You Don't Need Plans for Woodworking.

I occasionally buy plans that inspire the project. Mostly because that is the way I choose to give back to the creators that entertain me and educate me.

Your drawing/list is a plan. Your point that you do not need plans from someone else is very true, I generally draw my own plans for all of the projects I do. Keep up the good work.

From the perspective of a draftsman, plans are often misunderstood as being fixed in stone and something that must be adhered to (outside of contractual agreements and record keeping). To put it simply - a plan is a Map of Intent Plans are a method to communicate to other people involved (including yourself) what the final form of the project will be *at that point in time*. If an issue is found, we literally "go back to the drawing board" in order to "make a change of plans" to match the new, more realistic outcome. In the context of woodworking, plans are a great way to . . . plan ahead . . .for what materials you need to prepare, to help predict the total cost, to minimise wastage (time, money, materials), and as a reference to follow during the construction phase. As Rex points out, you will probably want to tweak plans for your own design. So it is then wise to update the plans to record it for future reference - especially if you intend to make a higher quality version, share it, manufacture it, etc. So the idea of "going in without a plan" is still actually a plan! You just haven't yet brought that fuzzy idea in your head into clear focus by mapping it out as a diagram, list, steps etc. The word 'design' is the process of clarifying that fuzzy idea, and so the old saying 'Measure Twice, Cut Once" is really a reminder to check your 'map of intent' before you make a wasteful mistake. The only way to do that is to have a plan!

Watching a Rob Cosman live video, he was showing his sharpening station. He mentioned people asked if he had the plans for it. He says, it's two pieces of wood. Some people just don't know how to make something without plans. I've come to the conclusion that if I watch a video of something I want to build, I can copy it just watching the video, no plans needed.

I built myself a headphone stand out of pipe and a wooden based based a number of YouTube videos I had seen. A friend of mine saw it and asked me to build one for her but "Not so industrial looking". I couldn't find anything that was inline with my vision so I just came up with my own. Two boards. One with a dado. The other fits into it. I cut an interesting shape in the vertical piece. Nothing fancy but it worked. Then she told me it had to be portable to take into the office so I used magnets instead of gluing the pieces together. Look at me improvising! 😊 Yes, this was a very simple project but it gave me more joy to build that than anything else I've made.

I have never used plans. But I also am not a fine woodworker. I enjoy making things by eye like tool handles, greenwood mallets, low benches and firewood round tables. Rough wood working is just a lot of fun for me and much more natural.

I run a woodwork group for adults with autism and learning difficulties, and I used to do what I do at home and not use plans and go with the flow. But I've tried working from some plans recently and found it's really help some of the guys who struggled before start to understand projects more, having the visual aid of the bigger picture and seeing how what we are doing fits together. I think they also like it because it gives them more agency to tell me what we are doing next rather than me just telling them what to do.

I keep a notebook for my design sketches. I keep refining and changing my drawings of cabinets, my shaving horse, whatever I want to build until I’m happy with it. I draw the item from all sides. Then, when I start building, sometimes I stumble into a better idea or an amendment, so I pencil out my modification in my notebook My notebook has become quite a personal treasure.

Thanks Rex. This is great advice. Last weekend I built my first bit o furniture, a shoe rack, and basically did a simple sketch and winged it. Mistakes were made, and corrected, and most importantly lessons were learned (the top needs to be wider than the shelves!). Had I followed plans, no wisdom would have been gained. Errors are required for learning.

When I first started in woodworking I used plans mainly for my own sense of security in building. As I got more comfortable with my tools and skills, I still started with plans, but frequently made adjustments to the plans to fit my needs and found it quite satisfying. I still start with plans, but I find myself building my own projects based on my simple drawing, though my drawings might be based on studying plans from similar projects from three or four different sources. I am currently working on a project trying only using my supply of scrap wood. I enjoy your videos very much.

The design process used here is pretty much exactly how I do stuff. 1) get a rough idea 2) make a crappy drawing 3) figure out dimensions 4) just wing the rest of it I also thought it was cool seeing you use that socket for a small curve. I've used the trick I learned from YouTube (maybe even from Rex originally) about just grabbing something round to trace but I had never thought of a socket and that could definitely come in handy sometime and makes me think of more stuff I might use.

Such a true video, i almost never use anything more than a vague idea of height and length and such. Part of the way i enjoy woodworking is the winging it itself!

If you draw up your plans after you make the project, the measurements are spot on!

I made a little 3 drawer box for my 3 grits of 5” diameter sandpaper. Made it out of entirely offcuts and cheap plywood scraps and refrained from using CAD which was hard because I’m an engineer by day. Super happy with how the drawer runners I designed came out and it’s one of the most simple but beloved projects I’ve done in my first 6 months of woodworking.

Great stuff as usual, mr Krueger. Sometimes you need to provide children with assistance and guidance (plans), sometimes just a smile and a nod are enough (no plans). Thank you!

Most of my inspiration comes from scrolling Pinterest, etc. I never buy plans (sorry). I'm retired and get requests for custom-made stuff regularly. I no longer take "orders", but I invite folks to the shop where I provide the tools, space and experience. They provide the willingness to learn and do the work. The biggest issue I found is that most people want to measure everything!! The last project, my neighbor showed up with a tape measure clipped to his belt. I preached "cut-to-fit and he would try to "measure-to-fit". He tried to get down to 1/256". Finally, his wife told him to put the tape measure in the truck and behave. Haha.

last weekend I picked up 10 sheets of bargain 9mm plywood- (30" x15" for £1 each) I decided to make some small storage boxes (4 sides and a base) roughly 10" x 4" x 2 3/4". I had an example already. I call these table saw boxes as everything is done on the table saw, set the width of the strips using the existing box. cut the strips, set the saw to about 3mm and cut a slot down all of the strips (for the base), set the saw to the 4" width using the existing box, and cut 2 ends from each strip. set a line for the box length by comparing against the existing, then cut 2 sides from each strip . I got 5 strips from a sheet of ply, and each makes a box with about 2" waste. then its cutting the rebates for the sides onto the ends ( this is a blade width with the saw set to the thickness of the board, this gives 2 shallow rebates on each end. for the bases I have some 2mm fibreboard sheet length is the inside box measure plus 1/8" width is the inside box measure plus 1/8" (allows a slightly loose bottom) now its just a glue and 24g pin nailer to put it together (saves using clamps) and in about 30 minutes or so I have made 5 stackable boxes for storing 'stuff' put them on a shelf, write whats in them on the front and theres a storage solution. I have 9 boxes done already, 6 more awaiting glueing and 4 sheets of ply left to make another 20 boxes. (I also made some DVD storage boxes from the first couple of sheets. OK I hear you say you did all that with a table saw- yes for speed and convenience, but it could all be done by hand, it would just take longer.

The only time I'll really plan a project is if needs to fit with something else specifically or I need a shopping list of expensive material. Outside that all my projects evolve as they get built

That's the way to do it Rex. I never work from plans and don't spend money on wood. My house is furnished with Me made furniture which is all made from reclyed wood or pallet wood. I am a little bit dyslexic and plans just confuse me. I do copy styles. I live in a 125 year old house in Tasmania so reproduce furniture that suits the house. My procedure is normally Make basic measurements to suit it's intended location and function. Search my supply of old timber and get stuck into it. The wood usually helps, it sort of tells you what it wants to be. To me making furniture is like painting. Artists don't plan every stroke. They start with a basic sketch and build from there. You can change your mind as many times as you like untill it suits you. Geoff and old man in Tasmania

"By Hand and Eye" is a fantastic book. go buy it.