady wanted a spice rack, pullout, in the upper cabinets.
Never done one, so I just winged it, and got it done.

[Jim Becker]

Sometimes I build from articles in magazines or books. Sometimes I "roll my own" with pre-planning and sometimes with just a simple sketch on a napkin or merely a gleam in my head. Whatever is appropriate.

[Doug Shepard]

I usually roll my own, but I do try to get things all planned out on paper first so I dont get trapped in any woodworking cul-de-sacs or have to recut anything. The only thing I've actually made from a plan is Nawms folding chaise-lounge deck chairs. I figured it would take me longer to reverse engineer all the right curves, angles, and pivot points than I wanted to spend on it, so I just bought the plan off NYW's website.

[Frank Pellow]

I almost always build from plans. I think that there is a fairly even distribution among;


1. Plans I make for something that I have seen or seen a picture of

2. Plans I make up from scratch

3. Plans I buy, get from magazines/books, or borrow (and I modify about half of these plans )-

[John Timberlake]

I usually draw up "plans" for the furniture I build. Never use a purchased plan, but do use them for working out some of the dimensions, joinery, etc. Most of the time I get inspiration from a picture in a magazine or book, and then modify it to my taste for the object. Most of what I make is based on 18th and early 19th century pieces.

[Brandon Shew]

I guess I was referring more to purchased plans than home made ones. Glad to hear the creativity is flowing more on this site. On some other "sites" it seems that nobody can build anything w/o buying a plan for it.

[Bob Johnson2]

I had just finished writing a response about how I always do my own plans which may be none, a simple sketch, or more elaborate if I'm in the mood, when I thought of the only plans I ever bought that I actually followed word for word. The first 2 canoes I built were from purchased plans.

[Pam Niedermayer]

I usually wing it with a sketch, but if the project requires something I'm not quite sure how to do I'll buy some plans (if available) just for that knowledge. The exception these days is period furniture. I've bought several Carlyle Lynch plans as a review of how things were done 2-300 years ago. They are marvelous.

Pam

[Zahid Naqvi]

pencil...sketch pad.....imagination......crossed fingers:D

[Joe Mioux]

I guess I was referring more to purchased plans than home made ones. Glad to hear the creativity is flowing more on this site. On some other "sites" it seems that nobody can build anything w/o buying a plan for it.

As you spend more time here at SMC, you will find a very high caliber of designers in this forum.

You will also find some very well respected furniture designers and makers as well as other fine craftsmen, i.e, turners and hand toolers here.

All of us here have one thing in common, respect for each other and each others abilities. There are no dumb questions.

Welcome to SMC..

Joe

[Matt Meiser]

I've never exactly copied a plan. I built the shaker table from one of Norm's books for one of my early projects. I've built a couple projects loosely based on commercial plans. Most of my projects are based on a drawing I create. Since I'm getting pretty good with QuickCad, I'll usually create drawings, but things always change during construction. I've built one project based on someone else's drawing. If I'm using sheet goods, I carefully plan all of the sheet good pieces to maximize my use of the materials, but for solid stock, I plan around the wood I have (or find wood that will work.)

I've recently found that the Google image search is an awesome tool for getting ideas that I can use on my projects. I collected about 20 ideas for hall tables before I built mine. None of them were exactly what I wanted, but they all gave me ideas towards the end product. I just finished doing the same for a set of night stands I'm getting ready to build for our bedroom.

[Brandon Shew]

Thanks Joe. I stumbled across this forum in my attempt to find an alternative to the others and I've been impressed with what I've seen over here so far.

[Mark Singer]

I design almost all the pieces I make and feel that the proportions, joinery and asthetics must be worked out in drawing propr to building....the more difficult the project the more important the drawings. For chairs I build from full scale drawings...cut out the drawings...paste on plywood and make master templates to transfer to the stock....it is a part of the process....You will find that many of the fine woodworkers started as artists....such as Maloof, Nakashima and Jere Osgood architects....so drawings and plans allow to flush out issues that make for more refined work....IMHO

[Bill Arnold]

Brandon,

I work mostly from my own designs/plans. I've done a couple of things from purchased plans over the years, but find most of them lacking. Inspiration for a design comes from viewing pieces and adapting or just straight from my head or my wife's suggestions. In any case, I never finalize a plan until it gets the "SWMBO Seal of Approval"! :D

Regards,

[Jeffrey Makiel]

My projects start out with a hand sketch. Then a 3D model is made and often rendered to help see how it will look. Then the model is 'flattened-out' into a plan and/or template.

