At SketchList we offer a training program to users of our professional woodworking 3d design software.   This is done by sharing computer screens over the Internet.   To prepare for the one hour training. We ask those people who are receiving the training to send a sketch or image of something they would like to design. It helps if there are dimensions on the image just to give us a sense of how to approach the design process.
This week I conducted a training with James.   He did not send in an image because as he explained his project, he was going to build was in a very general idea stage. No problem. Actually this training session turned into a very interesting exercise in process for me.
The general ideas that James had about this project was that he was going to build a storage and work area for a wall in his house.  The wall was about 9 feet tall almost 20 feet wide and, at least initially, was set to be 18 inches deep.
Before setting pen to paper, or in our case hands to keyboard and mouse, we just discussed the overall “requirements” of the unit.  Of course we used Sketchlist 3D woodworking 3d design software.

General idea.

1. On the floor there going to be three storage units equal in size.  These units were going to be 28 inches high by 36 inches wide by 18 inches deep.  
2. The blank areas between the three base units were going to be open so as a chair could be fit under. These two spaces would be work areas.
3.  Across the three base units would be a large thick piece of lumber. This would be sort of a “tabletop”
4.  And the top of that tabletop would be six more units. At this point in the thinking they were storage boxes, some perhaps with doors. The six units were going to be 18 inches wide 72 inches tall and 18 inches deep.
5. Additionally the bottom storage boxes would have their fronts covered by doors and or drawer fronts.

Well that’s pretty much all we knew about the design the first few minutes of our time  together.  You will see in the embedded video that at the end of the hour we transformed this list of five “ideas into a model of Jerry’s project concept.   At the end of the hour I would say he had learned enough about the concepts and tools of SketchList 3D to continue to finish the project.   But again, this is a story about process more than result.

This is what the model looks like as our training session ended.

Now it is up to Jerry to take what he learned and finish adding the doors and creating the drawers as needed.  HoweverI suspect that he would spend time at this level of completion experimenting with heights, widths, depths, open space, and relationship between objects to achieve the most pleasing aesthetic design.  Back to process.
Rather than design cabinets from scratch we chose to use the library from our woodworking 3D design software to speed the process. 

What we did.

We selected a base cabinet from the library. You might notice that it’s just a simple cube box. We inserted it into the project changed its size to meet the requirements of the base unit. And then we located it to the back-left corner. The clone function in sketch list 3D woodworking 3D design software makes an exact copy of that first assembly. We slid that second assembly towards the right. Then we put a shelf assembly on top and across those two assemblies mostly to help us establish a center point.   Following that Jerry cloned one of the assemblies.  And using the align on center function placed that third assembly between the other two.
He followed the same process with the wall units except of course using smaller wall boxes. After that we changed the size and shape of these boxes place them on top of the base units. Then we were finished. Watch the attached video to see the process in “real time”.

This process and the video make heavy use of the red dot of sketch list 3D for changing sizes.   So I have this link to a post focuses on resizing objects in SketchList 3D. And it does contain a good segment on the red dot tool.
https://sketchlist.com/woodworking-design-software-resize-boards/

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Drawings for this woodworking project.

When Rich worked on this he emailed me with the following.

“I started to watch the tutorials on reporting and the one area where I am stuck is the Shop drawing. I am trying to get the dimensions of the various pieces in the furniture design; however, I am only able to get the measurements of the parameter of the whole piece.”

The answer I sent back:

“Remember at the project level you can dimension assemblies.

At any other level you can dimension the distances in that container.

You must be at the door, drawer, hardware level to dim the stuff inside them.”

The answer helped it seems.  Take a look at the shop drawings Rick produced.
First from the front.
Then the left view.And finally the top.  Notice the gray box on this one.  That is the ‘floor’ of the project.
You can turn this off in your SketchList 3D woodworking project.  Right click the button in the upper left of the display areas.  Then turn off “Show Floor”.

The drawing from the top.

And as always the parts list comes out for free!  This would make a nice set of woodworking plans.
If you want to share a woodworking project please email me.
If you want more detail on shop drawings use this LINK

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Jerry Wees is a  woodworker who designed his project to build a desk in SketchList 3D.  This post provides before (SketchList images) and after (photographs) of various views showing his fine effort to build a desk.

This is a very elegant desk, nicely finished, great proportions, and very functional.  It is also a fairly complex undertaking because of all of the shelves, drawers, and pullouts on seemingly every side of the desk.  Another views shows some of this complexity.

