All posts tagged: Woodworking

Making an Exploded View Using SketchUp

Published by

When I open the pages of Fine Woodworking magazine, not only do I look at the various articles and their authors, I also pay attention to the illustrations and who created them. A typical issue of FWW will utilize illustrations from a number of artists; my favorite being John Hartman. He is a true illustrator. For my woodworking plans, I simply use SketchUp and a little bit of Photoshop. I’m not an illustrator; John Hartman is. His work in Fine Woodworking is what I use as inspiration for the images you see in my plans (check out John’s website for more of his work). As an online member at Fine Woodworking.com, I can search for just about any article from the library of past Fine Woodworking issues. When looking for inspiration for my upcoming woodworking plan, I searched for Matt Kenney’s updated Enfield cupboard (see the article here, membership required). It is somewhat similar in shape to my kitchen cupboard design, so when contemplating how to make the exploded view, I looked at the illustration …

Changes for The Modern Kitchen Cupboard

Published by

I like the design I developed for my next woodworking plan (shown above). I am calling this piece of furniture the Modern Kitchen Cupboard. I like the overall shape, I like the gray paint and birdseye maple combination, the sweeping curves to the top; the modern door/drawer pulls. Pretty much all of it, except one thing. When designing in SketchUp, I have learned the hard way to never rely just on your 3D model for a final design. Always draw it full size to confirm you like it; confirm there are no surprises (make a full size model if possible like this one). So, I bought some poster board and taped several sheets together and did just that; draw the Modern Kitchen Cupboard full size. I quickly discovered a design flaw. The cupboard is simply too short. In the image at the top of this post, I have added a scale figure which shows what I am talking about. The cupboard height is around this guy’s elbow. When I stretched out my tape measure while …

Planning For My Moravian Workbench

Published by

After taking a short break from woodworking, mostly so I can get my yard in some sort of presentable shape (and I’m not finished with the yard, more work to do, sigh), I am starting to seriously think about my next project, a new workbench. In typical fashion, I have been on a super slow shop renovation that will mostly conclude with this new workbench. Past shop updates include a new router table and a new miter saw stand both from 2013, a removable panelled shop wall which serves as a backdrop for my woodworking photos completed in the Spring of 2014, and then the recently completed tool cabinet. Other projects have been completed (like this one and this one) as this series of shop updates have come to fruition which has impacted by shop upgrade schedule. Finally though, this project is at hand. I say “finally” because I first announced my desire for a new bench in 2014; see the post here and the follow-up post here. In these two posts, I discuss Roubo and Nicholson bench designs. But …