Thread: Where do you get your plans?

Magazines mainly and I have also bought some over time.

I usually gather ideas from looking around on line, in magazines etc and then sketch up my own.
I cannot remember the last time I used an actual set of plans.

Like BobL I look at a number of sources and scribble a few things on paper. Following a plan restricts you to using the exact materials in the plan as well as things like router bits and the like. Any plans from the US will be in feet and inches but our sheet goods are metric. A blanket conversion of imperial to metric gets messy as errors compound. I use a lot of recycled bits so its best to plan around what I've got. I do use a few free on line plans at times but they are usually only a general outline. Thats ok for me as I will usually have to work in what I have to work with.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

Like BobL I look at a number of sources and scribble a few things on paper. Following a plan restricts you to using the exact materials in the plan as well as things like router bits and the like. Any plans from the US will be in feet and inches but our sheet goods are metric. A blanket conversion of imperial to metric gets messy as errors compound. I use a lot of recycled bits so its best to plan around what I've got.

nailed it!

I do spend some time planning and problem solving, mainly in my head laying in bed when I can't sleep. Of course it doesn't usually result in a scale drawing but more of a "how I will do something" and the "order in which things will be done". These things are often not written on plan because they are specific to what a user has access to and the skills to perform but is just as important as a plan. I realise this doesn't work for everyone, especially for someone just starting out, but it's what I do.

At the mens shed we have a library of books with plans in them but the only bloke that has looked in them was a non-member who turned up looking for ideas for kids toys. When he saw the real toys the shedders were producing he put the books away and looked at the toys. The library has had such little use we going to get rid of it as it takes up valuable space.

A few photos plus a front view of the item and at least one of the, ideally, bigger dimensions (length, width or height) and you can scale everything that matters from there. And when you are scaling components, you eventually come across some horrible measurements which just don't work economically with the timber you have or can gain access to easily. And so as you go along you just fudge the measurements so that you aren't sending entire forests up the dust chute.

I haven't really built anything big yet but like others I just look at photos for ideas and then sketch from there. Learning Sketchup was also a really big help, I just followed some tutorials on YouTube till I got the hang of it and then did my own designs in it till I felt comfortable with it. Makes getting the proportions right much easier too.

Sketchup is a big help in creating your own, and it's free, but it has a fairly steep learning curve, probably more so if you are used to different CAD programs as it has evolved it's own fairly unique methods. One big advantage is that you can make your drawing as simple or complex as you wish or need, from a basic box style representation of something that would show how it would fit with other stuff in a room, through to ultra detailed with all joints fully detailed in the structure, all hardware and fasteners etc, and with plug in elements, all perfectly rendered.

There is an extensive library of models that can be used in your models, the most difficult part of accessing and using them is actually browsing the libraries to make a choice, then its just a simple process to download them, rotate them to the orientation you require, and place them. I started playing with it abt 3 yrs ago and have designed a couple of houses with it, including full 3D modelling of built in cabinets etc that can be given to a flat pack cutter for quoting and preparation of cutting files.

There are applications for commercial or magazine plans for making things where maintaining original dimensions are critical, like one design yacht classes, scale models etc. However for general items, it is generally better to understand the structure and methods used, the locally available materials, and the space available to accommodate the item, then develop the plan to suit your needs. It doesn't need to be done in software, it could be 4 sheets of copy paper or butchers paper, you just enough information to show you what you need as you are working, rough 'mud map' sketches are sometimes adequate.

Like others I tend to source some concepts and methods from magazines, books and the web, but others come from understanding standard methods and styles used commercially for items I am trying to design. I find that trying to make exactly to a foreign published plan locally is more hassle than spending 20mins in Sketchup churning something utilising local material sizes etc and designed to fit well and interact well with the intended location, then build to that design.

Hope this helps.

Hi sam

Originally Posted by SamKircher

I would really like to start a conversation about where the best plans are, how to find them, what sort of plans work etc.

Where do you get your plans from? Websites? Magazines? Blogs? I've found magazines like Woodwork (which unfortunately ceased publication around 2009, but the archive is available on DVD), Popular Woodworking, Fine Woodworking, Furniture and Cabinetmaking are good sources, with many of the better plans available for purchase from the respective publishers. If you can afford it, the digital archives of these magazines is a good source.

Do you buy them or just use free plans? I've not had much success with "free" plans. Most of the ones I've seen are little more than sketches or assume a very high level of wood construction knowledge.

Where are the best quality plans? I've only bought a handful of plans, but when I have bought it's been from reputable wood working retailers.

Is it worth buying plans? In my opinion -- Yes. Especially those from Lee Valley / Veritas and Fine Woodworking.

A skill well worth learning and developing is drawing your own plans. And documenting the construction process.
The primary purpose of both tasks is to resolve the design so that it "looks" right, and to resolve construction details before you start cutting wood.


I have a set of metric and imperial rules so don't really have a problem working with either type of dimension. Also, unless you are doing a production run, the exact dimension is much less important than that the parts fit.

If using plans I generally draw my own.

Sometimes I'm given a plan by someone who wants a job dome or as part of a club challenge.

The bulk of my wotk is BAYG (Build As You Go)

DaveTTC

Turning Wood into Art

Almost all of my plans are from self. I will adapt from magazines, pictures and actual articles or pieces.

I have actually gone to furniture stores and WITH PERMISSION taken pictures. It's a simple request. Ask for the manager and "Hi. I'm a woodworker and would like to try to build some of the things that you have here. Would you mind if I took some pictures?" I've never been turned down. One store the manager went and got a catalog of their merchandise to give to me. He said, "Rather than trying to estimate the sizes, the catalog has a lot of dimensions."

Just get a piece of white matte board about 30 or 40 CM square. Put a few pieces of tape on the matte board to indicate distances. i.e. 10 CM, 20 CM, 30 CM, etc. Shoot the picture from about level with the middle of the piece. Try to put your matte board at about that height. Shoot the pictures square on and two views, front and side. Later whether you do it on the screen or from a print of the picture use dividers to determine actual sizes. Reference your matte board as a guide for distance. You would be surprised how accurate you will be.

I have an online subscription to Fine Woodworking - A lot of great articles and infomation for not much money. Anything written by Christian Becksvoort is worth a look.

Mainly sketch and improvise as I go along.
Some ideas from the internet but never from "Ted the parasitic wally".

What's the go with "Ted the parasitic wally"?

He's hi-jacked so many websites and stole so many plans, you would think someone would have complained by now? Surely he's broken some sort of law somewhere?

So it seems like its 50/50 whether people use others plans or not? and more beginners use plans than the experienced guys?

Have you guys that do up your own plans ever thought about selling them? I completely understand that there isn't too much value in exact dimensions etc, but from a design perspective, I think it is very helpful to a newbie to see how something is constructed and pick up bits and pieces. Sort of using the plans as guidelines rather than exact instructions.

Is there anywhere where you can simply go and browse and buy plans easily? seems like places like finewoodworking.com require a subscription to download their plans.