Monday, December 10, 2012
Design: sketch up is your friend
Geez, sorry it has been so long, over a year... I will try and do more.
I am going to focus on design for a bit. Planning makes the project easy to produce and will increase how much you will use it. Design can take a plan bring it to life and make it build-able. Most of the time I have used Google's Sketchup which I have found to be stable and have all the features that a hobbyist level woodworker/tinkerer will need. Some features would make complex design faster to build, but learning to use them would take longer than just plugging through. So here it goes (full model at the end). I like to start with the foot print and over-all size and add details from there.
It is hard to see here but this is just the footprint made by drawing four lines. A couple tips here, first hitting L gets you to the line tool, learning a couple of the hot keys will make drawing your model faster. Second when you have to tool selected align it to the axis you want to place the line on and type the length of the line in inches and hit enter. This allows you to have faster precision in your drawing.
Next tool, push/pull. Select the push/pull tool (P) click in the middle of the box/footprint you just made and type the height you want in inches on your number pad.
The next bit is up to you. Sketchup does not allow for advanced modeling options like manipulating drawers (open and close) so you only have to draw the face of the drawing. Make sure remember that the idea of using MDF is to keep things cheap. Plan on using wood runners instead of drawer slides ($.50 instead of $20), look for inexpensive drawer pulls and ways to make it your self or improvise.
Monday, August 22, 2011
High Boy/Dresser with File Drawer
This is really the project that inspired this blog. I realized that with the proper finishing and a little TLC you could make some pretty attractive pieces out of inexpensive MDF/Fiber board that you could use all over the place. Currently I have furniture made entirely out of MDF in my office and bathroom with plans for a side table in our bedroom and a coffee table in the living room.
Here it goes for the High Boy, this will be over several posts because of how ugh work it was. Really the point of my blog os not to give specific plans but more to show the potential of working with MDF, when I have plans drawn I will share but don't hold me to it.
This is the completed project. Hopefully you can see five drawers of which the bottom is made for hanging files. The over all dimensions are 19" deep by 32" wide and 49" tall. One thing when planning these projects is to keep in mind the size of the sheet you are using. Most MDF will be advertised as 4'x8' however to accommodate cleaning up edges or whatever the actual sheet size is 49" by 97" or 1" plus in both directions. Meaning that 49" is the maximum height that you can get out the mirth of your sheet (taller if you use the height). I used 1/2" sheets and I am pretty sure that I used three sheets. This means that for wood I was out $75, a far cry from what a comparable quality piece would cost.
The key to a big project like this is planning. I have a professional grade table saw and easily help (younger brother) but lets be honest unless you have a panel saw or sliding saw, cutting that size sheet is not easy. So let someone else do it! Home Depot, Lowes or just about any big box lumber yard will have a panel saw and most will do the first couple cuts for free. Plan out the big pieces you need and have them cut before you leave.
Planning also comes in when deciding how you are going to use your furniture. I use mine (and planned to) for small office supplies in the top two drawers, larger items in the second and third and files/paper in the bottom. But you could just as easily make this with three file drawers and one for small office items. A collector may have tons of small drawers and a single large one for big pieces. First lesson, Plan, Plan, Plan.
Here it goes for the High Boy, this will be over several posts because of how ugh work it was. Really the point of my blog os not to give specific plans but more to show the potential of working with MDF, when I have plans drawn I will share but don't hold me to it.
This is the completed project. Hopefully you can see five drawers of which the bottom is made for hanging files. The over all dimensions are 19" deep by 32" wide and 49" tall. One thing when planning these projects is to keep in mind the size of the sheet you are using. Most MDF will be advertised as 4'x8' however to accommodate cleaning up edges or whatever the actual sheet size is 49" by 97" or 1" plus in both directions. Meaning that 49" is the maximum height that you can get out the mirth of your sheet (taller if you use the height). I used 1/2" sheets and I am pretty sure that I used three sheets. This means that for wood I was out $75, a far cry from what a comparable quality piece would cost.
The key to a big project like this is planning. I have a professional grade table saw and easily help (younger brother) but lets be honest unless you have a panel saw or sliding saw, cutting that size sheet is not easy. So let someone else do it! Home Depot, Lowes or just about any big box lumber yard will have a panel saw and most will do the first couple cuts for free. Plan out the big pieces you need and have them cut before you leave.
Planning also comes in when deciding how you are going to use your furniture. I use mine (and planned to) for small office supplies in the top two drawers, larger items in the second and third and files/paper in the bottom. But you could just as easily make this with three file drawers and one for small office items. A collector may have tons of small drawers and a single large one for big pieces. First lesson, Plan, Plan, Plan.
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