Follow me as I learn this cabinet design software.
My name is Ralph Bagnall. I have been a professional woodworker for more than 20 years and a woodworking author for nearly 15. I have a very extensive background in CAD, CAD/CAM and 3D programming for shop drawings and CNC programming. I use everything from a $40 2D Drafting program to a true 3D modeling program costing tens of thousands of dollars. What the market has been missing is a reasonably priced 3D CAD program that can output shop drawings, provide material take offs and create excellent renderings for client presentations without hours of extra work.
SketchList Pro seems to offer all of this, but I have yet to really use it. One thing I have learned over the years is that you really don’t know if a program will work for your projects until you work through a reasonably large project with it. Dave from SketchList Pro has invited me to guest blog here over the next several months, allowing you to “look over my shoulder” as I make my way through the program.
I will start by drawing up my own kitchen. It will be a good test of the software, and when I finish you will be able to see the results from SketchList cabinet design software alongside photos of the actual kitchen. I will start by drawing up the basic cabinet types, then modifying my “library” into the various types, and placing them in place as needed. You will be able to follow along as I explore and use the program using screen shots, descriptions and even some video. I am primarily a furniture maker these days though, so after the kitchen project, I will be inviting you along as I try out SketchList 3D as a program for designing individual furniture pieces.
Investing your own money, and more importantly your time, into a new cabinet design software program is always a challenge, and the risk of wasting either on the wrong software can be off-putting. My posts on this blog will be a unique opportunity for you to get deeper insight into SketchList Pro at no risk other than the time needed to read along. I hope it helps to answer your questions.
David Rozewski
My woodworking love started in 6th grade in school shop class. I have a BS in Industrial Technology and an MBA. At my first job, I computerized a production accounting system – the results were positive, and I loved the challenges. I left the corporate world to begin woodworking full time and one of my first decisions was to use CAD for my designs. I found that CAD did not meet all my needs. I wrote a specification of what I wanted and turned it into a prototype. SketchList 3D incorporated in 2007. We completed programming and launched. Today thousands of woodworkers use SketchList 3D.
