Discover Woodworking Plans For Impressing Your Friends
Free woodworking plans are a tremendous resource for students and shop teachers. Having a menu of ready made plans available gives students a selection of items to build in the wood shop. This is simpler for them than starting from scratch to design something themselves or having to come up with their own idea for a wood project. Having downloadable woodworking plans available for their students also eases the burden for shop teachers. Not only do they reduce the time needed to prepare lessons, but since they are free they also economize. When teachers have a selection of plans to utilize, they can offer each student projects which are aimed to the student’s specific ability and skills.
There are free woodworking plans for starting level students, such as the etched glass wall mirror. This project involves building a frame for a pre-made glass panel. This project requires only miter cuts and rabbet to make the frame. The only other tasks needed are assembling, sanding and finishing. This project needs a minimal work time and materials to assemble.
A more sophisticated woodworking project would be to make an end or coffee table. The tables will need a frame built, including legs, cross members and a lower shelf. These plans will require using more sophisticated tools. The student will also have to know how to glue up the material for the table top and shelf from smaller boards. There are free woodworking plans printed for both which can be made using etched glass panels just as the wall mirror has. This design consistency is important since it provides for projects of multiple skill levels and complexity using the same type of glass panels with etched layouts. Following this common theme makes for a very useful lesson plan where all the projects have a unified, consistent organization while still allowing for variations in students abilities and time commitments.
All of the students can be offered the same decorative glass panel and then have the choice of building a project with it that they are comfortable working on. Advanced students can also use the glass etching panel to build sophisticated projects, such as a cabinet with glass doors or a glass fronted grandfather clock. These projects will involve making complex doors as well as the frame. The frame will need complex mortise-and-tenon joints as well as dados. The top, side and back panels will require gluing up many pieces. The students will employ the router table and planer for this project in addition to the table saw and jointer.
By leveraging free woodworking plans, shop instructors can provide their students with assignments which will match their skills while still having a mutual component. By using a selection of pre-made plans, teachers have standard criteria for comparison and can spend more of their time to teaching the students.
