Your Link to the Best Woodworking Sites on the Web

We're dedicated to bringing you the best wood & tool related sites on the web.  We review them and you enjoy them.  

So bookmark this page and come back often. 

When we find it and we like it, we put it here immediately. 

Please e-mail with linking suggestions by clicking this sentence.  Thanks.

These sites are referenced by category.  Click on any category to go straight there.  The categories are as follows:

Helping Others, Free woodworking plans, Great woodworking Links, Renovation & Preservation,  Woodworking Advice,  Woodworking TV Shows, 

HELPING OTHERS

http://www.habitat.org  Learn how you can put your skills to work to help others.  Good looking site with helpful info about volunteering and donating money and materials to helping build homes for others.  Site tells of projects in your area.

FREE WOODWORKING PLANS

http://www.freewoodworkingplan.com  This is a huge site that links to all sorts of cool plans.  Easy to search for plans to build particular items.  Buy something from them and keep the free plans coming.  Come to think of it, buy a Bit-Grip now and get a great product while keeping this site alive as well.  Thanks.

Woodworking plans from Furniture plans .com Save on woodworking plans, download now-build today!  A couple of free plans and some great original plans, 3D drawings, beds, tables, games, gazebos, outdoor furniture, mission, shaker styles & many more.  

http://www.freeplans.com  To get the free plans, you register to receive them by e-mail.  They pick a plan to send and when to send it.  They send one as soon as you join. The e-mailed plans have one or two lines of advertising on them.  Really not very obtrusive at all and the neat thing is the plans are a surprise.  Don't know when to expect them or what they'll be.  Personally and so far, I like it!

http://www.plansnow.com/ A really cool site that has woodworking, gardening, tool & jigs, furniture and other cool plans.  Some are free and some aren't.  Plans are adobe format.  Can't go wrong by checking out this site.

http://www.accentsinpine.com  A good site with some free plans.  They have a plan of the month club and go way beyond just selling and giving away plans. They also help you figure out how to plan ponds and other interesting home projects.   Worth a look.

http://members.tripod.com/  A few free plans and a pretty good links page.  One of the coolest things about this site is the fact that it sells plans for making games.  Most plans are less than 10 bucks.  I have a feeling that making one of these games could be one of the most loved wood projects you could give someone. 

http://www.woodworking.com/plans.html   Plans AND an awesome collection of links to woodworking plans.  (Why am I working so hard?)  Enjoy!

OTHER Great woodworking Link SITES

http://www.internetwoodworking.com  This is one killer site! Robert Brown is the man in charge. Robert is a lover of woodworking through & through and it shows.  Spend time on this site and read his reviews of other sites.  He keeps it up-to-date and keeps it fun.  This site gets hundreds of thousands of hits a month and there is no question why.  If it's related to woodworking, it's here.  Information for all woodworkers, CAD users, woodcarvers, plans, shareware, etc.  Two thumbs up!

http://www.scrollsaw.com/better_woodworking.htm This is a great collection of  woodworking links.  Before jumping to all the links though, be sure and check out the site itself.   Lots of great woodworking plans, advice on starting woodworking business, advice, etc.  

http://woodworking.coopmark.com/    Collins Wood Industry Directory  Total Links: 4357.  Collins Wood Industry Directory, from the most delicate Bonsai to the most massive Log Home, if it relates to wood, you'll find it here!  

http://www.hobbytool.com/links.htm  About 12-15 woodworking links.  This site is more centered around hobbiests in general and has links for radio enthusiasts and other hobby types.  Not as complete as some of the other link sites listed.  

http://www.u-bild.com  A huge site with lots of plans.  The plans are fairly priced and there are quite a variety.  They have a special holiday section with plans for building Santas, sleighs, and reindeer among others.  (Didn't see any Grinch plans though.)  If you want plans, they got 'em.

Woodworking ADVICE

http://www.doityourself.com  A good site with lots of advice on lots of different topics.  Most of the stuff is pretty basic.  Still it is definitely worth surfing to.

Woodworking TV Shows

http://www.bobvila.com Bob's site is pretty good.  It has some hi-tech features like designing rooms in 3D right on the site.  It also offers advice articles on a wide range of topics.  Also, you can look at over 6500 house plans and then purchase the complete plan online.  Of course there's lots of stuff about the show and Bob and lots of stuff to buy.  My only question is:  Do you think Bob has swung a hammer before?  

http://www.newyankee.com/   Unless you're a huge fan of Norms, don't bother with this site.  While they have a good show, the site doesn't really take advantage of web capabilities except to try to sell stuff.  It seems like it would be a good idea to give away a free tip or plan or something to get people to spend time at the site and come back.  Even the "letters" section seems to be little more than but veiled ads for the show and the tools.

http://www.hgtv.com  This is a huge site with lots of good advice from crafts to foods to gardens to building.  The "calculators" section is unique and helpful.   The site's search capabilities are great.  I recommend this site.    

RENOVATION/PRESERVATION

http://www.nthp.org  National Trust for Historic Preservation.  This organization is dedicated to the preservation of historic landmarks.  Has calendar of related events and lots of other information related to the preservation of our nation's treasures.  Good site.

Woodworking Magazines

http://www.finewoodworking.com  A great site based on the fantastic magazine.  Doesn't let you read the magazines in full but it does offer tool reviews and other worthwhile info.