Editorial Policy

How I test plans and tools

Everything reviewed here I've used in my own shop — not skimmed, not assembled from build-along videos, actually built from. Plans get built before they get reviewed. I work from the file as-written: if the instructions are ambiguous, I note where; if the materials list was short by a board foot, that's in the review. I take notes on what the plan's time estimate said and what it actually took, because those numbers almost never match and the gap tells you something about who the plan was written for.

For tools, I use each item for at least thirty days across multiple project types before I write anything. Something that works great for one project and fails the second time it runs is worth less than a tool that does the same job reliably for six months. I try to test at the skill level a weekend hobbyist actually has — not the intermediate skill level that a lot of plan reviews quietly assume.

What I don't write about

I'm a garage woodworker, not a contractor. I don't review plans for outdoor structures, decks, sheds, pergolas, or anything that involves footings, concrete, or permits. That's a different set of skills and liabilities than what I'm qualified to evaluate. For indoor furniture and workshop builds, I have opinions worth sharing. For anything structural that needs to stay up in a Minnesota winter, talk to someone with actual construction credentials.

Affiliate relationships

Some links here are affiliate links. Click one, buy the thing, I get a small commission — at no extra cost to you. The commission comes out of the retailer's end, not yours. It doesn't change what I say about a plan or tool. If something wasted my weekend, the review says that. No paid placements, no "sponsored content" written to guidelines I didn't set.

Corrections

I make mistakes. If you find one — wrong measurement, misidentified wood species, something I got factually wrong — the contact page is the right place to flag it. I update when I'm wrong.