Are Free Woodworking Plans Really Free?

Like most woodworkers, when I first started out, I was eager to gather up some plans and get building something. I was on a limited budget, so I figured I would rather spend money on tools and supplies than on woodworking plans. After all, a plan is a plan… Makes sense, right?

Well, I tell you what! I’ll be the first to tell you that the upside of free woodworking plans is that they’re FREE! But as you well know, there really is no such thing as a free lunch…

I like to go get some free firewood from time to time to keep the fire stoked up in the wintertime. It usually involves something like this:

• Fill the truck up with gas so I can burn twenty dollars worth of gas round trip to the woods.
• A gallon of gas and a quart of bar oil for the chainsaw.
• A half day or more away from the family.
• Can’t forget my axe, splitting maul, and other tools.
• Twenty minutes sharpening my chain.
• A couple blisters, band-aids and an partial amputation.

Surely, you get my point… don’t get me wrong, I enjoy getting free firewood, but it ain’t free!

I’ve found that finding free woodworking plans can often be just like that. By the time you sift through all the outdated websites with broken links, just to find a link to a plan that links you to another page with a link that links you to somebody’s dog grooming page, it’s enough to go bonkers.

And IF you do finally find a plan, it may or may not give you enough instructions to actually complete it, or it might look like it was designed by a drunk parakeet. Sometimes you just get what you pay for.

Other times, in your quest for free woodworking plans, you stumble upon some real gems! I have found quite a few in my time. Some so good it’s hard to believe they’re free!

Ultimately, you have to ask yourself,

Are free woodworking plans worth the hassle?

I’ve spent my fair share of time digging around and coming up empty, and I’ve decided for myself that it’s easier to spend a little money up front than to run around wasting hours looking for just the right free woodworking plans.

Do yourself a favor… take part of the time you would normally fritter away looking for free plans and use it to research some of the high-quality paid plans out there that you can buy either as a membership or as a package deal. Some of these give you an almost unbelievable amount of plans for one price, often with a money back guarantee. Give ‘em a look, it only takes a little time!

Ted’s Woodworking Plans – Over 16,000 plans – The best bang for the buck that I know of! Over 16,000 plans for one low price and this link will give you a nice discount from National Woodworking and Ted. If you can’t find plenty of designs you can use, Ted will give you a full refund. Kind of a no-brainer for me.

Plans Now Membership – When I signed up with these guys, I got the Platinum Package which lets you choose 20 plans and lets you pick two great books they’ll send you in the mail. Very high quality plans. These plans are also a great value.

Please also enjoy these links to dozens of quality free woodworking plans.

50 Free Woodworking Plans Sorted By Skill Level And Type

Free Plans For A Beautiful Six Sided Pergola

A Free Woodworking Plans Resource

Woodworkers Woodshop has a ton of free plans available.

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