Yes, this video and article by Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals is a few years old, but now is a good time to remind everyone about the problem of woodworking scams and plan priacy.
There has been a recent uptick in the number of sites offering thousands of woodworking plans for dirt cheap prices (usually bundled as 10,000+ plans for $39). While this sounds like a tremendous deal, there are a few problems. First, you don’t really get 10,000 plans. You get considerably fewer plans than that, and most are merely measured drawing with no instructions or are scans of such poor quality you can barely read them.
It is also theft.Yes. Scanned right out of the pages of woodworking magazines, taken from websites and lifted from books. The publishers of these sites don’t get permission to reproduce these plans. By supporting businesses such as these, it is a major disincentive for publishers to seek out new, talented woodworkers who pour their energy into creating new works. After all, don’t the people who work hard to produce these works deserve to get paid?
I also wrote an article a few years back in Wood Magazine called Monkey Business, which covers the experience that I had buying the package to see exactly what you got when you ordered.
I understand that many people may not be flush with cash to buy collections of professionally produced plans. That’s why it’s a much better idea for them to check with their local libraries and woodworking guilds to see if they can borrow woodworking books and magazines which may feature plans that interest them. By doing this, it will encourage libraries to expand their woodworking holdings and further the mission of the woodworking guilds to bring new people to the craft through personal connections.
***Tom’s Edit***
Steve also pointed out he did a series of videos on Ted and company. This is an education on how this multi-level marketing scam works. If you have ever considered wasting your money on one of these schemes… don’t.
This one was from April 3, 2012
This one is about the affiliate program, April 4, 2012
And, this video was from Steve on April 7, 2012.
Those scammers are all going to burn in hell, with the flames fed by all our cut-offs ! lol
Like the old adage go’s…”If it’s to good to be true, it isn’t “.