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To plan or not to plan

2K views 39 replies 34 participants last post by  MrRon 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
No, I didn't say to PLANE, I said PLAN.
I know there are some things we make that need plans. It would be folly to not have them. But lets say your building a box, or a chest even. Do you look for a step by step, or do you envision a rough method and let the build take you in new directions as you make it?
Some of my best pieces had no plan and didn't even turn out all that much the way I envisioned them. At some point I said to myself that fighting this is useless, it clearly wants me to do it this way now, so lets go from there. If I were a slave to a plan, I'd have just thrown it all away.

You get into some project that has room for departure from the plan a bit, and before you know it you've gone off in a totally new direction. I made a wall hanging once out of some padauk bordered with walnut about 2". As I looked at it, it became apparent that this was a chest or box lid, not a wall hanging at all. That chest turned out to be my finest work to date.

I want to make it clear that I do not support one way over the other, and in fact sometimes I am forced to alter a plan due to my own incompetence, but I try to learn from all kinds of things and this taught me some lessons. The folks who are able to follow a plan to the end usually make much better looking stuff and it serves it's purpose better, but sometimes the plan deviation people can make stuff that captures the imagination and is a different kind of art.

So have you discovered the fun of letting the wood design some of your project or are you the type that has to have no deviations from the plan?
 
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#2 ·
I usually work without plans on most stuff. I built a chest of drawers and dresser in my bedroom and did it with no plans other than to figure out the outside deminsions. Once I had that I just built from the outside in. If you get good with some of the computer programs they are pretty nice because you can actually get reliable measurements right out of the program if you design something online. That is assuming the information you put in was reliable. For example if you designed a box on TurboCad you could actually get the measurements for your pieces directly out of the program.
 
#3 ·
I think I always have a plan, it just doesn't often show itself in terms of a schematic drawing. The more you do this stuff, the more there are just standard ways of completing a task to which you become sensitive.

Even if I have a schematic, I often deviate from it, perhaps changing dimensions or types of joinery. But again, it's not like I don't have a plan.
 
#4 ·
I have never worked from a plan. As a kid I used to build plastic models. The directions were handy if I needed to know something, but other than that they were completely ignored. I had the pieces, I knew how to put it together. It's the same with everything I do today, from home remodeling (my paying job) to woodworking (my new found joy). I think working from plans is too much like somebody telling me what to do. I don't like being told what to do.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm a plan sort of guy. Been an engineer for 40 years and I draw everything and work out all the details before I start. Just the way I work.

Some people, and I have worked for several of them, can't see how a plan works to save their life. They can't envision anything. There are just people like that as well.

One thing I would never do is throw some of my work out because it wasn't coming together like I planed it, though. I would just go back to my plans and rework them to fit where it's headed.

I think everyone who thinks on their feet and designs things has to do this in some way or another.
 
#8 ·
I have build from planes many many times
when building R/C airplanes but I still have to see one plane that is followed excactly
from the first cut to the end …. on the feild there is a word saying
if the plane is build stricly to the plan … it can´t fly :)
even the newest rookie deviates from the plan one way or another
I gess I continue with that in woodworking too :)
I can´t build on the fly I need to have atleast a raw schetch to tinkering over :)

Dennis
 
#9 ·
For some projects, I have the finished piece in my mind and go from there. For projects where I want no surprises and want easy, predictable results, I draw up a plan. For my recent shop cabinets I drew up a plan that included cut diagrams for the plywood to make the most of it.
 
#12 ·
I usually don't work from plans. I'm going to start. They will be my own, but sometimes when you draw EVERYTHING out first, you find the stupid mistakes you make in the middle of a project. Maybe not everyone makes the stupid mistakes I do, but drawing it out first has definitely moved some "what the hell were you thinking there!!" moments from tools and lumber to pencil and paper… Much cheaper and easier to fix.
 
#13 ·
It depends what I'm making say a box for myself or something for a friend that does not care about the measurements after it's made ,I just go for it, but even this type of project needs a mental plan ,such as what material to use where to start,what needs to be done and in what order. 99% of the time I have plans ,my own.
 
#15 ·
It depends on what it is. If it has alot of components that need to be a certain size then I draw up plans. If it doesn't have to be a certain size, or if it's just the finished height, length, or width that need to be a certain size then I just make the measurments as I go… I guess I have the plans, but they are just in my head and not written on paper…or wood or whatever I have lying around lol
 
#16 ·
My definition of "plans" is something I would sketch out with pencil and paper only when necessary. Following a strict set of plans for me would be too mechanical and against my creative instincts.
When I sculpt and carve my boxes I visualize the finished design in my mind and adjust as necessary as it comes together.
 
