Easy woodworking plans

I recently got into an augment with a gentleman about woodworking plans, or to be more specific, easy woodworking plans. He was of the opinion that no seasoned woodworker would find joy in building something simple like a bench or a chair. I felt (and still feel) that it's not about the complexity of the project, but the joy of completing something, regardless of what it is.

Lately I have been a little bit disappointed with most of the woodworking magazines that I subscribe to. They always have interesting plans and blueprints, of course. There is just one thing missing: Easy to read, concise plans. Maybe I'm complaining about something that I shouldn't be complaining about, or maybe there is something to my argument. More often than not, the plans are to small to get a good idea about scale, and in some cases, I've found the measurements to be all wrong. As in, completely wrong, leaving me stuck, scratching my head in the middle of a project. There is nothing more frustrating than having to start over from an earlier point. It also increases project costs, which is always bad news.

Since the Internet became mainstream, literally hundreds of thousands of woodworking sites have gone online, all offering their own take on the hobby. Some of them are very good, while others are painful to read. Sadly, even most websites about woodworking suffer from the same problem as the magazines: Low quality plans that are missing steps, feature wrong measurements, or are full of errors. Suffice to say, it's a frustrating affair. There is really only one website I've come across that actually has expertly done plans, with concise instructions, material lists and measurements. The site is called Teds Woodworking, and it blew my socks off the first time I logged on. There is over 16,000 different woodworking plans, more projects then one woodworker could ever hope to undertake, that's for sure.

The best part about Ted's site is the fact that everything is categorized properly. His site also features a fully functional database, that allows you to search for individual words, making finding specific woodworking projects a snap. I'm currently working on a project that I downloaded from Ted's Woodworking site, it should be finished soon so I will post pictures of it here on my blog.

Take care!