The Digital Age of Woodworking

Posted by jasonmain in Woodworking Trends
February 14, 2013

What I am about to share with you will change the way you do woodworking. Not only will it aid you in the design, costing and production stage but it will open you up to a whole new world of how you do woodworking and best of all its virtually free!

Probably one of the best 3D modelling programs available to woodworkers today, it allows you to design to scale and get an idea of how your cabinet or desk for example will turn out.There is a whole community out in the cloud constantly adding their models to the 3D warehouse. Don’t worry about the learning curve because Sketchup have a bunch of video tutorials and books or even forums where you can ask questions and get answers.

Don’t forget the fun factor once you get into it! And yes it’s a little addictive.

Image courtesy Podoffice www.podoffice.co.za

Okay, you have started using Sketchup and you are getting pretty good at it! But how do you work out how much your project will cost or how much material will I need? Well that’s pretty simple using a panel optimizer – measure your material within sketchup and capture the data. Then click ‘output’ in Panel optimizer and before your eyes will appear everything you need to know about your upcoming project – costings and the amount of material you will need.I have found a great Optimizer and its local – www.smallbits.co.za The license will cost you around R50 which is pretty cheap for this day and age – and It’s easy to use and let’s face it – LOCAL IS LEKKA!

I hope the above will help you in planning, costing and building, it has changed the way I build furniture and allowed me to focus on the bigger picture. Both Software programs are available for download of the web and is just a click away to the digital age of woodworking.

Visit my web page to view some of my product which I designed with sketchup – www.podoffice.co.za

Have Fun! Regards – Michael van Sittert

The Digital Age of Woodworking

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