Choosing woodworking furniture plans is about fit, not just project photos. Do you want a broad collection of household pieces, a focused traditional style, or dozens of country-style designs? Do you want a hardcover shelf reference or a lighter paperback? These four books cover all of those situations, with listed prices spanning $9.95 to $75.46.
Quick take
- 77 Furniture Projects You Can Build is a vintage Family Handyman hardcover with 77 household furniture builds, sold in used condition.
- Popular Woodworking's Shaker Furniture Projects is a trade paperback with step-by-step plans for 31 traditional pieces, listed as Like New.
- The two Easy Woodworking Projects titles are different editions of Mike Dunbar's 50 country-style plans, both Brand New, with one bound as a hardcover and the other as a paperback/softback.
Think about how your shop time works. A high project count gives you more options for inspiration, while a style-specific guide keeps every project visually connected. The two country-style editions are essentially a packaging choice around the same 50 plans, so your own preference for hardcover or softback will settle that part of the decision.
Listed price comparison
| Product | Listed price | Price bar |
|---|---|---|
| 77 Furniture Projects You Can Build Family Handyman Vintage Woodworking HC | USD 24.99 | |
| Popular Woodworking's Shaker Furniture Projects : Step-By-Step Plans for 31 Traditional Projects | USD 9.95 | |
| Easy Woodworking Projects: 50 Popular Country-Style Plans to Build for Home Accents, Gifts, or Sale | USD 75.46 | |
| Easy Woodworking Projects: 50 Popular Country-Style Plans to Build for Home Acce | USD 54.59 |
Decision matrix
- Need broad variety? The Family Handyman hardcover gives you 77 furniture projects to move through.
- Need step-by-step guidance for traditional work? The Shaker book supplies 31 projects with step-by-step plans, and it is the only title in this set that says so in its own name.
- Want a country-style plan library in hardcover? Mike Dunbar's 50-project hardcover is the one to start with.
- Prefer a flexible paperback/softback? The Echo Point Books & Media paperback of Mike Dunbar's same 50-project collection is the softcover route.
Product notes
77 Furniture Projects You Can Build Family Handyman Vintage Woodworking HC
If you want a wide range of household builds in one volume, this title delivers 77 furniture projects from the Family Handyman name. The hardcover format makes it a substantial reference, and the word vintage points to a more traditional woodshop approach. The condition is listed as Used, so this is a functional plan book rather than a collector-grade item. The main tradeoff is that the title emphasizes project count rather than step-by-step instruction, making it a good choice when you have a large list of possible pieces and want one volume to hold them all.
Popular Woodworking's Shaker Furniture Projects : Step-By-Step Plans for 31 Traditional Projects
Shaker furniture has a clean, understated style, and this trade paperback focuses on 31 traditional projects, with 'Step-By-Step Plans' right in the title. Author is Popular Woodworking, ISBN 9781440335310, and the condition is Like New. If you want a guided build sequence, this is the one book in the group that states that promise. A trade paperback is lighter than the hardcover editions in this set, so it is easy to move around the shop. The limitation is style scope: the entire collection is Shaker-focused, so you will not find the broader country-style range of the 50-project Mike Dunbar titles.
Easy Woodworking Projects: 50 Popular Country-Style Plans (Hardcover)
Mike Dunbar's 50 country-style plans come in a hardcover edition that is listed as Brand New. The subtitle mentions plans for home accents, gifts, or sale, so the project mix leans toward finished pieces you can give away or sell. If you specifically want a hardbound reference for this title, this is the edition to choose. The limitation is that the same 50-project title is also available in a paperback/softback, so you are choosing this one for the hardcover binding itself rather than for unique plans.
Easy Woodworking Projects: 50 Popular Country-Style Plans (Paperback/Softback)
This is the paperback/softback edition of Mike Dunbar's 50 country-style plans, published under the Echo Point Books & Media name. It is listed as Brand New and carries the EAN 9781635618976. If you want the same project set without a hardcover binding, this edition gives you a softbound alternative. It keeps the same author and the same 50-project count, but the binding is what sets it apart. The limitation is simply the packaging: this version is not the hardcover edition, so choose it when a softcover is the format you prefer.
Final recommendation by use case
- For a broad, traditional project library: choose the 77-project Family Handyman hardcover if you want maximum project count and are comfortable with a used book.
- For step-by-step Shaker builds: choose Popular Woodworking's Shaker Furniture Projects when you want 31 traditional pieces with step-by-step plans in a trade paperback.
- For 50 country-style plans in a hardcover: choose Mike Dunbar's hardcover edition when you want a hardbound reference.
- For the same country-style plans in a paperback/softback: choose the Echo Point Books & Media edition.
No single plan book is right for every shop. Match your preferred binding and project style to the title, and you will have a plan book that fits your next build.
