The Top Free Woodworking Plans for Your Wood Shop
Using free woodworking plans to teach your woodshop students is a great way to economize and better utilize those resources for other supplies, like wood! Free woodworking plans can be copied and reproduced for even more savings.
There are numerous websites with downloadable woodworking plans and ideas to help point you in the direction of free plans. In this article you will find three examples, however there are a great many out there just waiting to be discovered. Having a diverse collection of plans at your disposal is important to your instruction, getting plans free will help you develop your course and diversify your repertoire. Of course the most important side to any woodworking project is to create something both beautiful and useful – something you are both proud of..
One easy class is the use of glass etching. Etched glass woodworking projects can be as basic as a framed mirror or as challenging as a glass top table. This multi-media project will inspire you and your pupils and best of all; you can find the plans for free! No more piggy banks and other such silly ideas, you don’t need to teach your students the art of fine etching but you can teach the most important aspects of finished carpentry.
Another great project idea, also freely available online, is a fun wood puzzle. Puzzles come in many varieties. Your students will be ravished by making a toy they could give as a gift to a younger sibling or cousin. You will delight in all the money you will be saving by obtaining the plans for nothing. Of course, if you are looking for something with a little more depth, you may want to look further. But as a quick fun project – give it a shot! When the plans are free, what do you have to lose but a few moments of your time?
Finally (and by now you realize there are limitless possibilities!) left with you is a dynamic and fun “Tansu” or Japanese Chest of Drawers. Though traditionally made using hand tools alone this project gives you the opportunity to impart the progression of old techniques coupled newer options working alongside to create a beautiful yet functional chest of drawers. Consider the grateful mothers who would be so happy to receive such a gift in place of a tired set of scented candles! You could even afford embellishments with the money you’ve saved by downloading plans for free. There are only too many websites available to help you find free woodworking plans. Be warned, you may have to navigate several “search” sites to discover the plans. One useful site I found is www.WoodworkingProjectsAndPlans.com where you will find free plans for beautiful etched glass projects.
The hope is that you’ve learned these woodworking plans are quickly and easily found. Make sure that the next class be one that you are all excited about, keeping each student on his toes - absolutely free!