Woodwork City » Outdoor Plans

Free Swing Plans – Porch or Lawn

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:29 +0000

The following free porch swing plans come from the fine folks at Workbench Magazine. If you have ever wanted to build your own swing, you probably have concerns about strength and safety (as well you should). Following a nice swing plan like this should give you some comfort that you are following a trusted source who has tested the integrity of the design.

Free Swing Plans

With that said, the swing is also attractive and relatively easy to build. There are a lot of parts to this swing plan, but the basic design is straightforward. In fact, if you are a little creative, you can expand on the design of the back to suit your aesthetic.

Good luck building this swing. Click on the image to download the full plan (source: Workbench Magazine).

Purple Martin House Plans

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:12:46 +0000

We have included a few bird house plans over the past few years. Most of them have been relatively simple as are most birdhouse plans (birdhouse plans)? In fact, I find myself using a lot of my cut off, or scrap, lumber for birdhouse scale projects.

Just the other day, a reader requested a a plan for a Purple Martin House. I actually found it kind of funny that we hadn’t included a Martin House Plan before. I located a nice resource that provides a free purple martin house plan. Enjoy. This is the perfect addition to a property and a great project for all of your excess lumber from your summer projects.

Click on the image for the complete plans. You will find the navigation for the steps to the plan on the top of each page.

Purple Martin House Plans

Past birdhouse plans

My Original Adirondack Chair Plans – 1997

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:47:35 +0000

When I was a budding entrepreneur (does that ever change), I decided to build an Adirondack chair based on a plan in a woodworking magazine. I built the chair and immediately thought that I should sell the chairs. Before doing that, I decided it would make more sense to recreate a version of the plan from the magazine and to actually create full sized templates for each part. What spurred me to do so was the fact that transferring the pattern from the magazine page to my wood required a 1″ x 1″ grid and then marking the points. I was very literal in the translation of the plans, so this was painstaking for me. In the beginning, I varied very little from the plan. After building hundreds of Adirondack Chairs, I finally have an understanding that the parts can have a fluid line that doesn’t have to be exact, it just has to look right.

My first foray into selling an Adirondack Chair plan was via a classified ad in the back of a wood magazine. Fortunately, a few orders started coming in. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the plans completed. The number of orders that came in were enough to cover the cost of the ad plus about $20. In 1997, $20 was nice extra money for me. Ah… I still needed the plan.

I have always been computer savvy, so I knew that I wanted to create this item on my own via my PC and my home printer. Since the longest piece for the plan was 40″, I needed to find a printer that could print continues feed for at least 4 pages. I was fortunate enough to have a printer that could accommodate this. I would take a run of continuous feed paper (the perforated kind), tear off the tractor feed strips and feed it into my Epson inkjet printer. In addition to that, I needed to find a drawing program that was easy enough for me to learn quickly and would be able print the 4 continuous pages so that I could provide a full sized template system to my customers. I was fortunate enough to locate a 2d design program from the folks at Ashlar Vellum (http://www.ashlar.com/). They don’t still produce the product, but back in the day, they offered a “lite” version of their program called “Drawing Board” for free. It was my lucky day.

Once I created my templates and was able to print, I was in business. The instructions to build the chair were rather simple and only about four pages long. The material list and cut list were the only additional items needed. My first orders did have to wait about 10 days until I had a full Adirondack Chair Plan to ship, but back in the days of mail order and personal checks, that was not unusual. We sold many sets of these Adirondack chair plans for about four years. After that, we became a reseller for another plan company (JerPat’s).

If you are looking to build your own Adirondack Chair, you can choose from any number of free plans around the web. The following 4 posts should set you in the right direction. There are 11 Adirondack Chair plan varieties to choose from on the 4 pages below:

Good luck with your own project. Here is a picture of one of the first Adirondack Chairs that I produced from my original plans.

Adirondack chair

Free Garden Chair and Bench Plans

admin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:51:38 +0000

The following is a beautiful, yet simple, woodworking plan from the fine folks at Minwax.com, makers of Thompson’s Waterseal.

The plans well laid out and include items that speed a wood project. There is a material shopping list along with a cutting list. A woodworker looking for speed will appreciate both lists. One of the items on the list is a 2″ deck screw. I would strongly recommend changing that out to a 2″ stainless steel deck screw. You will find that they are much more expensive (relatively speaking) but the galvanized screws will react with the lumber. Especially if you use cedar as suggested.

Garden Chair and Bench Plans

Click on the picture of the chair and bench (above) to download the full set of plans for the garden chair and bench. This is a stylish, and compact, addition to any back yard, deck, or garden.

Good luck and feel free to contact us with project images.

Free Wishing Well Plans

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:44:50 +0000

I received a call today from someone looking to purchase a wishing well plan. Instead of a plan that costs something, why not find a free wishing well plan online?

