Hey there, it’s Matt! I want to finish my story about looking for a great set of loft bed plans for my sons bedroom. If you recall, his entry into middle school meant that he needed a bigger study area which we felt could easily be achieved by building him a loft bed.
If you don’t want to finish the story and just want to see the project plan library I found, click here!
To recap my story really quick, I looked high and low for a good quality woodworking project plan. I wasn’t the best woodworker in the world but I knew my way around the shop for sure.
I looked online and offline and just didn’t find anything that worked. Like you probably did too, I checked out the free woodworking plans available online. I even picked the best looking one and built it. It was so rickety I ended up using it for firewood instead.
I ran into my friend Jim at the hardwood supply store. He had just completed a great project and I wanted to know how he found the plans he used.
He said he had the same issues with online project plans that I did. But it turns out he found this site with a ton of woodworking plans for lots of different projects. They had a whole section for loft bed plans, bunk bed plans, and all sorts of other bedroom furniture.
When I got home I checked out the site Jim told me about. I was floored. He said there were a ton of plans here, but what he didn’t tell me was that there was FOURTEEN THOUSAND different project plans to choose from, including a ton of high quality loft bed plans.
Click here to see the project plans library Jim told me about.
I’ve bought woodworking plans online before and am used to spending ten or fifteen bucks on a plan. I was pretty surprised to see that for a small one time fee I could use any one of those plans I wanted to. It was like having my own library of 14,000 project plan books right at my fingertips!
My son and I perused the loft bed section and ended up picking the perfect project plan for his new loft bed. It was a loft bed with a desk, and it even had a nice little cabinet built in. It was perfect for his new study nook.
We spent the next weekend in the shop together building his new bed. It was a great bonding time! The loft bed plans we chose were so high quality that even he was able to follow them easily. They had detailed drawings, step by step instructions, you name it.
My wife was so happy with the results of this project that she let me go buy a nice new lathe. I can’t wait to look for some turning plans in my new project plan library!
Click here to see the great woodworking plans library I found!
The best place to start any major woodworking project is with a wood working plan. This is a perfect place to start for proper assistance with your woodworking or scroll saw design.
A quality plan will dramatically improve the look quality of your project. Well designed plans have informative and clear instructions and are illustrated to guide you through the entire process.
You can either pay for these plans, or you can download them free from the internet. If you can draw you can even design your own plan.
Procuring quality designs
Free online patterns can be found if you can’t afford to pay for a high quality plan that results in a higher quality end result. You will rarely find free plans that are high quality, while the vast majority of free plans aren’t very good. High quality woodworking plans are available for low reasonable rates which make the low quality free plans less attractive.
Collections of project plans can be found, or you can find individual plans suitable for a specific project. You can buy simple or complicated plans for all kinds of projects.
You can also find a large number of websites that have plans for children’s toys and other items which are decorative. These kinds of websites are easy enough to find with your favorite search engine
You can also buy plan books in a bookstore or borrow it from the local library. Magazines for woodworkers usually have a few popular project plans in each issue. Buying magazines and tearing out the project plans can be a good way to find plans.
Starting with a simple design is the best thing to do if you do not have much wood working experience. This way you can learn the basic techniques and practice reading plans without getting too stressed out with a complicated design. When you start to learn more you can then move onto more complicated and extravagant projects.
You must verify that the plan you choose is full of clear information and has detailed guidelines. Be sure to pick a plan that has clear pictures and diagrams along with clear instructions so you always know what is next. Keep your woodworking plans in a binder or file cabinet so you always know where they are.
You can make a few minor changes to the plan instead of following it step by step. You can quite easily personalize generic plans by changing a few simple steps. Painting your project instead of using wood stain is also worth considering.
Creating your own plans
Once you feel you are ready to take on a challenge you should consider designing your own plan. This isn’t nearly as hard as it may seem. Start drawing the basic outlines of your project and once you have the basic design done you can start adding detail.
Choose what materials to use
Now is the time to select the wood you’d like to use to complete your project. Be sure to calculate carefully to make sure you order enough wood to complete your project.
Now is the perfect time to figure out if you need anything else to complete your project. Write a complete list of all materials you will need, including quantities. Everything you need for your project should be on this list, even wood stains and paint.
If you don’t have all of the tools you need, be sure to include those on your list as well. Take this list out with you when you go shopping so that you are sure to get everything you need.
Click here to see the best woodworking plan library I’ve ever found on the Internet.
It’s Matt again! Unlike many of you, I’m not very good at working up my own project plans for my woodworking projects. I’ve never been a good artist so I tend to depend heavily on project plans.
I thought I’d go to the hardwood supply store and buy the wood I’d need for my loft bed project. I hopped in the truck on a Saturday afternoon and drove down to my favorite shop.
As it turns out my friend Jim was there. We sat and talked about our projects and what we were working on at the time. He could certainly sympathize with my plan woes.
He told me about a website he went to and got some perfect plans for a cedar chest he was making. There was a broad variety of plans available and he said he found the perfect look for his daughter’s hope chest.
He said that building using those plans was super easy and that they were detailed and had great step by step directions. The site had a ton of other project plans and he figured they’d probably have some good ones for my loft bed project.
That was all I needed to hear! I went home and checked out the site he told me about and found the perfect loft bed plans! I could hardly wait to start my project!
Click here to see the site Jim told me about.
Hey it’s Matt again. I thought I’d take a quick minute and show you my work shop. Every woodworker likes to show off a bit and I figured I’d do the same!
I’m by no means a professional woodworker, but I have the usual tools … table saw, planer, jointer, and the like. Here’s a picture!
Hi, it’s Matt here. I figured I’d start by explaining the reason I began looking for loft bed plans. My son was going into middle school and needed a quiet place to study.
His room would have been perfect except it was too small. I needed a way to give him a place to study AND a place to sleep. And so a new woodworking project was born.
As with any good project I needed a good set of bed plans. I started looking online. And found a ton of project plans.
The problem was they were either boring, too big, too hard, complicated, and some of them were even incomplete. I even tried to make one of the free plans and it was so rickety I tore it apart and used it for fire wood.
My wife is hollering at me so I have to go, but I’ll tell you what I ended up doing soon!
Click here if you want to skip my story and see the fantastic woodworking plans library I found. I won’t be offended, I promise!
