Popular Woodworking Magazine offers some of the best quality free woodworking plans you'll ever find. Step-by-step articles from their back issues and books, prepared by experts, are accompanied by clear photos. Downloadable PDF plans are available at the bottom of each article.

They have a great selection of Shaker style furniture building projects for every room of your home: a blanket chest, cabinets, a step stool, a bench, a desk, food service trays, a cupboard and more. They are beautiful furniture projects in a classic American style.

I've admired Shaker design since I happened upon some abandoned buildings in Tyringham Valley in western Massachusetts. They were hauntingly beautiful, even in decay. I learned later that they were vestiges of an old Shaker community.

At restored Shaker villages and in museums, you can see the same stark beauty in perfectly proportioned pieces of furniture. Shaker designers and wood workers didn't care for decorations or fancy finishes. The beauty of the wood, the lines of their work and the quality of their craftsmanship was enough for them. And, it's been enough for generations of collectors and woodworkers who reproduce the designs.

The Popular Woodworking pieces are all beautiful and all true to the spirit of the originals. They'll look great in almost any style of home - country, colonial, contemporary and even Modern. But, my favorites are the pieces by Kerry Pierce. Pierce is the author of “Authentic Shaker Furniture,” “Making Shaker Woodenware” and many other books. He visited restored Shaker communities to examine and measure furniture to help you create authentic of reproductions.

Shaker Small Chest

A Shapely Shaker Shelf

Shaker Hanging Cabinet

Shaker-inspired Step Stool

Dining Room Tray

Silverware Tray

Pleasant Hill Shaker Cupboard

Shaker Storage Cabinet

Shaker Trestle Desk

Shaker Blanket Chest

Shaker Stepstool

Shaker Bench

Shaker Tailor's Cabinet

Popular Woodworking's Online Resource Directory serves woodworkers of all skill levels and woodworking interests. From tools and materials, to project plans and classes to build your skills, you'll find the information you need.

Don Berg

Todays Plans