Editorial Policy

What we publish

Wood Project Lab publishes project guides with downloadable construction plans, technique and material guides, advice on choosing and pricing projects, and tool and calculator resources. Everything is written for people building at home rather than in a production shop.

How a plan is produced

A project starts as a design: overall dimensions and joinery, then a parts list, then a cut list reconciled against the finished size so the numbers agree with one another. The fastening schedule, step sequence and technical drawing are written from that same parts list, so every dimension on the page can be traced back to it.

Plans are documented designs. They are checked for internal consistency, but unless a page states otherwise they have not been physically built, load-tested or reviewed by an engineer. That limit is stated on every plan rather than left for you to discover.

How we label confidence

• Every plan carries a version number, and the page states how far it has been verified.
• Time, cost and difficulty are labelled as estimates, with the assumptions behind them explained.
• Unfinished sample projects and placeholder content are never published; if a project is not ready to build from, it is not listed.

How estimates are made

Material costs reflect typical retail prices at the time of writing, for the quantities a project actually needs. Build times assume an average first-time builder working with the listed tools, not an experienced shop. Difficulty reflects the operations involved: the number of cuts, how fussy the fastening is, and whether the project needs glue-ups, curves or careful alignment. Selling potential is a judgement about demand and material cost, never a promise of what a project will sell for.

Corrections and updates

Corrections to a dimension, a cut list or a fastening schedule trigger a new plan version, and the plan file is reissued so a printed copy can always be matched to the version it came from. Readers are the best source of these reports: send the project name, plan version and step number through the contact form.

Independence

No page on the site carries paid placement or sponsored content today, and nothing is written to favour a brand. If commercial links are ever introduced, they will be disclosed on the affiliate disclosure page and marked beside the link itself.

Questions about this page

If anything here is unclear, or you want to ask about information held about you, send a message through the contact form.