For woodworking enthusiasts everywhere, it wouldn’t be a huge leap for us to assume that you have stumbled upon Ted’s Woodworking plans–or one of the multitudes of reviews and opinions about it.
“Ted’s Woodworking; The #1 woodworking resource,” This is the title boldly written on all the ads for this controversial woodworking resource. All these above the smiling picture of a bearded, rugged man that looks like he would know his way around a power drill.
A deeper dive through their sales page would have any woodworker practically salivating. Detailed schematics, suitable for beginners, views from all angles, and ‘hold-you-by-your-hand’ instructions? Come on, take my money now!
It claims to offer sixteen thousand plans, all packaged in a neat little bundle and sold at less than a hundred dollars. It seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? While you want to fling your money at Clickbank and get to work on some of those sweet plans, you’re probably wondering. What if it’s all fluff and no filler? Is it worth the risk? Well, I’ll answer those questions for you. Here’s a detailed review of Ted’s Woodworking Plans.
The Man Behind the Plans
We can’t talk about Ted’s Woodworking Plans without a bit of information on the man himself, now can we? The plans were put together by Ted McGrath, self-proclaimed master woodworker, trainer, and member of the Architectural Woodworking Institute (AWI).
Now, that all sounds good on paper, but there’s no actual proof to back up these claims. Beyond this woodworking resource package, there’s nothing else that this master woodworker has done. There isn’t even any information on this guy—just zilch.
It turns out that the smiling man on all the ads is not Ted McGrath. That’s just a picture you can get for a few bucks on iStock. And the member directory of the AWI had nothing to show for a Ted McGrath. Yep, we went that far. So, Ted McGrath does not exist, and neither does his AWI membership. For some people, that might be a deal-breaker, and for others, not so much.
Cooking up a cover identity for your business could mean that you aren’t trustworthy– a fake. Or it could be that the actual person or people behind the plans just value their privacy.
Whatever their reasons, it sure doesn’t inspire a lot of trust in their brand. Even though keeping the identity of the owner of a business private is not unheard-of.
But the smiling grizzled “Ted” on the ads wasn’t what drew the attention of almost every woodworker. There were other things… 16,000 of them. So, let’s get to those.
What about the plans?
We’ll give it to Ted. Once you make the purchase, you actually get the promised 16,000 plans. That begs the question, “Are those plans good?” One thing you should know is that you might be able to get the plans for free elsewhere. That isn’t a deal-breaker– for us, that is.
Sure, you could do a bit of research, mash a few buttons, and get some of the plans without having to shell out $67. But, we think having all 16,000 in a single place is worth paying for.
The quality is another question. Is Ted’s Woodworking worth $67? Now, that is a tricky question for a few reasons:
- The plans are not so organized: After downloading the compressed files and extracting the documents, you’ll find that the plans were compiled haphazardly.
There is no order of arrangement whatsoever in any of the documents. Considering the vast number of the plans in question, you’d be better off searching for a needle in a haystack than searching for a specific project.
The search could be extremely frustrating. Some links would have been helpful.
However, the woodworking plans come in a pdf format. So, depending on the application, you could use the “find” or “search” option and search specific keywords. That would go a long way in navigating the wilderness that is Ted’s Woodworking.
- A lot of the plans are hand-drawn: From the website and a lot of other media, you’d expect blueprints with detailed schematics, and ‘hold-you-by-your-hand’ instructions like the ads say.
Instead, you get some scrawled sketches and barely legible writing on a lot of the plans.
So, the plans are a pain to navigate and, sometimes, hard to understand.
However, there are some detailed and easy-to-understand ones in the mix too. These make it seem like the others were just stuffed in as fillers.
- The premium videos aren’t what you think: Ted also packaged “150 premium videos,” with new videos added constantly. Their team just took those videos from YouTube. Persuading a non-existent Ted to make tutorial videos must have proven impossible, we think.
The videos aren’t necessary, though. That is because the drawn-out plans cover almost everything.
Whether the plans are worth their price is a subjective question. You’d have to weigh the pros and the cons on your scale before making that decision for yourself. There are many negative reviews about the product, but you might find Ted’s Woodworking a good fit for you.
You just have to know that you won’t use many of the plans, and you might find it hard to navigate. With those in mind, you may enjoy your purchase.
Conclusion
Yes, Ted’s Woodworking Plans have a lot to be wished for, but all in all, they might be worth your while. And just in case they aren’t, Clickbank offers a refund service. You just have to send an email to the company to access it, and you would get a refund. Only make sure you do that before you spend 60 days with the product.
The variety of plans in the product make sure there would be something to interest any woodworker, regardless of your experience level. So, you could just pick up some tools and get your sawdust on. This little Casper, Ted McGrath, might actually have a substantial impact on your next project. You never know.
You can also read more on this review when you do a little more research and have more faith.