DIY & Home Workshop Review
Ted’s Woodworking Review: Are 16,000 Plans Actually Worth It?
You know the feeling. You find a “free” plan online, print it off, buy £60 of timber… and halfway through the build you realise the measurements don’t add up, half the steps are missing, and your weekend project is now expensive firewood.
That’s the exact problem Ted’s Woodworking claims to solve — one massive, organised library of 16,000 step-by-step woodworking plans, covering everything from a simple birdhouse to full-size garden sheds, so you never have to gamble on a sketchy free PDF again.
But is a 16,000-plan bundle genuinely useful, or is it just a big number designed to impress? In this review we’ll break down exactly what’s inside, who it suits, what we don’t love about it, and whether it’s worth your money.
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What Is Ted’s Woodworking?
Ted’s Woodworking is a digital library of over 16,000 woodworking plans and projects, created by Ted McGrath, a woodworker and educator. Instead of hunting across forums, YouTube and half-finished blog posts, you get one members’ area where every plan is organised by category and downloadable to your computer, tablet or phone.
Each plan is designed to include:
- Step-by-step instructions — written so a beginner can follow along without guessing
- Detailed schematics and diagrams — cutting angles, joins and dimensions laid out clearly
- Complete materials and cutting lists — so you buy exactly the timber you need, and nothing you don’t
- Views from multiple angles — no more “what is this arrow even pointing at?” moments
The categories run deep: furniture (tables, chairs, beds, cabinets), outdoor projects (sheds, pergolas, planters, decking), kids’ toys, gifts and crafts, birdhouses, workbenches, and dozens more. If it can be made from wood, there’s almost certainly a plan for it in here.
The Real Problem It Solves
Here’s the honest truth about free woodworking plans online: most of them cost you more than a paid plan ever would. A vague diagram with missing dimensions doesn’t cost you nothing — it costs you wasted timber, wasted weekends, and that slow, frustrating feeling that maybe woodworking “just isn’t for you.”
The maths is simple: one ruined sheet of decent plywood or a few metres of oak costs more than the entire Ted’s Woodworking library. If it saves you from botching a single project, it’s already paid for itself.
Good plans do three things: they remove guesswork, they remove waste, and they let you build with confidence instead of crossed fingers. That’s the actual product here — not the number 16,000, but the certainty that the next project you start is one you’ll actually finish.
What’s Inside the Members’ Area
The main plan library
Plans are grouped by project type and searchable, so you can go from “I want to build a garden bench” to printing the plan in a couple of minutes. Everything is downloadable, so you can save your favourites, print them, and take them out to the workshop — no internet required at the bench.
Beginner-friendly by design
This is the part that surprises most people. The stereotype is that big plan libraries are for seasoned woodworkers, but the step-by-step format is genuinely aimed at people starting out. Simple weekend projects — birdhouses, planters, small shelves — are the perfect on-ramp, and the instructions assume you’re learning, not that you already know.
Included bonuses
- DWG/CAD plan viewer — view and edit plans if you like to tweak designs
- 150 premium woodworking videos — watch techniques instead of just reading them
- How-to woodworking guides — foundational skills, finishing, joinery and more
- Lifetime access with free updates — new plans are added monthly at no extra cost
👉 See the Full List of Plans & Bonuses Here
One-time payment — no subscription, no recurring fees
Pros and Cons
No product is perfect, and you should go in with clear eyes. Here’s our honest scorecard:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Enormous variety — beginner to advanced, tiny crafts to full sheds | 16,000 plans can feel overwhelming at first — you’ll want to bookmark favourites early |
| Step-by-step format with materials & cutting lists removes guesswork | Quality varies across such a huge library — some plans are more polished than others |
| One-time payment with lifetime access — no subscription creep | Digital only — if you want paper, you’ll be doing the printing yourself |
| Downloadable and printable — works offline in the workshop | You still need basic tools; plans don’t replace a saw and a drill |
| 60-day money-back guarantee takes the risk off you | Measurements are largely imperial — UK builders will occasionally convert to metric |
Who Is Ted’s Woodworking For?
It’s a great fit if you:
- Are a beginner who wants to build real things without expensive trial-and-error
- Are a weekend DIYer tired of half-baked free plans that waste your timber
- Want to build furniture, garden projects or gifts and save serious money vs. buying retail
- Are thinking about selling handmade pieces as a side income and need a deep well of project ideas
It’s probably not for you if:
- You’re a master craftsman who designs everything from scratch anyway
- You don’t own (and don’t plan to own) even basic hand tools
Price and Guarantee
Ted’s Woodworking is sold as a one-time payment — not a subscription — which currently gets you the full 16,000-plan library, the bonuses, and lifetime access including future plan additions. Given that individual professional plans often sell for £5–£20 each, the per-plan cost here is fractions of a penny.
It’s also covered by a 60-day, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee through the payment processor. That means you can download plans, print a few, and actually build something — and if it’s not for you, you get a refund. Two full months is more than enough time to know.
⚠️ Worth knowing: the product is regularly promoted at a discounted launch-style price. If you see it discounted, that’s genuinely the best time to grab it — the guarantee applies either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Ted’s Woodworking suitable for complete beginners?
- Yes — arguably that’s who benefits most. The step-by-step format, cutting lists and diagrams are built to remove the guesswork that trips beginners up. Start with a simple project like a planter or birdhouse and work upward.
- Do I need expensive tools?
- No. Plenty of plans can be completed with a basic kit — saw, drill, sander, measuring tools. As your skills grow, you can take on plans that use more advanced equipment.
- Is it a physical product?
- No, it’s fully digital. You get instant access after purchase and can download or print any plan you like — which is actually handy, since you can have plans in the workshop the same afternoon.
- What if I don’t like it?
- You’re covered by the 60-day money-back guarantee, handled by the payment platform rather than the seller — so refunds are straightforward.
Final Verdict
Our Rating: 4.4 / 5 ★★★★☆
Ted’s Woodworking isn’t magic — you still have to pick up the tools. But as a one-time-payment library, it solves the single biggest problem in DIY woodworking: bad plans that waste your money and kill your motivation. The sheer variety means you’ll never run out of projects, the step-by-step format is genuinely beginner-friendly, and the 60-day guarantee means the risk sits with them, not you.
Bottom line: if you’ve ever abandoned a project because the plan let you down, this is the cheapest insurance policy in woodworking.
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