Are Free Woodworking Plans Worth It?
If you are going to create a stick of furniture, especially if it is fairly complicated or you have never made anything like it before, it is a good idea to get a set of wood working plans. These furniture plans are not dear and free woodworking plans can be found too.
However, it is prudent to be suspicious of free wood working plans as they may not be precise and you will have little recourse to protest if they were free or even pirated. Free wood working plans may be all right, but you do not want to find out that they are not half way through the task.
A good set of wood working plans, free or not, will give a clear exploded view of the item to be made and a narrative explaining the various steps and procedures. The plans may also make suggestions about the timber and tools to use, the length of time it could take to make in man hours and the complexity level.
If you want a large collection of wood working plans, there are CD's around which have 14,000 on them for $30-40. They are a good bargain. Other places you could search are online forums, the library and craft or DIY shops. Shops are probably the dearest option.
Once you have decided an object to make, you should consider which style you would like. A kitchen cupboard could be hardwood or softwood. It could be a Welsh dresser or a Scandinavian design. It could be modern, traditional, Georgian or Victorian, to name but a few.
Once you have answered these questions you can go looking for your wood working plans. You might be lucky or you may have to compromise if you cannot get just what you want. This is why I think that it is better to buy a CD of plans that have been sorted into a database, so that you can easily find out what is to be had in your collection.
You could search for 'kitchen cupboard' and 100 woodworking plans might recommend themselves to you. Or you could enter 'Victorian Welsh Dresser' and only get two recommendations. The point is that you will not be wasting your time chasing a pipe dream, when there are no plans obtainable for the exact object you are looking for.
When you have a set of suitable plans, I think that it is best to get them blown up, or maybe that is just because of my eyesight. However, it is a nuisance to have to remove your safety goggles to put on your spectacles every time you want to check a measurement. This is effortless from a CD because many printers have a capability to print poster size. If yours does not, take the CD to a printer's, an architect's or a technical office. They will be able to print A1 directly from the CC.
Then you can affix this enlarged wood working plan to the wall or an easel and you are all set to start making your furniture in style.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wood furniture plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where you will find 14,000 wood working plans.
Recent Comments