Yes, it's a good idea to start with old, proven designs.
Regarding the schematic linked to in the first post: not only are the power supply pins not shown, but there's no decoupling capacitor. Connect a 100nF capacitor between pins 7 and 14, as close to the IC as possible. You may be able to get away without it, especially with the 74C14, rather than the 74HC14 IC, but it's good practise.