Notice the way the two wings of the L come together in the corner.   And in the view you can see a few of the shelves and pullouots used for supplies, a keyboard, and a printer.

Images and models

This would be a difficult piece of work to pull off without detailed plans or the ability to test various alternatives on the computer screen.  For Sketchlist 3D that looks like this.

And the second view looks like this model.

The design is very functional with pull out sliders for the printer and other equipment.

In SketchList 3D the model for this follows.

By carefully modeling the design to build a desk on the computer screen, you can check if drawers and pullouts will fit before you cut any stock.
Of course there is a file drawer!   In SketchList 3D it is complete with 2 sides, a drawer, a front and back, and a bottom.  The panel on front even includes some nice detail. If you are going to build a desk – do it right!

One very nice detail is the pop-up mechanism for the screen at the back of the desk top.

In the model that cutout fits the hardware used for the pop-up.  The actual top was hidden to show the parts underneath.
In fact, speaking of parts underneath look at this exploded view!

Reports

Wow it’s a good thing there are drawings and reports to help put this together!

Multiple shop drawings can be created in minutes.

And the cut list is always there.  Every time you add or change a board in the model that change is instantly added to the cut list.
If you a are going to build a desk – wouldn’t you like to have a complete set of plans and drawings to help you? Better yet if you build a desk – wouldn’t it be nice to absolutely customize it to your customer’s needs?
Here’s another example of a desk model in Sketchlist 3D.  LINK

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There is little I like better than good news from a SketchList3D user. This one is about using SketchList 3D as bookcase design software.

Good afternoon Dave.

I am attaching a  picture of a bookcase that I just completed where I had designed it in SketchList bookcase design software.

The first is the completed but unfinished bookcase.

This is the first project I have done using SketchList Pro.  What a blessing it has been for the design, purchasing the products and the cut sheets.  Made the cutting so “easy” and with the two different sizes of plywood used the waste minimal.

I have attached the file as well and expect that you could have done it much more efficiently.  I expect I will be able to as well as I continue using the program.

 

Thanks for a great program.

David

TX

And while looking at bookcases I found this really cool idea thanks to Mark Dutka of Inhouse Design Studio.  Great work Mark!  CLICK TO SEE IT.

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Boy we at SketchList love to hear this about our woodworking design software free trial.

In several conversations Mike and I discussed how he might benefit from using SketchList 3D.  A very detailed kind of guy Mike takes care in selecting his tools.  An artist, Mike began painting, transitioning  to wood several years ago.  He began using SketchList 3D several months ago. In a short period of time he created some very nice projects.

His firm – Showroom Finish Carpentry, located in GA, designs, produces and delivers a wide variety of creations.  His web site gives us an insight to his work.

“Through years of experience, persistent trial and error, and relentless curiosity, I have developed a significant familiarity with designing, building, finishing, and artwork. I am always eager to learn new methods, concepts, and techniques.  My pursuit of perfection has remained evident in every project I have undertaken.”

Time and time again we say you might have the nicest vision in the world in your mind – but if you can’t put it on paper (or the computer screen) – it’s a hard sell.  What would you say about the image above to make a prospect understand it without seeing the rendering?

Mike wrote me the following:

“I use SketchList for planning and laying out all my projects. It is cost effective and very user friendly. Using this program promotes precision, thereby helping to maximize materials and minimize adjustments. Also, the owner/author is very responsive and helpful. The program is so versatile, I’m still discovering features. I learn a little more every time I use it. SketchList has become an integral part of my process. “

Let’s look at some more of his work.

This is a fairly basic project but easily and completely conveys the idea, scale, and relationship to the client for their approval.

Here is another fairly simple design – one that once created in the SketchList 3D library — serves as a beginning point for any other bookcase.   Simply insert and resize as the requirements dictate – taller, deeper, wider.

More complexity appears in this next design with its cut off ends, trash reception hole, and stone counter top.

Still more detail appears in the next design shown.  The arc in the center and inclusion of a television provide the client with an excellent picture of the proposed work.  Our woodworking design software makes it easy to include realistic details.

Finally these next two images do a great job of presenting the two walls of a laundry center.  Notice the appliances, five part doors (some of which are open to reveal the interior of the cabinet), and detail of the flooring.

Can you imagine what this type of detailed illustrations does for his business.  Well I can’t say but every time I speak with Mike – he’s very busy!  I want to thank him for this images and remind you they are the property of the Showroom Finish Carpentry company.

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