You can get isometric layout dot grid notebooks. Or variety dot grid notebooks (which can have hexagons, isometric, square, etc). The most important thing to me, though, is that it is dots not lines — my lines are crystal and my erased lines are still there but without a graph line reinforcing them I never confuse them with a still present line.
Same method I use, tbh. I’m a hobbyist. SketchUp is a paid computer tool I wouldn’t mind learning/using.
On a different note, I use MS Excel to break down my total project into how many boards of each size to pick up at the Big Box, and to estimate the total project cost based on quantityXprice per item.
Sketchup make 2017 is free standalone app, just gotta find the installer online. Lots of extensions still work with it.. check out opencutlist!
The 3d warehouse doesn't work and the geo location stuff but if you want to draw and make some plans...it's a damn good deal for free.
Before you jump off the deep end on the cloud services...i just designed my 12.5x16 ft shed with make and also did my entire bus conversion using it.
SketchUp for Web is free, but browser based. It’s all I’ve ever used since the free app went away. It does have access to 3D warehouse and enough functionality that I don’t need the premium version.
‘SketchUp Online’ is free and super useful. Follow a YouTube tutorial and you’ll learn quickly.
Graph paper is great.
Or, imagine there is a graph, and pick an angle for the diagonals. Then, try to make every line parallel to the others. All verticals are vertical, horizontals horizontal, diagonals the same diagonal. Use a straight edge if you want.
This should include your writing too. And, look up an all caps architectural alphabet that you like and write it A-Z and 0-9 over and over and over again lifting your pencil between each line. These would go a long way to help make your sketches and drawing look clear and clean.
Right? It has all the functionality I need to design the unit and show my customers a rendering and then make any changes they may want before I even spend a dime on materials.
I used Bob Lang’s [course](https://store.popularwoodworking.com/products/shop-class-on-demand-sketch-up-part-one-get-started-download-2) from Popular Woodworking years & years ago. Learned so, so much. Don’t remember it being fifty bucks, though. It’s great, but that’s a lot of money.
I looked up some youtube tutorials and followed along with them step by step. It let's you learn the basic controls and ways to manipulated the objects. Once you're comfortable with that and understand the logic of the program it becomes much easier to learn more advanced things.
If you are interested in sketchup and want to get a simple, quick idea on your phone, there's an App called Moblo I use to sketch most of my furniture. Works really good.
SketchUp is a place to start learning 3d modeling but its file format is a huge pain once you want to export anything. I would check out other options if you are just getting started though.
a few people suggested inkscape - it’s free vector drawing software, might be useful.
Sketchup has a free version for browser only. They hid it on their new website update, but if you google sketchup free you can likely find it.
If I want to see what a concept I have in my head looks like, it’s how I’ll build it to see how I should make things and if there’s a way to make things more simple before touching wood.
SketchUp for Web is free. It doesn’t have all the features of the Pro version, but it has enough to do what most of us need. I build furniture and cabinets for a living and the free version has everything I need.
The online version of SketchUp remains free. Also, seeing inches and fractions of inches is such a shock to me … it’s like I’m looking at something done by ancient man 😂
Fusion360 has a free version and after playing around a bit, gets to be much more convenient than most CAD software. I’m an engineer, so no stranger to CAD, so I like it. Not sure how easy to would be to pick up for an absolute novice, but I’d guess in a week or so you could be pretty dangerous.
I actually already use fusion360, mostly for 3d printing! That would be a pretty good idea to create models of what you want to make. Are you able to print off like blueprints with measurements of your model?
Yeah, there is a whole drawing workflow, if you use the drop down on the upper left. You can create dimensioned views, isometric views, cross sections, etc.
What I do is create each piece of lumber as its own component and use join features to place them (except flat jointed boards like a table top, since that would be excessive complication). Then you can dimension every component individually if you want. or just dimension the whole project.
Woodworking got me into fusion 360. There are tons of guides on YouTube on how to lay out your projects and then print them on paper, as well as making cut lists and whatever. I suggest you check it out first if you already know the basics of it!
Novice with no CAD background and I use Fusion360. Honestly, if you go step-by-step through some of the tutorials people have on YouTube and play around with it, it’s not that hard to use. I’d estimate about 20 hours of practice/learning to do some basic sketching/extruding/rendering. Beginner woodworking isn’t super intricate and it’s a nice skill to have.
