more than once in my life have i shown off a project i've completed, either in person, or with a picture, and someone has asked me "where did you get the plans?" or "can you share the plans?"

 

i don't build from other's plans.  everything i do is a creation of my own.  i get inspiration from others, i borrow design elements from others, i build from pictures i've seen, but i don't build from plans of others.

 

and a consequence of this is that i don't have any plans to share.  i typically sketch out on a yellow legal pad what i want to build, with overall dimensions and proportions, then work out dimensions for various parts, scribbling in the margins or next sheet, and go from there.  rarely will i draw up a scaled drawing of a project, and even if i do, it would not be sufficient for someone else to build off of.  i mostly do this when i'm working out proportions of an object, so it will be pleasing to the eye.

 

i have read that very few woodworkers actually make a living doing woodworking.  many supplement their income, but few earn all their income from designing and building things.  many make income by offering classes or selling plans (witness Norm Abrams).

 

and given the ease of copying things off the internet, if i did post a set of plans, it would take someone with ill intent very little effort to copy that plan, slightly modify it (by taking my name off it), and claim it as his own and try to sell it without my permission.

 

if you are a half decent woodworker, you can see a project, and either be given dimensions or work them out, and build a version of it for your own use.  i doubt you will also generate a set of plans that someone else could use.

I don't know many woodworkers who do build off plans. Once the concept is learned, the basic joints are learned, most woodworkers are happy just doing their own thing.

 

Plans?   Plans?   We don't need no stinking Plans...

 

Everything I make is done with the Infamous  Single Brain Cell Sketch Up......yep, everything is done IN my head.   maybe anote scribbled somewhere as to a size needed..maybe not.  The current project I'm working on is based on what lumber I had on hand.   Nothing more, nothing less.    Works for what I do...

3 minutes ago, steven newman said:

Plans?   Plans?   We don't need no stinking Plans...

 

Everything I make is done with the Infamous  Single Brain Cell Sketch Up......yep, everything is done IN my head.   maybe anote scribbled somewhere as to a size needed..maybe not.  The current project I'm working on is based on what lumber I had on hand.   Nothing more, nothing less.    Works for what I do...

I think "winging it" is in most woodworker's DNA.

a laborer needs plans, a craftsman needs lumber.

That being said, reflecting on my own experience. Sometimes plans are a must. In my case, building chairs, it was a foreign concept to me, the crazy angles, the glue lams, the degree of curves, the process to build a sculpted rocker, I could not do it on my own, I needed plans, it was above my skill level at the time, and plans I had to have.

Now if I had a sculpted rocker in my shop to do a "take off" from, sure I could have gotten close, but it would of taken many attempts to get the rocker just right.

Plans are a good thing if one is working above their skill level, and if they want to come out of their comfort zone.

 

I have built hundreds if not a thousand cabinets in my life time, from production shop time and my own side jobs, they are all the same, all cabinets are boxes, often with a face frame, and the trim and doors set them apart. It's all been done already. But to go out of your comfort zone, to the more creative side of things, sometimes it takes partnering with a mentor of sorts, and if that mentor has a set of plans for you to use, to be able to come out of your comfort zone, all the better I think.

 

I hope I did not sound condescending with my initial remarks regarding plans, they are a valuable asset in a woodworkers arsenal, especially when the woodworker wishes to explore the art further, and explore beyond the limits of their own skill level.

13 minutes ago, DAB said:

 

a laborer needs plans, a craftsman needs lumber

 

I use few plans, but never one that I didn't modify.

For complicated pieces, plans are a great time saver. My one cell sketch up often freezes. Needs more RAM.

Visualization of the final piece is where I start. Then, the gaps get filled in. The outcomes rarely match the visualizations. But that's the reward. 

Please yourself first. 

Edited August 30, 20169 yr by Gene Howe

30 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

I use few plans, but never one that I didn't modify.

For complicated pieces, plans are a great time saver. My one cell sketch up often freezes. Needs more RAM.

Visualization of the final piece is where I start. Then, the gaps get filled in. The outcomes rarely match the visualizations. But that's the reward. 

Please yourself first. 

I am usually the same - I use plans, but always seem to make modifications somehow, somewhere. For me, plans are a HUGE time savings and as my skills improve, I will be able to rely less and less on plans made by someone else and more of my own. I guess that is the engineer in me - I like to follow a plan. Also, when I can't get into the shop for a while, it is easier to remember where I left off.

I generally use plans for inspiration, but alter to fit my needs.   Maybe things have gotten better with programs like Sketchup, but the old plans were full of errors.  Trust, but verify.  One good place to look is

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=102&topic=free woodworking plans

 

 

Avoid like the plague, "Ted's Woodworking" or one its many spinoffs.   All pirated information and annoying SPAM and hijacked web sites.

Edited August 31, 20169 yr by kmealy

you can read and modify my cutting  board thread.  it's graphic/picture heavy, pretty light on text.  intentionally so.  if you didn't know English, i'll be you could follow it and have success (you are welcome China).

 

many years ago i tried to build a little project from Wood magazine.  a little dead blow mallet.  it looked pretty.  but the directions, while apparently correct, were very hard to follow. very text heavy.  i just gave up eventually.

 

as i've noted before, learn the basics, then you can make anything you want.

 

i've built 2 full kitchens, and used different methods for building the cabinets in each one.  but the end result is a square, sturdy cabinet.

 

11 minutes ago, DAB said:

very text heavy.

As a kid, I built every plastic model I could afford. Later in life I revisited this hobby and discovered that the assembly instructions were all pictures. What I missed from the old written instructions was the additional information included about the part, its' correct name and often its' function.

 

27 minutes ago, kmealy said:

I generally use plans for inspiration, but alter to fit my needs.   Maybe things have gotten better with programs like Sketchup, but the old plans were full of errors.  Trust, but verify.  One good place to look is

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=102&topic=free woodworking plans

 

 

Avoid like the plague, "Ted's Woodworking" or one its many spinoffs.   All pirated information and annoying SPAM and hijacked web sites.

and if you do accidentally click on a link to Ted's expect Trojans and spyware...

immediately run you AV/AS as soon as do open one of his links...

On 8/29/2016 at 2:02 PM, DAB said:

 

Nothing wrong working with plans found elsewhere, not your own.

Giving due credit is a must if that is the case.

 

Using plans and then making adjustments, altercations, is good.

I've done few from my own scratch drawing.

Then a friend made it proper by providing dimensions. It saved me money in a long run.

Saved on wood as well.

 

Tony

 

 

I do drawings and working from wordy plans is a hassel unless the author is very accurate anc concise. Working from pictures explains a lot. as they say "A picture is worth a thousand words"

I don't care how good you think you are, sometimes it pays to follow the plan.

 

 

Edited September 1, 20169 yr by Richard McComas

7 minutes ago, Richard McComas said:

I don't care how good you think you are, sometimes it pays to follow the plan.

Hey, that's my bridge! 

I'm a draftsman by trade, so doing a drawing to work off of is just natural.

Saves me from the miscalculations on material etc. if I layout it all out on the computer or note pad first.

That being said the only plan I have ever purchased  I didn't even need after all.

TxMoose

2 hours ago, Richard McComas said:

I don't care how good you think you are, sometimes it pays to follow the plan.

 

 

 

The problem is...sometimes the plan isn't right either.

measure with a micrometer

 

mark with chalk

 

cut with an axe.

 

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.

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every step between the designer and the builder creates another chance for error.