What Kinds of Project Plans and Step-by-Step Guides Are on FineWoodworking?

Updated

FineWoodworking offers project plans and step-by-step guides across three main categories—joinery, hand tools, and shop machines—plus a broader Projects & Plans section and a newer set of curated Project Guides. The material spans beginner-friendly small projects to advanced furniture builds, so the right entry point depends on your skill level and what you want to make. Detailed plans and many how-to videos sit behind a membership, while the site's free surface includes articles, shop tips, and forum discussion.

What the Project Guides cover

The site organizes a curated collection of how-to content, plans, and projects into three named guides:

Guide Focus
Joinery Techniques and projects built around wood-to-wood connections
Hand Tools Projects and instruction centered on hand-tool work
Shop Machines Projects and guidance involving power tools and machines

Each guide is described as "a curated collection of how-to, plans, and projects from woodworking experts you can trust." That framing matters: the guides are editor-selected paths through the archive rather than a single downloadable plan set.

Typical forms the plans and guides take

The page evidence shows several distinct formats, and knowing which one you're getting helps you plan a build:

  • Step-by-step articles — written walkthroughs of a build or technique, such as the pocket-size coffin plane project by Bill Howes, described as "a perfect project to start your adventure into wooden hand-plane making."
  • Digital plans — the membership pitch references "100+ digital plans," suggesting downloadable drawings rather than only magazine pages.
  • Video workshops — full build series, for example the cabinet on stand series with Tim Coleman, filmed over the course of a build, and the Queen Anne side chair workshop with Dan Faia, framed as "a bucket list build for many woodworkers."
  • Magazine projects with online extras — issue-based content, such as the Tools & Shops issue (#326), paired with supplementary online material from contributing woodworkers and teachers.
  • Short shop tips — small, single-idea improvements rather than full plans, such as a plywood bracket with an embedded magnet that lets you open and close a blast gate one-handed.

Difficulty range and who each format suits

The spread is wide, and the formats map roughly onto experience levels:

  • New to a technique or to hand-plane making: the coffin plane article is explicitly pitched as a starting project.
  • Comfortable with a full furniture build: the cabinet on stand video series follows a complete design-and-build process, and the Queen Anne side chair is presented as an ambitious, aspirational build.
  • Looking for quick shop upgrades: the shop tips are short, self-contained fixes.
  • Wanting structured learning: the e-learning courses are described as in-depth online experiences led by trusted experts, a different commitment from a single article or plan.

One caution: the site does not publish a difficulty rating on each project in the material available here. Judge difficulty from the format—a short tip versus a multi-part video series—and from the project type itself.

How to find and filter projects

Use the site's own navigation rather than searching blind:

  1. Start at Projects & Plans in the main menu for the broadest listing.
  2. Open FWW Project Guides and pick the guide matching your interest—Joinery, Hand Tools, or Shop Machines.
  3. For visual learners, go to Video Workshops and browse the full list; the page presents them in a carousel with a "View All video workshops" link.
  4. For issue-based projects and their companion extras, check the Magazine section and the online extras tied to each issue.
  5. Use the site search (magnifying glass icon) with a specific project name or technique when you already know what you want.

What you can access without a membership

The page distinguishes free browsing from member access. Free visitors can read articles, shop tips, blog posts, and the forum, and can view the project guide listings. The membership pitch states that "UNLIMITED members get it all," citing access to more than 45 years of articles, 100+ digital plans, and hundreds of how-to videos and projects. In practice, expect the deepest plan archives and full video workshop series to require a subscription; the site shows Subscribe and Log In entry points in its main menu. Pricing and exact access tiers are not specified in the available material, so check the subscription page for current terms before committing.

If your goal is a single small project, the free articles and tips may be enough. If you want downloadable plans or complete video build series, plan on a membership.