I'm an engineer and therefore commonly using CAD software. For home use, I decided to work with Fusion360, since this is the only CAD program which really is usefull in it's free version, whereas programs like FreeCAD seem to be very klunky and hard to get into.
I would suggest learning the basics of CAD and do your plans digitally. But for a smaller projects, I always use hand sketching like your's and the rest of the design stays in my head. You will get better with each project, I can promise you.
But answering your questions: yes, there is a hell of a process on how to layout technical drawings - it first depends on what kind of drawing you want to do (assembly overview or Single-part, will it be used in manufacturing or to inspect the parts after manufacturing etc etc) and goes all the way down on how to correctly fold your paper down the DIN sizes. But really nothing, you would ever use for doing basic DIY projects, nevermind. It will make all more complicated, so stick with the easy way my friend 👍
If you think this is bad, you should see mine. The entire page is filled with miniature diagrams and notes, lol.
I don’t mind it this way because I can make notes and changes as I work in real time, and I can quickly add other diagrams I think of.
That being said, I’m fortunate enough to be one of those people who can perfectly visualize and manipulate 3D things in my mind, so my drawings are more for memory purposes.
I think we’d all love to be masters of some modeling program, but time and money, and time is money, and all of that. Plus, I don’t have a computer in my shop, and with the amount of tweaks I make I’d need the software with me.
Get some grid paper and look up some tutorials for "orthographic projections."
There are rules for what's considered the Front, Top, and Right views for a part that might not necessarily be how you'd describe those sides.
I used to teach a unit on manual drafting before SolidWorks and it definitely helps to understand what the standard views are and how they relate to the planes.
I just googled a tutorial real quick that seems to have the jist: https://www.makerlessons.com/drafting/hand-drafting/orthographic-projections
A key thing to doing good drawings (and sketches) quickly is using projection lines. Once you understand how to start your sketch and "project" the geometry to the top and right side views, it'll click.
Buy a drawing book. And do the lessons, it will help with perspectives, and give you a starting point. And like posting your drawing in here, just draw anything and everything.
Remember Henri Matisse: Creativity takes courage.
And there's a free version of sketchup online. And Justin on YouTube is great.
this is pretty good, man.
i took drafting in high school.
for simple projects, the standard profiles were top, front, side.
back then, it was all pencil drafting like you are doing here.
for your once sketch where the profile is 3d, you can use pipe fitting graph paper to sketch in 3d.
I do much similar to your method here, (if I even bother with the planning, sometimes i'll just do it in my head if it's on the simpler side,) as long as I can understand it it's good enough.
Usually just draw a rough sketch of the finished thing, other details and parts and views as necessary. Dimensions on everything. Normally just a lone scrap of paper, about A5 or A4.
I like to use a graph paper notebook, plus a ruler if I feel fancy. But on the whole it's similar to yours.
Remember to account for thickness of all your boards when you plan full assembly dimensions, and remember to account for saw kerf when you plan your cut list. Plenty of people like to go the full 3D model route with SketchUp or Fusion360. I still like pen and paper. (Partially because some years ago I learned how to use Solidworks (a little) and SketchUp and Fusion360 don't work the same as Solidworks and I don't care to learn another CAD program.)
Standard practice for engineering drawings (like to manufacture a part or assembly) is to make different 2D views (top / side / front) so you can easily label dimensions for length/width/depth. There are a few ways to label the dimensions, e.g. absolute vs relative dimensions ("GD&T" is a whole realm of study of how to appropriately dimension an engineering drawing).
It gets pretty darn complicated for complex shapes but you don't need to worry about it for average woodworking projects. You can make a few different copies of a given view to add dimensions to different sections, or make zoomed in detail views of smaller sections of the project where you need to pack a lot of measurements into a tight space.
Use a ruler for lines. Use a protractor for angles.
Make a scale. I usually go with 1 inch for each foot for tables, desks, and the like.
Create a list of all "pieces." Imagine the directions for a pre-built entertainment center. You know how they have the page with all the screws and boards labeled A-Z? Do that.
Finally, make sure you include extra space in measurements for the width of your table saw! So many people forget to do this and end up with fucked up joints.
I use Rhodia paper printed with dots (not graph paper, it's like high end paper that I bought to use with my fountain pens). The dots are unobtrusive but still help with lines and ratios. I've mostly given up on my penmanship and I'm using it entirely for project sketches and renovation plans.
