TimberTinker

TimberTinker, listed on the App Store as TimberTinker: Woodworking 3D and formerly as Woodworking Plans AI, is a 3D woodworking design app for iPhone and iPad. It is made for garage woodworkers who want to turn an idea for a piece of furniture into a build-ready plan. The piece is sketched on the phone, and the cut list, sheet layout and cost are worked out before any wood is cut.

A design starts from scratch or from parametric templates for cabinets, bookshelves, tables, drawer boxes and workbenches. Boards use real lumber and sheet-good sizes, from 2x4s to 3/4" plywood, and tapping a board edits its size, position and wood species. Alternatively, the user can describe a piece in plain words and the AI plan generator drafts the plan. Snap to grid, camera presets, a measure tool and an exploded view help with layout.

Each part can be given a joint type, such as dados, rabbets, mortise and tenon, pocket screws or dowels, and every plan comes with a generated step-by-step assembly sequence. The cut list is grouped by material with grain direction and joint for each part, automatic sheet nesting shows how to break down plywood with minimal waste, and cost is estimated by the board foot and by the sheet.

Plans can be exported as a PDF with dimensions, cut list, hardware and build steps, and measurements work in inches, feet-and-inches or millimeters. The first 3 projects are free, and Premium unlocks unlimited projects through in-app purchases of $5.99, $12.99 and $49.99. TimberTinker requires iOS 17.0 or later, also runs on Macs with an Apple M1 chip and on Apple Vision, and the developer states that no data is collected.

Use cases

• Planning a bookshelf, cabinet, table or workbench build before buying lumber
• Working out how to cut plywood sheets with minimal waste
• Estimating the material cost of a furniture project
• Producing a printable PDF plan with cut list and build steps for the workshop