I may seem like a lot of work, but that's how my thought process works for me. Anyways, I like doing this part of a project...sometimes more than executing the project itself.
-Jeff

[Keel McDonald]

I build from my own designs. I always draw it up on graph paper to make sure that I get the dimensions right. It helps me to get the materials list right too. I probably will invest in a computer program someday, but for now, I enjoy the time spent designing almost as much as the time spent building.

[Darrin Vanden Bosch]

Hello all,
I'm new here also but have been working with wood for over..., well lets just say this isn't my first rodeo. I have started with plans then modified them on some projects, but for the most part I design as I go. I can see the finished project in my minds eye and just build it, then I will go ahead and make a drawing of it for my plan book.
Sometimes when you have a problem with some part of the design you just have to step back and most of the time the answer is staring back at you, it's obvious.

Darrin

[Steve Clardy]

Hello all,
I'm new here also but have been working with wood for over..., well lets just say this isn't my first rodeo. I have started with plans then modified them on some projects, but for the most part I design as I go. I can see the finished project in my minds eye and just build it, then I will go ahead and make a drawing of it for my plan book.
Sometimes when you have a problem with some part of the design you just have to step back and most of the time the answer is staring back at you, it's obvious.

Darrin


Welcome Darrin!!

[Ben Brownbrwn]

What I do is, I start from a plan but end up with my ideas in the process to make it better. Of course I figure it all out before I make the first cut

[Sam Yerardi]

I don't have a vast repetior (spelled right?) but I've worked from plans and on my own designs. And sometimes a mix of one or more designs. I want to try one straight from a plan once and see how it turns out. I have learned however, that even in the good books there are sometimes mistakes in the materials list so study the design carefully before comitting to the materials.

[JayStPeter]

I almost always design my own thing. There have been a couple times that a magazine or book project has caught my fancy and I built it. More often with jigs than major projects.
I usually draw a semi-scale sketch on graph paper. Dimensions are usually gleaned by measuring other things or simply holding out a tape measure and saying that looks about right. Then on to building.
I decided it was time to use some computer drawing program because I generally have to draw the sketch a number of times to tweak the designs. So, for my latest project I used SketchUp and "built" the entire thing including joinery. It was the smoothest project I've ever built ... go figure.
I still use a sketch because I like to draw things cartoonish to emphasize design features, then tone them down to reasonable.

Jay

[Scott Velie]

Except for the simplest things I always work form plans. I usually either design from scratch or modify someone else's plans. (FWW has some good ones).

PLANS + CUT LIST = LESS WASTED LUMBER.

Scott

[Jesse Cloud]

I always work from plans. As most things I build are for my wife, we use the multiple drafts of the plans (just sketches at first) to hone in on what she wants. I learned the hard way that if I want to make a change in midstream, I'd darned well better go back to the drawing board and update the plans before I cut any more wood.:eek:;)

Only storebought plans I ever used are Lee Valley's adirondack chair plans.

[Jeff Wittrock]

I will sometimes make rough sketches for a project.

I used to make detailed drawings with dimensions, but I could never seem to stick to my original plan anyhow, so I gave up going into such detail.

If I see an article with detailed plans, I like to look at the joinery details, but usually don't worry too much about dimensions.

Sometimes I like to just "wing it" so I can kind of make the project fit the wood, and not the other way around. If I have a piece of wood with some pretty grain pattern, I may change dimensions so I can use it.

I have one more than one occasion scaled down the size of a table top because I ran out of wood, and was too cheap to go buy some more.

[glenn bradley]

I get ideas from plans as far as a point of assembly or joinery that may not be obvious from a photo. I use SU if I want to play with dimensions for a piece. Once I've gotten the idea solidified, I don't create plans for the piece. I've also not worked from printed plans much, if ever, that I recall. Scratch paper and some scribbled notes as I go.

