Working with wood can be a very rewarding hobby or profession. If you’re talented and apply yourself, you can earn a good living as a woodworking craftsman. You can build furniture like tables, chairs, beds and many other things.  If your work is good, people will come back for more of the same, tell their friends and refer you to others.

A great thing about the woodworking craft is that you can provide yourself and your family with some outstanding furniture at a fraction of the cost that it would take to purchase items of the same quality, and take pride in the fact that you created it your self. It takes time to become skillful, but everyone has to start somewhere to become successful. It’s never too late to start with woodworking projects and it’s a fun hobby as well.

If you’re interested in learning about the woodworking craft you should definitely do some research online. You will be able to find lots of information there and you will soon be able to practice what you’ve learned.

After you’ve read a few articles online you will know that you need some basic woodworking tools and some basic woodworking plans.

A trip to your local depot store is a good place to start for tools. I recommend you buy new and not used tools. Primarily for the warrantees that come with new equipment. Especially when you’re looking at power tools. There’s nothing worse than buying some else’s old skill saw that’s been dropped and is not in alignment, and you wonder why you can’t cut a straight line.

Some of the basic tools you’ll need to get started are; a skill saw, a hand saw, a hammer, a good set of screwdrivers, an open end wrench set, a 25 foot tape measure, a power screwdriver and most importantly – safety goggles for you eyes. These tools are the basic things you need to have to get started but you might have to buy a few other tools as well when you proceed to more advanced projects. It seems that every project I’ve done there has been that one, sometime two, new tools that will make the task just a bit easier. So I usually start with a trip to the tool department.

Woodworking is a hobby, or trade, that can be very satisfying. It’s a good feeling to know that you’ve built the things that you have in your home and around you. This is a great hobby to have and it can be extremely rewarding and satisfying.

It’s a great feeling to build something from wood with your hands. And to insure success on every project you’ll need to be organized, have a good place to do the work and have a good set of plans you can trust and count on.

Nails, screws, bolts, nuts and, of course, the wood and you head out to your local depot store. Now you could call the order in and have it delivered to your door but I recommend that choose the lumber yourself. Wood can vary from board to board. You’ll want to check each piece for any of the defects and blemishes listed below.

Choosing which pieces of wood to buy can be a critical aspect of whether the project is   a success or not. I’d like to point out some of the flaws that occur in wood that you want to avoid.

Knots. You might think those grainy swirls that are in different areas each of the boards add style and character. In some case they do. But remember that a knot is a weak spot in the board. If the wood you are buying is meant to carry weight and the board is long and thin, you don’t want knots. A pin knot may be Ok – less than ½ inch. Try to avoid wood with knots larger than ¾ of and inch.

Bow. This is an end-to-end curve along a boards face. Hold the board at eye level and look down it’s length. If it bows – set it back and choose a different one.

Twists. This is one of the worst issues with wood that you want to avoid these. It’s the uneven warping of the board and it weakens the wood. Mostly, it’s just hard to get pieces to line up and fit properly if some of the boards are twisted. You’ll lose your flush alignments.

Gum. Usually found in the softer woods like pine. This is an accumulation of sap or resin from the tree. It doesn’t weaken the board but it will bleed through any finish you put on the wood. I once used a board for a fence post that had a slight amount of sap on it  and  it oozed sap for years. Avoid them.

If you’re in doubt about a piece of wood or how to choose what you need, I believe in going against your instincts and ask the question. The sales people in the lumber stores are there for you and are generally pretty knowledgeable. My recommendations here are in reference to building a loft bed. Certainly some of the wood flaws discussed would be fine for other applications and projects, but we’ll talk about those on another day.

Often a person who is new to woodworking, will quit part way through a project and not finish it. Not because they aren’t capable but because the  instructions, diagrams or step by step planning  they were given was inadequate.

There is a website where you can get all the information you need for most any woodworking project. It’s Ted’s Woodworking Plans.

You’ll be provided  with clear instructions which are easy to read and understand. The diagrams are easy to follow and  the directions for the project are written in a manner that will take you step-by-step to completion.

The newbie woodworker and the experienced  will be able to do these projects without any difficulty.

Each of woodworking plans and projects which are available in Ted’s Woodworking are so well written so that even if you’ve never tried Woodworking before, or if you have 2 left hands, you would find woodworking a breeze.

Is Ted’s Woodworking Plans worth the money?  Absolutely Yes!