Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 30

Thread: Free woodworking plans

  1. #1

    Free woodworking plans

    Hi guys! New to the site and forum and woodworking in general. Had a question.
    Is there any place online that you can grab free detailed woodwoking plans? All of the searches that i have done either direct you to a paid site or the plans seem very lackluster in detail
    Thanks everyone.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Bedford, NH
    Posts
    1,286
    My experience has basically been the same. The few free plans that I've seen advertised are really not something I'd want to build to. That essentially holds true for cheap plans. You get what you pay for.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Fairfield County, CT
    Posts
    112
    Hi Tracy and welcome!

    You don't say what type of plans you're looking for, but here are a few legitimate sites I've found and used to get you started:

    https://wilkerdos.com/ - I built her miter saw stand and was very happy with it: https://wilkerdos.com/2014/01/diy-miter-saw-stand/

    http://fixthisbuildthat.com/

    http://www.thedesignconfidential.com/

    http://www.ana-white.com/

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Josh Molaver View Post
    Hi Tracy and welcome! You don't say what type of plans you're looking for, but here are a few legitimate sites I've found and used to get you started: https://wilkerdos.com/ - I built her miter saw stand and was very happy with it: https://wilkerdos.com/2014/01/diy-miter-saw-stand/ http://fixthisbuildthat.com/ http://www.thedesignconfidential.com/ http://www.ana-white.com/
    Wow thanks alot Josh! This will definately get me started in the right direction. That mitre saw stand looks pretty sweet. May have to give that a shot when i actually have a saw! Thanks again!

  5. #5
    What kind of projects are you expecting to build?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Central PA
    Posts
    112
    I gave up on looking for good free plans and just started watching how to videos on YouTube and noticed that quite a few of them not only offer the video but also offer detailed plans for a few bucks. Then depending on the project I would either just go off the video or actually pay the few bucks and buy the plan for the more specific stuff. The guy that goes by Jays Custom Creations on YouTube has been a good source lately. His video for building Lumber racks literally saved me hundreds of dollars. After buying two of the grizzly Lumber racks and looking at how much wood I needed to put on the wall I realized I would need about 15 of those things at $40 a piece instead I spent about a hundred bucks and made Lumber racks in the upstairs of my shop that not only held all the wood I had but all the wood i have acquired since then which is pretty much double what I started with. For a hundred bucks and an afternoon I've now got close to 600 board foot of black walnut slabs, 200 board foot of cherry slabs, and probably another 150 board foot of miscellaneous Lumber stowed nicely on the wall and out of my way.

    I have also build a few of his mallets and am getting ready to build the workbench he sells plans for.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Richards View Post
    What kind of projects are you expecting to build?
    Trying to figure that out at the moment Dave. Since i am just getting into woodworking, I plan on easing into it to see how it works out.
    Probably try my hand at a workbench first.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Brandon Hanley View Post
    I gave up on looking for good free plans and just started watching how to videos on YouTube and noticed that quite a few of them not only offer the video but also offer detailed plans for a few bucks. Then depending on the project I would either just go off the video or actually pay the few bucks and buy the plan for the more specific stuff. The guy that goes by Jays Custom Creations on YouTube has been a good source lately. His video for building Lumber racks literally saved me hundreds of dollars. After buying two of the grizzly Lumber racks and looking at how much wood I needed to put on the wall I realized I would need about 15 of those things at $40 a piece instead I spent about a hundred bucks and made Lumber racks in the upstairs of my shop that not only held all the wood I had but all the wood i have acquired since then which is pretty much double what I started with. For a hundred bucks and an afternoon I've now got close to 600 board foot of black walnut slabs, 200 board foot of cherry slabs, and probably another 150 board foot of miscellaneous Lumber stowed nicely on the wall and out of my way. I have also build a few of his mallets and am getting ready to build the workbench he sells plans for.
    I just subscribed to him and watched his video on the workbench. I may try that out as my first project.
    That is quite a collection of wood.

  9. #9
    Don't limit yourself to free plans. Good plans take time and effort from the author and are worth paying for.

    As you get familiar with methods of construction, you'll be able to develop your own plans, too.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    490
    I think you would do well to subscribe to WoodSmith magazine for a start. Great detailed plans. They also sell plans for many projects. For work benches, they offer a tremendous variety of them with various abilities, uses and costs. If you purchase their DVD or thumb drive it contains their entire history of projects and plans for I believe $99. Not free but easily the cheapest way to get a huge number of detailed projects covering the entire scope like furniture, gifts, seasonal, shop, self made tools, etc. it covers about 25 years of their magazines.
    I say this as a hobbiest with ZERO design ability and ZERO imagination so need lots of assistance with ideas and design.
    Last edited by Peter Kuhlman; 01-01-2018 at 10:18 AM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Texas Hill Country
    Posts
    705
    Brandon,
    Ditto on Jay's YouTube videos. I found his stuff last year and watched a bunch. I did the wasted space shelves in two of our three-car garage. His videos are well done IMO.

    Mike

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Kuhlman View Post
    I think you would do well to subscribe to WoodSmith magazine for a start. Great detailed plans. They also sell plans for many projects. For work benches, they offer a tremendous variety of them with various abilities, uses and costs. If you purchase their DVD or thumb drive it contains their entire history of projects and plans for I believe $99. Not free but easily the cheapest way to get a huge number of detailed projects covering the entire scope like furniture, gifts, seasonal, shop, self made tools, etc. it covers about 25 years of their magazines. I say this as a hobbiest with ZERO design ability and ZERO imagination so need lots of assistance with ideas and design.
    Thank you Peter. I will definately check that out as I can relate to the ZERO imagination and design ability.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Deep South
    Posts
    3,970
    Try this website. I think they have several worthy plans, especially for beginners. There is more useful information there than just downloadable plans.

    http://www.minwax.com/wood-projects/

    Of course, you don't have to use Minwax products to complete the projects.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Brandon Hanley View Post
    The guy that goes by Jays Custom Creations on YouTube has been a good source lately.
    Brandon,
    He has a good website and I got several ideas from it. Thanks for the lead!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Kansas City
    Posts
    2,652
    I too have always been disappointed when looking for good, free plans. Magazines are my best source. Your local library might have some woodworking magazines that you can browse for interesting plans and copy. My library carries Fine WoodWorking and Wood, for example.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •