Easy Woodworking Plans

Woodworking is an enjoyable craft that can make for a profitable hobby. Once you get comfortable with it, you will start reading projects from woodworking plans and building them from scratch. As with any art the picture is first formed in the imagination before it is transferred to the canvas. So for the craftsman the ability to read the woodworking plans is essential in order to create the item the designer had in mind.

Any woodworking plan drawn professionally will have some elements which must be understood for the project to actually take off. There are several basic elements that will make any drawing an easy working plan. Some of these include the following:

Scale – most plans will be drawn to scale unless they are plans of something very small. The drawing will come with a small table mostly at the right hand corner showing details such as the unit of measurement and any other information helpful in understanding the plan.

Primary views of the drawing

Ttypically any drawing will have a top view, an end view and a front view. For each of these views, dimensions will be given sometimes with arrows showing where the measurement begins and where it ends. Sometimes there will be no arrows but numbers listed along the lines. For most simple projects, the front view will be the only one provided. For more complex projects, more views will be provided.

Cut view – this shows a something not shown in the primary view. This will be denoted by right angled lines with an arrow with a letter at the end of it. This letter will also be shown on the drawings for you to know that there is a cut-view for you to refer to.

Exploded view – this will appear on your woodworking plans to show you what the details of something too small to be seen in the primary view are. The view is shown in a circle with a letter showing what specific part on the primary view is being shown.

Lines – they can be bold, regular or fine lines. Bold lines and/or regular lines are used on the most important parts of the drawings. Fine lines and broken lines may represent extension, dimension, break, hatch or center lines. It is important to study the line and where it appears so that you can understand the plan. Some of the plans in the market have no real standard and lines may be fine and yet represent an important part. Just make sure the drawing makes sense before you start your project.

Woodworking Drawings

There are various elements that must be stated in any typical drawing.

Clear and concise instructions – The instructions on easy woodworking plans should be very clear and easy to follow. They should also be chronological following a logical order.
Tools required for the project must be indicated – it is the duty of the seller to ensure that every single tool required for the planned project is listed. This will allow you to be adequately prepared before you begin a project. If you are a seasoned craftsman, then you will be able to tell which tools can be substituted and if not, then you can make an enquiry before purchasing the plans.
Materials required for the project – These must be listed and their full details given. These would include the dimensions and specific wood required for floor boards, siding, wood posts, siding and others. Details should be such that a novice could easily follow them.
Woodworking plan or drawing – this will help you to get a picture of the structure and its dimensions and also an understanding of the joints that will be required.

When looking for easy woodworking plans, be sure to source them from well established and respected sources. Sometimes some of the plans that are sold online or given for free come with missing information on dimensions and other key details. This leaves the craftsman with the task of guessing what the dimensions could be.

Where to find easy woodworking plans

A quick search online will yield numerous results on woodworking plans, but the best by far is Teds Woodworking Plans.
Performing a Google image search will also yield results of typical finished projects which you can click on and search for the plans.
Social media also provides a platform for woodcraft enthusiasts to share their woodworking plans. In a Facebook page for woodwork enthusiasts you can ask for recommendations and get good and easy plans for you to follow. People are also generous on social media in sharing photos of their resulting project whether good or bad.

You can source for woodworking plans through any of these means and be well on your way to building your own projects.