#17 ·
For me it depends. I made a picture frame (http://lumberjocks.com/projects/76351) for my sister in-law on Christmas Eve to get my wife out of a self inflicted jam. No plans, just a piece of cross stitch a piece of glass from the now useless frame, and an idea in my head of how to make it work. Turned out very nice if I do say so myself. Made a stand and table (http://lumberjocks.com/projects/76602) for my Christmas present drill press, the table I had worked out on paper, but deviated when I got working on it as far as dimensions, followed the plan I had made. The table was based on one from Steve Ramsey, so that followed a plan of sorts. The jewelry box (http://lumberjocks.com/projects/45423) I made for my wife a few years ago was done by a plan I made based on the materials I had on hand. For me it depends on the project, some I have a basic idea of what I want, sometimes I need to have the plans laid out in front of me and work from them step by step.
 
#18 ·
I usually work with what materials I have on hand. A purchased (or otherwise 3rd party) plan almost always means I have to get more materials.

When I go lumber shopping I don't have a shopping list. I just like to go to the lumber store and see what they have, and especially what they have on sale. That is what I work with.

If I were to work on a commissioned piece, then I would draw up plans and buy specific materials. But I don't do commissions… only stuff for my own enjoyment.

Maybe some day I might start planning my projects… maybe.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
Years ago, I built myself a roll top desk (C configuration top). For the life of me I couldn't figure out the exact dimensions of the raised panels simply by calculating. So I ended up drawing that part of the project full size, which did work. I'm most likely to follow plans pretty closely when building a boat, since deviating from plans in that case can lead to serious problems with performance, strength, etc. Even so, I will make numerous small changes as I go. (By the way, the most common mistake amateur builders make is to make everything "just a little bit stronger." The boat ends up twice as heavy as it was supposed to be). Like another poster said, I do a lot of my planning while trying to sleep. Have crappy sleep patterns as a result.
When we remodeled our kitchen, my wife drew up scaled plans to show what she wanted. But a lot of it had to be made up as we went, and we modified several items in the process. One thing she wanted was a couple of drawers inside of drawers. Took a while for me to get my head around that.
I do sometimes get grumpy at the how-to-do projects in FW. "Drive screws from the apron into the framis brace," and they have a photo of a guy driving the screws. Suggests to me that they think we're all idiots (sometimes I am, but not in the way they assume).
 
#20 ·
some type of plan is always needed to estimate materials for those of us that don't keep an inventory of lumber. but other than that (for me), any plans I use are my own rough plans, mostly just to make sure the desired finished size gets there (e.g. stretchers/rails to incorporate tenons, box bottoms to incorporate dados, etc.) and those plans come together as the project evolves.

I used a "real" plan on a table that my wife wanted. far into the project I realized that who ever did the plan couldn't do math…ruined me forever other than a later HUGE 2 story 8 sided bird house (wish I could find that plan…the one I built is firmly rooted in several bags of Sacrete about 1,000 miles from here).
 
#21 ·
I prefer to work from plans, and if I can find plans I don't have to design I like that even better. Unfortunately, I usually can't find exactly what I want in plans so I take ideas from here and there then draw up some rough plans and fill in a little bit while I'm building it. If I wanted to spend the evening drawing plans on the computer my projects would probably be a little nicer but I work on computers all day and really don't want to spend much time in the evening working on them.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Great topic.

I am just getting my shop together. My tendency has been building without drawn out plans in the past.
But I do try to make sure I think all the details through.

But then again, I haven't built a lot of projects that lend themselves to needing drawn out detailed plans.

I see this changing for me as I delve more into using hardwoods and more complex projects and more expensive materials. So I see myself working from plans more in the future. Really need to learn Sketchup. I also have a CAD program that I haven't used much.

Whether one is working from plans or not. Its good to think the project through from beginning to end
to see where time can be saved and pitfalls avoided.
 
#25 ·
Most of the time I usually draw up a set of plans, or sometimes just "sketches" w/ diminsions, if I have an idea in my head (most of the time my head's pretty empty). There have been a few times I've used plans from a book or magazine…...When I built the "Norm router table" I bought the set of plans, and DVD…that was the first I ever used…..When I built my main work bench, I used a ShopNotes plan, but that's about it…To me, drawing or sketching plans is part of the fun in building a project….I guess the mechanical drafting I learned in collage, and have a degree from, paid off…....!!!!
 
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