I decided to locate a few plans since everyone has their own taste and aesthetic. Some will use it as a planter, some will use the for decoration, and some might just use it for storing garden tools.

The first plan comes from Buildeasy. It is a nice simple plan that is something that could be configured and scaled to suit your needs. One of the cool things with this plan is that you build the well portion while flat and then roll it up to create the round shape. Click on the image for the full plans.

Wishing well planter plans

The second wishing well plan comes from Green Thumb Garden Goodies and is a mini well plan. This is a simple wishing well planter plan that is square at the bottom. The square bottom uses less material and makes this plan easy for the beginner.

Mini wishing well plans

Our third free wishing well plan comes from Wood Central and is a rather limited plan. There are images and a description of the construction, but there isn’t a measured drawing that so many woodworkers have become accustomed to. However, if you are like me and all that you need is a picture to be off and running, this plan might be the one for you. I like the use of the 2″ x 4″ s on edge and stacked to make the well housing.

Wishing well plans

Good luck with whichever wishing well plan that you choose. If you complete a project that you are proud of, please e-mail at contact@woodworkcity.com and we will feature your project for our readers.

Free Two Person Rocking Chair Plans

Wood Writer — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:05:04 +0000

Free Two Person Adirondack Rocking Chair Plans

This Free Two Person Adirondack Rocking Chair Plan combines the classic look and assemblage of an Adirondack chair with double the seating and a rocking bottom. This free rocking chair plan would be a great addition to any patio or porch as well as a handsome piece of indoor furniture. Consider adding cushions to make the seat more comfortable and to match your decor.

Double Adirondack rocker plans

This free woodworking plan was made using pine, but as the original builder suggests, and harder wood may better suit your needs as well as make your custom build piece of furniture last a generation or two. The plan comes complete with a cut list and a few images to make the build a little easier.

Simply click on the image for the free woodworking plans to build your own two person Adirondack Rocker. In fact, this is a great plan if you are simply looking to build a 2 person Adirondack chair. The rocker is an add on to the chair and could be modified with a little thought.

Free Outdoor Lantern Plans

Wood Writer — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:42:23 +0000

Free Outdoor Lantern Plans

Outdoor lighting can help you get the best out of your deck or patio. These free Outdoor Cube Light woodworking plans shows you how to construct unique lighting pieces that can sustain the elements while still providing delicate lighting to your outdoor space. The plan does require acrylic inserts to fit inside the wood frame. Most home goods and lumber shops will be willing to cut the material for you.

Outdoor lighted table plans

The plan also includes instructions to add aluminum angle caps, that can also be purchased a cut at a home goods store. This plan is a little less wood and more alternative building materials, but it a good beginners way to start branching out from regular lumber. The cubes lights can also act as light up end tables on a patio.

Click on the picture to view the complete plan to build your own lighted table.

Free Tree House Plans

Wood Writer — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:21:04 +0000

Free Tree House Plans

My sister and I thrived in our tree house as kids. We refused as the summer heat turned to crisp fall to not spend a night a outside despite the mosquitoes. My father only built the best and the Free Tree House Plan is pretty similar to what I remember. Ours, like this one, was more of platformed playhouse, but it makes the design applicable to any yard.

Tree House Plans

This one comes complete with a plan for a tower and porch. The closed in walls provide some privacy, and if you allow your kids to sleep out, the walls were great protection from the elements. Just click on the image for the full how to woodwork guide.

If you are considering a playset for your backyard, you might want to ramp it up to a tree house like this. You will get years of use and when the kids are older, you will have a back yard shed. I even have a neighbor who took a similar tree house plan and built his play set off of the side. The tree house was a great structure.

Free Tree Bench Plans

Wood Writer — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:55:21 +0000

Free Tree Bench Plans

Incorporating the natural setting with custom outdoor furniture is a great way to maintain the integrity of you backyard environment while still providing family friends with seating. This Free Tree Bench Plan has a series of videos to walk you through every step with a handy visual guide.

Tree Bench Plans

This free woodworking plan is really detailed, and the original builder, Ron Hazelton, makes each step clear and relatively easy to follow. You can easily edit the size of the bench depending on the size of your stump, just make sure your angles are consistent. Simply click on the image for the full how to woodworking guide.

If you are looking for that perfect wrap-around bench plan, this version might be for you.

Click on the picture for a link to the complete plan.

Free Porch Swing Plan

Wood Writer — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:28:06 +0000

Free Porch Swing Plan

One of the best ways to enjoy the beautiful transition weather from summer to fall is with a great outdoor swing. This sturdy Free Porch Swing Plan comes complete with a frame to a porch is barely a necessity. You could also just build the bench portion and safely attach to to your porch.

Porch Swing Plan

This detailed free woodworking plan comes complete with a building diagram PDF that provides a cut list and basic assemblage instructions. This bench can either be stained or painted to match your home, although up keep would be easier with an outdoor stain and sealer. Just click on the image for the complete free how-to woodworking guide.