TedsWoodworking Review: 16,000 Plans, Honestly Assessed

Let's be upfront about two things before we start. First, this is an independent review — Sawdust Sessions is not the creator of TedsWoodworking, this is not the product's home page, and we're not affiliated with Ted McGrath. We went through what the package contains and wrote down what we found. Second, if you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission, which is exactly why we make a point of naming the downsides — a review that only ever says "buy it" is worth nothing to you.

With that out of the way: is the TedsWoodworking package actually worth your money, or is it just a big number on a sales page? Here's the long answer.

What TedsWoodworking actually is

TedsWoodworking is a plan library. Not a course, not an app, not a coach — a library. You pay once and get access to a database of more than 16,000 woodworking plans and projects, each with step-by-step blueprints, dimensioned diagrams, cut lists, and materials lists. Everything from a simple birdhouse or planter box up through furniture, sheds, outdoor builds, jigs, and shop fixtures.

It's put together by Ted McGrath, a woodworker and educator who assembled the collection and sells it through ClickBank (a long-running digital marketplace — relevant later, because it's where the 60-day guarantee comes from). The pitch is simple: instead of hunting down free PDFs that turn out to be missing a measurement halfway through, you get one searchable place where the plans are actually complete.

The key word there is complete. A real plan tells you every part, every dimension, and the order of operations. That's the difference between a relaxing weekend and a pile of expensive scrap. We've written before about why a good beginner plan matters — and completeness is the whole reason the paid library exists.

What's actually inside (plans + bonuses)

The headline is the 16,000 plans, but it's worth knowing what comes bundled alongside them:

• The plan database itself — 16,000+ projects, organized into categories and searchable, each with cut lists and dimensioned drawings.
• A CAD/DWG plan viewer — lets you open and (if you want) modify the plan files rather than being stuck with flat printouts.
• ~150 premium woodworking videos — useful when a diagram alone doesn't quite click and you want to see a technique in motion.
• The "Complete Woodworking Carpentry Guide" — a reference covering fundamentals, handy when a plan assumes knowledge you don't have yet.

If you want the full breakdown of every component and how the categories are organized, we put that on its own page: what's inside TedsWoodworking.

The good

The sheer depth is the real selling point. Buying individual plans adds up fast — a single decent furniture plan can cost more than a few dollars on its own, and you'll usually want several. Getting thousands of complete plans for one one-time price genuinely undercuts buying them piecemeal. If you build more than a handful of things, the math works in your favor quickly.

The plans are complete where it counts. On the vast majority we looked at, the cut lists and dimensions were all there. That's the thing free plans constantly get wrong, and it's the thing that decides whether a build actually works.

There's range for every skill level. A nervous first-timer can find a forgiving build, and someone with a few projects under their belt can find something that stretches them. The videos and the carpentry guide soften the learning curve.

The guarantee is real risk reversal. Because it's sold through ClickBank, it carries a 60-day money-back guarantee. Two months is plenty of time to dig through the library, build something, and decide whether it earned its keep.

The not-so-good

This is the part the sales pages skip, so here's the honest accounting.

The members area and interface are dated. It works, but it doesn't look modern. If you're expecting the slick experience of a polished app, you'll be disappointed by the presentation. The plans are good; the wrapper around them feels older.

16,000 is genuinely overwhelming. That number is a marketing strength and a usability weakness at the same time. You cannot browse 16,000 plans casually. You have to use the search and lean on the categories, or you'll drown. Go in knowing you'll need to hunt with intent rather than wander.

It's a large download. The full collection is a lot of data. There's a DVD option if your connection isn't up to it, but plan for the size either way.

It's a plan library, not hand-holding. This is the most important caveat. Teds gives you complete blueprints — it does not stand over your shoulder. If what you actually want is a structured, start-to-finish course that teaches you woodworking step by step, this isn't that, and you'll feel the gap. It assumes you can read a plan and follow it.

Who it's for — and who should skip it

Buy it if you're a hobbyist or a beginner-to-intermediate builder who wants a deep well of complete, buildable plans in one place, cheaply, and you're happy to do your own sorting to find them. If you build regularly, or want to, the value is obvious.

Skip it if you want a slick, modern app experience, or you only need one or two very specific plans (in that case, buy those individually). Skip it too if you want guided instruction rather than blueprints — Teds hands you the map, not a tour guide.

Still genuinely on the fence about the money? We wrote a dedicated decision page for exactly that: is TedsWoodworking worth it?. And if your real question is whether a paid library beats stitching together free PDFs, we compared them head-to-head in TedsWoodworking vs free plans.

A note on price and the guarantee

The package is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, which is a big part of why the value holds up. The exact figure moves around with promotions, so we won't quote a hard number that'll be wrong next week — check the current price on the offer page before you decide.

What doesn't change is the 60-day money-back guarantee through ClickBank. That's the safety net: you get two full months to actually use the thing, build from it, and request a refund if it doesn't deliver for you. For a one-time purchase, that's about as low-risk as a "try it and see" gets.

The verdict

TedsWoodworking is a genuinely deep, genuinely useful plan library that earns its price for the right buyer — provided you walk in with clear eyes. The interface is dated and the 16,000-plan volume needs taming with the search. But the plans are complete where it matters, the one-time price beats buying individually, and the guarantee removes most of the risk.

If you're a hobbyist who wants thousands of complete, buildable plans in one place for one price — and you're not expecting a polished app or a hand-holding course — it's an easy recommendation. Use the 60 days. Build something. Decide for yourself.