Hii friends, Udit Das here, admin of easydiywood.com. Today somebody asked me in comment section “bro is tedswoodworking worth it or just another online trap” and honestly that question been sitting in my head for many days now.
So I thought, ok let me just sit down and write proper answer for this, because I myself was very confuse about it few months back.
I am from India, I do woodworking as hobby only, not a big carpenter or anything, just a normal guy who loves making small wooden things at home on weekends. So when I say something about is tedswoodworking worth it, I am saying as a beginner, not as some expert master craftsman ok.
Let’s go slow slow and figure this out together, no rush.
Just a quick honest note friends, some links in this post are affiliate links. That means if you click and buy something, I might get small commission, at no extra cost to you at all. I only recommend things I actually researched properly and believe can help you, so please dont feel like I am just pushing product on you for money.
What Exactly Is Tedswoodworking Anyway
Before jumping to is tedswoodworking worth it question, we should first know what actually this thing is na.
Basically Tedswoodworking is a big digital package, they say it got more than 16,000 woodworking plans inside, made by a guy named Ted McGrath who claims he is professional woodworker with many years experience.
You pay one time fees, somewhere around $67 dollars (price change time to time so dont quote me exactly), and then you get access to all these plans, plus some bonus videos and guides.
Sound good on paper right? But thats exactly where my confusion started.
Is Tedswoodworking Worth It For Complete Beginners Like Us
Ok so here is the real question, is tedswoodworking worth it if you are absolute complete beginner who dont even know how to hold a saw properly.
Honestly… it depends. I know that answer sound lame but let me explain why.
When I read through so many reviews online (spent almost 2 full nights doing this, my eyes were paining), I found two totally opposite camps. One camp saying its amazing value for money, other camp calling it complete scam and waste.
Thats very confusing na, like how can same product get such different opinion.
After digging more, I realized truth is somewhere in middle. Is tedswoodworking worth it depends heavily on what you personally expecting from it.
If you thinking it will turn you into master carpenter overnight, then no, is tedswoodworking worth it answer for you is simply no. Nothing like that exist in this world friend.
But if you thinking of it as just a big pile of reference plans where maybe 10-15% are actually useful and rest you just ignore, then maybe yes it can be worth it for some people.
My Honest Digging Into Reviews
I read customer complaints on trustpilot type sites and honestly some of them were quite scary. People saying refund process is like a maze, money back guarantee dont work smoothly, plans are old and scanned from magazines from like 1980s.
One review even said plans looked copy pasted from other free sources on internet, not exactly “original” like they market it.
At same time, other reviews say plans helped them build bookshelf, coffee table, even small shed without much trouble. So again this is tedswoodworking worth it question keeps bouncing back and forth in my mind.
I think this is normal thing that happens with any big digital product that been around for many many years, some experience good some bad.
Honestly speaking, when a product has been on internet for over decade with mixed reviews like this, thats a signal in itself. It means results totally depend on person, on their patience level, and on which specific plan they pick from that huge pile.
The Good Side (If Any)
Ok let me be fair here, not everything is bad about it.
The sheer number of plans is genuinely big, like you wont run out of project ideas anytime soon if is tedswoodworking worth it question is only about variety.
Some plans do come with material list and cutting list which is helpful for beginner who dont know how much wood to even buy.
There is also bonus stuff like some videos and guides, though quality of those videos is bit questionable from what I read, many just seem pulled from youtube type sources.
The Not So Good Side
Now the bad part, and this is where is tedswoodworking worth it starts feeling shaky for beginners specially.
Plans are apparently not organized by skill level properly. So imagine you complete newbie and you open a plan expecting easy project, but it turns out to be something needing advance tools and joinery skills you dont have yet. Frustrating na.
Refund process, from what many customers say, is not smooth like they promise. Some people waited months.
Also many plans look old, like scanned from very old magazine pages, black and white, blurry diagrams sometime. For someone paying money expecting fresh modern content, this can feel disappointing.
Price Talk, Is It Actually Worth The Money
Money is the biggest factor when we ask is tedswoodworking worth it right, because at end of day its our hard earn cash.
$67 one time payment sound cheap when you compare to buying individual plan books which can cost more overall. But cheap price dont automatically mean good value, thats something I learned hard way in my own life with other online purchases too lol.
If out of 16,000 plans you only end up using like 20-30 of them properly, then technically you are paying decent amount per useful plan, not really $67 for everything.
So is tedswoodworking worth it purely on price? I would say average, not amazing, not terrible either.
Still curious how all 16,000 plans actually look inside? Sometime you just gotta peek yourself na.
Budget Friendly Approach I Personally Recommend
Since my whole blog is about budget friendly woodworking for regular people, let me share what I actually do instead of buying big packages like this.
I usually check free resources first before spending any money at all. There are actually really solid free plan communities out there like Ana White’s site where beginner and intermediate furniture plans are shared openly with proper cut lists and step photos, no payment needed.
I also always suggest people to first understand basics before buying any plan package at all, thats why I wrote a detailed guide on how to start woodworking with low budget which covers tools, wood selection, everything from zero.
If your main goal is saving money and starting small, honestly you dont need to spend on any premium plan package right away. Learn basic joints, basic cuts, build 2-3 super simple things first, then decide later if paid resource make sense for you.
What If You Already Bought It
If you already purchased and now wondering is tedswoodworking worth it after the fact, dont panic.
Just go through plans slowly, pick something simple first like a small box or shelf, ignore the overwhelming 16,000 number completely. Nobody uses all of them anyway.
If you genuinely feel scammed or plans quality is way below what promised, most of these products sell through ClickBank as payment processor, and you can request refund directly through ClickBank’s refund support page if the seller itself is not responding properly.
Who Should Actually Buy This
Honestly, is tedswoodworking worth it mostly for people who already have some basic tool experience and just want a big reference library to browse through for ideas, not step by step hand holding.
If you complete zero experience beginner, my honest suggestion, dont start here. Start with free simple tutorials, small projects, youtube videos, build confidence first.
Once you comfortable using basic tools and understand simple terms like miter cut, dado, pocket hole etc, then maybe a resource like this becomes more useful because you can actually judge which plan good and which plan garbage.
My Final Honest Verdict
So after all this reading, comparing, confusing myself back and forth, what is my final answer to is tedswoodworking worth it question?
I would say… its an average product with a big number attached to make it look bigger than it actually is. Not a total scam like some angry reviews claim, but also not this magical woodworking bible some affiliate sites are hyping it up to be.
For complete beginners specially on tight budget, I genuinely think free resources plus patience will take you further than spending $67 right away. You can always come back to paid resources later once you know exactly what kind of projects you enjoy building, checkout my post on free beginner woodworking project ideas if you want zero cost starting point.
Is tedswoodworking worth it for everyone? No. Is tedswoodworking worth it for nobody at all? Also no. It just depend, like most things in life honestly.
Ok so thats my full honest thinking on is tedswoodworking worth it question. If you still want to explore with your own eyes, no pressure from my side, just click below and decide yourself.
FAQs
Is tedswoodworking legit or a scam? Its not exactly a scam that steals money and disappear, but many users complain about refund difficulty and outdated plans, so proceed carefully.
How much does tedswoodworking cost? It usually sells around $67 one time payment, though price and offers can change time to time on their sales page.
Is tedswoodworking good for absolute beginners? Not really ideal since plans arent sorted by skill level, beginners might feel lost picking suitable simple projects.
Are there free alternatives to tedswoodworking? Yes, sites like Ana White and several YouTube channels offer good quality free beginner woodworking plans without any payment.
