What software are you using?

[Denco]

All of your shop drawings look great. What software are you using? I've been using a pencil and a graph pad. All I have are blocks representing my tools.

[chopnhack]

I have used Google Sketchup which is a free program. Alot of the models that you see are often downloadable components that someone else has rendered that you can just pop into your drawing. If you take the time to learn the program, it is really rewarding, much easier to use than cad type progs IMHO.

There are some great resources available to learn the basics directly from google and then more geared towards woodworkers after you grasp the basics.

http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com/

[LarryG]

+1 on SketchUp. The Pro version is a bargain at $500; the free version is unbelievable at $0.

But do take the time to watch a lot of the many available videos and learn to run it properly. You can bull your way through the learning curve on your own and sorta-kinda figure it out by trial and error, but you'll end up doing everything the hard way. SketchUp is MUCH faster and MUCH easier when you know and understand the fundamentals.

[pelligrini]

I use Autocad, but it is a program I use to make a living too.

I never did learn to use sketchup. I played with it a little before google bought it. I draw most of my stuff 2D, maybe some 3D modeling on a project if it is complex.

Grizzly has a workshop planning tool too. http://www.grizzly.com/workshopplanner.aspx

[dbhost]

I use the free version of Sketchup. It is fairly quick and easy to learn. Go to Youtube and search for Sketchup tutorials.

[cwsmith]

I'm a professional technical illustrator and have used Corel Draw for most of the last couple of decades....

BUT, I'll give a really big "thumbs up" to the Google SketchUp program. It's pretty easy to use in drawing "basics", and if you invest some interest and time, you can really do some very nice illustrations, figuring out your dimensions, postioning, and general workability of your plan.

When you draw with a pencil or with a program like Corel Draw (and many others), you basically are dealing with just a flat, single point of view or perspective. Typically, you draw a view of the top, side, front of you object and then use those to envision your project. But with a 3D program like SketchUp, you are actually building an object or group of objects, that you can zoom in and out on, rotate, view from various angles, etc. You can group parts into assemblies, move them in respect to other "groups" etc.

I designed a simple table a year ago with SketchUp, decided to add a drawer, with shop-built slides and I could use SketchUp to move the drawer (as a group) in and out of the table, check for clearance, interference and then make some minor changes, etc.

Hey... it's free and there's a immense lesson plan provided, video's on YouTube, and lots of things that others have already drawing provided in the Google SketchUp library.

You can't go wrong!

CWS