Before your next cut

Most projects don't fail at the saw. They fail at the plan.

If you've ever bought lumber twice for the same build, the problem was never your skill. It was a plan that left something out. Here's how to spot a good one — and where to find 16,000 that have already been built and tested.

See the plan library

Opens the plan library · 60-day money-back guarantee

Pencil plan of a workbench with labeled dimensions, laid out on a workbench beside a hand plane

16,000+: plans in the library
54,000+: woodworkers using them
25 yrs: of shop-tested builds
60 days: money-back guarantee

Three ways a build goes sideways — all of them start on paper

Stack of printed woodworking plans on a workbench with a tape measure and combination square — Every problem on this list is decided here, before the first cut.

The measurements don't add up

You cut to the diagram, then the pieces don't meet. One missing dimension — or one that assumes a board thickness you don't have — and the whole build drifts out of square.

There's no cut list

So you buy lumber by eye, run short halfway through, and drive back to the store. That second trip is where most weekend projects quietly die.

Nobody actually built it

Plenty of free plans are traced from a photo, never cut, never assembled. You find out at step nine, with glue already open.

The 5-point check for a plan worth building

Run any plan through this before you touch a board. If it misses more than one, put it down — it'll cost you more in lumber than a good plan costs to buy.

Detailed joinery schematic on paper next to the mortise-and-tenon joint it describes — Joinery drawn out and dimensioned — not left to guesswork.

Printed cut list pinned to a workbench beside stacks of boards cut to length — A cut list you can hand to the lumber yard once and be done.

Every dimension is labeled
Not just the outside box — joinery, spacing, and hardware placement too.
A complete cut list and materials list
So one trip to the lumber yard covers the whole build.
Steps in build order
Numbered, in the sequence you'd actually work — not a wall of text.
A clear view of the finished piece
Photos or 3D views from more than one angle, so you know what you're aiming at.
It was built before it was published
Someone cut the wood, hit the snags, and fixed the plan before you got it.

What a plan that measures up actually gets you

Shelving, boxes, tables — the same handful of tools, three very different Saturdays.

Floating white oak shelf on a plaster wall holding a vase and two books — Floating oak shelfOne board, an afternoon, hardware you never see.

Walnut keepsake box with hand-cut dovetails, open on a workbench beside a backsaw — Walnut dovetail boxA weekend of joinery you'll want to show people.

Trestle dining table in a sunlit dining room, set with a runner and greenery — Trestle dining tableThe piece guests ask about before they sit down.

Where we send people

One library that clears all five: Ted's Woodworking

Woodworker in a leather apron reading a plan sheet beside the cabinet carcass he is building

Ted McGrath spent 25 years building and collecting plans, then had a team cut and assemble them before publishing. What came out the other side is 16,000+ projects with labeled dimensions, full cut lists, and step-by-step assembly — sorted into categories you can actually search.

Furniture, sheds, workbenches, beds, toys, garden pieces, shop jigs. Beginner builds you can finish on a Saturday, and pieces you'll be proud to give away.

Kitchen & dining
Outdoor & garden
Sheds & shops
Decor & gifts

16,000+ plans, searchable by category and skill level
Cut list and materials list on every project
New plans added every month at no extra cost
One-time payment — not a monthly subscription
Bonus CAD viewer and 150 instructional videos
60-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked

CAD viewer
150 videos
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Honestly — is this for you?

Woodworker wiping oil finish onto a walnut tabletop with a cloth

Yes, if

You want to stop improvising and follow something that works
You have a garage, a basement, or a corner of the yard — not a pro shop
You'd rather spend Saturday building than searching for a decent plan
You're buying gifts and furniture you could be making instead

Probably not, if

You already design in CAD and draft your own plans
You only ever build one specific thing, and you've got it dialed in
You want a course with an instructor — these are plans, not lessons

Questions we get a lot

Do I need expensive tools?

For most of the library, no. The bulk of the projects are built with a saw, a drill, a sander, clamps, and measuring tools. Plans list what they require up front, so you can filter by what's already on your bench.

I've never built anything. Is this too advanced?

Start with the simple end of the library — a birdhouse, a shelf, a garden bench, a workbench. Each one is a step-by-step with a full cut list. The projects get harder only when you decide they should.

Is it a subscription?

No. It's a one-time payment for lifetime access to the library, and new plans get added at no extra cost. Check the current price on the offer page — it changes.

What if the plans aren't what I expected?

There's a 60-day money-back guarantee. Download them, look through the categories, build one. If it isn't for you, ask for your money back.

Hand plane peeling a curl of shavings off a board on a workbench

The project is already built in your head. Give it a plan.

Pick one project. Follow one plan that's been built before. The first finished piece is the one that changes how you see the rest.

Start your next project

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