I know there are lots of talented folk on here when i comes to woodworking / cabinet making etc. I’m not one of them. But I enjoy making stuff, even more so if it turns out to be useful. I’d like to have a go at making a couple of items, a small cupboard / cabinet to go in a tight space, and a slim bedside table / storage shelves. Could be tempted to do more if I find the time. Are there any good websites that I can look at with plans for this sort of thing that I can adapt for the dimensions I need, or am I overthinking it and I just need to bosh some wood together…

To give an idea of what I’m looking for – something that can be achieved with basic tools such as hand saw, wood chisel, drill. Doesn’t have to be pretty but does have to stand up to use without falling apart.

something that can be achieved with basic tools such as hand saw, wood chisel, drill. Doesn’t have to be pretty but does have to stand up to use without falling apart.

Its a bit left field but back in the 70s Italian Designer Enzo Mari produced a book call ‘Autoprogettzione’ of designs that are made with just a saw, hammer and nails

Image linking a bit borked at present but…

https://designdiffusion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/autoprogettazione-mari.jpg

Rex Krueger is the obvious place to start – https://www.rexkrueger.com/

Paul Sellers is a good teacher, though I find him unbearably opinionated after a while – https://commonwoodworking.com/

I find old school books quite useful.

Things called Practical Woodworking at home

Woodworking a handbook for beginners.

Theproblem with alot of “plans” is they aren’t what you want. Or they are designed for gang cutting tendons on a scary dado blade.

Paul sellers is okay when he isn’t spouting shite. Good for understanding techniques though.

Rex Krueger and people like that are just YouTubers, so often they talk like experts then cut to them trying to hold a piece of wood down and use a chisel in the other hand with the entire bench wobbling all over the shop.

@joshvegas I mostly agree with you about youtubers but I think Rex is (mostly) better than that. I was a bit annoyed to build one of his mitre boxes only to discover a load of the measurements in the plan should have been adjusted for the depth of the saw, and you don’t discover that till it’s practically done and try to make the first cut with it though. :(

The american obsession with table saws and thousands of dollars of machinery drives me nuts. The tools you will use, make a big difference to the design, materials and techniques you use to build something. So most of the plans you find are not ideal for hand tool construction.

Do a fag packet sketch of the sort of thing you’re after doing, post it up here and I’m sure we can all steer you towards an expensive tracksaw a way of achieving what you want.

Making stuff, even more so if it turns out to be useful. I’d like to have a go at making a couple of items, a small cupboard

Put ‘making a small cupboard’ into yt and theres a lot of vids.
Watching everyone would be a pain in the 4r5e, but many seem to show the basics so thats about all I can suggest. YT, but dont watch one or two, watch 10. get the process firmly in your head and be aware its not got to end up as a Louis XVI masterpiece first time, because even 1st year students at colleges with big machine rooms and all the practical knowledge of the lecturers and course papers to draw on are still coming up with horrible looking tat.

You’ve got to make a start somewhere. Pick one and research that. A small cupboard is just an open sided box.

I think you will struggle with just hand tools. Yes, it can be done and has been for hundreds of years, but its hard to cut things straight, square and perfectly perpendicular. One or two power tools and this is suddenly and easy job. For the jobs you are describing I’d be going straight for a track saw. Cheap ones are under £100. Peter Milliard has some great videos on making simple cabinets using just a track saw

One or two power tools and this is suddenly and easy job. For the jobs you are describing I’d be going straight for a track saw.

And we’re off! 😉

I don’t think you need plans, I think you need to understand the principle of joints (i.e. joining 2 pieces of wood together so that they provide strength in the direction of the stresses they have to withstand), you need to find what kind of joints you can do so they look tidy enough, and you need to look at an existing cupboard etc. to understand where it gets its strength from.

Then work out what size you want, make a rough sketch and an exploded diagram with dimensions, work out how you’re going to utilise the materials you have available so that all the exposed edges are clean cut, make yourself a cutting list and bingo!

I’ve spent the last 10 years or so making expensive bedroom furniture using scruffy hand drawn sketches and most of my customers came back for more.

I think Big John may have it, it’s the way I’ve always done it on the past. In fact I probably enjoy trying to figure out all the joints for a super strong structure, albeit almost certainly all my builds are overbuilt. Just thought there might be a better way.
Having said that, boy I wish I’d known about track saws before I built that 5m long 4m high storage shelving unit recently and had to rip saw all that 19mm ply by hand balanced on top.

If you were to have a powertool for the making of furniture, you’d be considerably better buying a router than a tracksaw.
Dados, rebates, housings,mortice and tenons, side moulding, dovetails(with a jig) etc etc or a track saw – straight cuts are its limit.

And with the tracksaw, you’re only going to be getting accurate 90 or 45 degree cuts if you are using something like an mft, so its limited really to long straight cutting.

Alternatively, if you want to accurately cross cut, something like a small hand held circular saw and this Kreg jig would suit.

https://www.toolstoreuk.co.uk/kreg-kma4100-int-crosscut-station/p17625?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI482y5orChAMVQJJQBh26KwBuEAQYASABEgICkfD_BwE

The above jig might suit a router just as well for dados, even tenons.

Router would be the second tool to buy but straight cuts are so critical that’s where I’d start. The only thing on that list you may need to make basic furniture is a rebate and you can do that with a track saw as well.

but straight cuts are so critical that’s where I’d start

I’d disagree in part. The track saw does the straight cut, yup no arguments there. OR a small table saw, or a small hand held circular saw with a straight edge to run along,as long as i add, the ability to mark out accurately. track or whatever, your marking is wrong, the cut is wrong, and you dont want a long cut to be tapering. But for furniture making, the real need is for super accurate cross cutting at 90 degrees.

Just thought of something overlooked but would be seriously handy for you (Steve1) get yourself a 2 foot steel rule and something accurate to mark out right angles with.

Recommendations. Ive been using my Japanese mitre square for 2 decades.

https://www.axminstertools.com/ice-bear-japanese-try-mitre-square-metric-510017?glCountry=GB&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh7240I7ChAMVmolQBh07_QlcEAQYASABEgLPnvD_BwE

And a 24″ steel rule

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision-stainless-steel-metric-rule-600mm-104520