[Greg Cole]

WOW, almost 2 years of inactivity and this thread comes back into circulation....
No plans here. If you ask for any detail about a past project, I MIGHT, repeat MIGHT be able to find the scrap lumber I doodled dimensions on. Any drawings in my shop are done by the helper.... aka little dude (my 6 year old). I have nice prints of dinosaurs, volcano's.... about everywhere.
I will find inspiration in a magazine or posting here.... but I never have built from a plan nor will I. Even if I convinced myself to try it, I'll bet the contents of my shop that I'd change something(s). I have a couple of the shop drawing books (Stickley & Greene n Greene/Darrell's Book) which I could see my self adhering to, but more for the sake of making a reproduction, not what I usually do (more adaptation to fit style, lumber on hand etc etc etc).
To me, the winging it is as much of the fun as anything & after a few "winged efforts" you can see your problem areas before they arise and "design" accordingly.

Greg

[Rod Sheridan]

I always make plans for furniture, down to the detail level ie a drawing of a stretcher showing all mortises, tenons etc and their dimensions.

I also make a cut list for components that gives me the size, quantity, and any other notes such as make one extra piece for shaper setup etc.

Designing and drawing in my opinion are the two most important steps in the construction process for the following reasons;

1) I can find problems before I'm in the shop, and make sure that I like the design, the construction details etc.

2) I can maximize the use of my shop time by not having to figure out what to do next while standing at the tablesaw.

I travel in my job, and I can spend time in a hotel at night with the laptop computer working on a furniture drawing, so it makes use of otherwise wasted time.

A good set of drawings, saves me time, money, and aggravation, as well as being able to repeat the piece of furniture again if I wish.

regards, Rod.

[Chris Padilla]

My wife designs everything and then I have to figure out how to build it! ;)

There are some real nice PDF plans done of the Zig-Zag chair from the "How they do that?" thread posted by Chris Cordina:

http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/Domino_WCM_zigzag.pdf

Of course, they are F dominated by the Domino. :D

[Victor Stearns]

For the most part, I design and draw my own. I do have some books with plans but always seem to only use them for overall dimensions. I find that designing my own along with the build leads to a greater satisification than following someone else's plan.
Victor

[Curt Harms]

I first read about this in an article by or about Burt Rutan, aeronautical engineer of the Voyager around-the-world unrefueled and SpaceShip One fame. He is said to use TLAR and if it's good enough for him....:)

That
Looks
About
Right

:D

Curt

[Calvin Hobbs]

Usually not, but I use plans if it makes sense, it saves time.

Often working on period reproductions measured drawings are very nice, but they all have to be watched with a sharp eye so you don't build an author/draftsman's error in interpretation. So there are good drawings and there are many bad drawings.

The double chests we (Ben Hobbs, Matt Hobbs, Calvin Hobbs, Don Harris) are building are mostly conforming to the plans from the Elfe book by Humphrey. These are excellent plans. We still made some judgment calls on joinery, etc. that were not shown.

Most of the time overall dimensions and knowledge of how to build it can be enough, a few sketches of shaped parts for patterns and off to the races. Cal

[William Nimmo]

To me, using someone elses plans is like doing color by number painting. No credit is deserved for a nice job. I do commisioned pieces occasionally and one time I worked from architects plans. On delivery they went on and on about what a great job. I told them all I did was cut and assemble.

[Amy Leigh Baker]

No plans for me... designing for me is half the enjoyment. I always start with an idea in my head, but I always change it many times... sometimes while designing, sometimes in the middle of building if I won't have to actually rework anything. I often worry that I'm doing it the "right" way, but mostly just because you can be pretty sure the "right" way usually at least doesn't look really stupid. The way I see it, it's my project, so I will design it exactly the way I want it, even if it isn't "normal".

I like to do a rough isometric hand sketch, then use an architect ruler to draw a to scale isometric drawing, then take similar steps with elevation and section drawings. But then again I add a drawer two weeks later, so I redo it all again. But hey, I love it!!! :D

[Mark Roderick]

I'm in the unforunate minority. I am terrible at visualizing projects. I therefore almost always start with purchased plans, although I often make some changes as I go along. I really envy people - my grandfather was one of them - who could just design and build starting with a rough idea.

I'm good at executing, not good at visualizing. The only good side to this is that when a project is complete I'm always very surprised and happy about how it looks.