About

About these plans

Hi, I'm Aaron Thomas, a carpenter in Saint John, New Brunswick, and a graduate of the STEP carpentry program.

I started this site after downloading a woodworking app that promised project blueprints. When I opened a project, there were no pictures and the steps were vague. These plans go the other way. Every plan has a 3D model you can spin and pull apart, and every step shows exactly what has been built so far, with the new parts in yellow and the screws for that step in red.

How the plans are made

Plans are designed with digital tools and checked by a carpenter.

• Each plan starts as a 3D model built from real lumber sizes. A 2x4 is 1½″ × 3½″, and every number in the plan uses that.
• The cut list, the board layout and the steps all come from the same model, so they agree with each other.
• An automated check runs on every plan. It catches pieces that don't fit on their boards, parts that overlap, legs that aren't level and screws that miss.
• Then I go through the plan as a carpenter. Plans I've checked carry the burned Checked by a carpenter seal and the date I checked them. Plans still waiting for that are marked as drafts. The full list of checks is on its own page.

What you won't find here

No plans for things people sleep on, climb on or put kids in, like bunk beds, cribs or high chairs, unless the design has been built and tested for real. Anything you sit on is overbuilt and checked first. Tall pieces come with a wall anchor, and anything that hangs on a wall goes into studs or rated anchors.

Built one?

As projects get built, real photos will be added to their plan pages.