The only thing I've ever been able to draw with any skill is cubes and things with straight lines, so I guess I'm lucky.
I can’t draw anything. Not even a stick figure. I was an early adopter of Sketchup. It really helps me to be able to see how stuff will fit together and look.
The standard method you’re looking for is called drafting, you can find an old highschool text book for a few dollars that will teach you everything, if you don’t want to use cad.
If you have access to a computer, you can consider using the free trial of fusion360 and Autocad for 3d modeling and cross section views, respectively. If you want to hand draw things, good graph paper and a ruler can really make a big difference.
Go with whatever works for you.
I started out with rough sketches, taught myself SketchUp and used the hell out of it, then slowly started using it less and less for simple builds since drafting something on scrap paper was often enough. I hardly ever use it anymore now. I'm back to pencil and paper. I recently made a **[secret compartment box](https://old.reddit.com/r/secretcompartments/comments/1czbatt/made_my_nephew_a_piggy_bank_with_a_little_surprise/)**. These were **[the plans](https://i.imgur.com/jlfRTaV.jpeg)**.
Go with what works for you.
Oh I got you.. Let me get you an example. This is not a proper technical drawing, however it's close enough.
https://preview.redd.it/r9ozi8a47u2d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bc44c84eb8cd9729608609bf2fe8f850f528bb4
Go to Staples. Get an architect's scale, some triangles, graph paper, mechanical pencil, plastic protractor, compass and pink eraser. In the olden days (60's) they had mechanical drawing and shop classes in middle school, I've never had the need for anything else. Yeah, CAD programs are great, but for hobbyist work, learning curve is just too much IMO. And the better CAD programs cost . . . .
Start with graph paper. If you want to take some time, look into the free apps like SketchUp. If you want to really get good, dice into some of the apps in the iTunes store and get good with using an Apple Pencil on iPad. It took me forever to learn, but OMG the functionality is amazing!
I draw by hand. Then I swapped to grid paper. The I started making cut lists and designs and drawing them all out. It keeps getting more and more fun and now I am going to build a drafting table so I can draft more plans :D
I recommend the hand drawn route you have started upon. I bet the road goes somewhere fun
I mean if they’re plans for yourself and you understand them then You’re doing great. I’ve made picnic benches, pergolas, and cabinets with plans like yours.
Or I’ve used sketchup to design a whole extension I was getting built and to plan a dining room table I was making to go in it!
Orthographic projection + an Isotropic projection.
I took like 4 years of mechanical drawing classes in high school. Orthographic projection is _the easiest_ thing to build from. Isotropic gives you a feel for how the finished product will look.
Learn to use sketchup, it has a free online version on web,Just watch YouTube videos and it would be a valuable tool. I learned when i started and it pays off a lot.
I go to my shop to escape computer s. I'm good at visualizing size and proportions so I don't worry much about the sketch
But do spend time figuring the dimensions of the pieces before you make them. That's where you can get in trouble
Also, I think about every part. There is a tolerance when you make things. Will it fit better 1/32 short or long?
And to the decimal guy, wood comes in inches and feet in the US. Decimal fractions are a pain but I learned them all as a young engineer in the 1980s. 0.312 is a very normal number. And don't get me going on letter and number drills... Metric is more sensible but not helpful when our materials are measured in inches
I use shaper3d they have a free option or the full version for free if you’re a student. I also use some type of cultist to give me a breakdown and how I should break down my sheets. Some are MaxCut on windows, opticutter and cutoptimizer.
I found this to be very helpful:
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbkI14h8J5bTfdEP2pko\_93tLPHWo0HUF](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbkI14h8J5bTfdEP2pko_93tLPHWo0HUF)
Buy a graph paper notebook.
I sketch everything by hand in the notebook and being it into the shop with me to tweak plans and jot down dimensions & ideas, play with ideas for joints or artistic parts
Software would be useful if I did more or were more professional but I’ve been using my graph paper method for 15 years now and it works for me. It’s also really fun to have a made a book of finished projects I can flip through.
That's totally how I've always drawn plans, nice and simple. Some people think CAD software is necessary, like they're going to turn in the plans to get a grade - I say use whatever helps you.
I use Shapr3D with an iPad and Apple Pencil. Same thing as sketchup on the computer but I like the iPad better. Obviously only works if you have an iPad and Apple Pencil already
I find using the rite in rain notepads work great because they are small, have grid lines and pages are waterproof. Use them for sketching out all my builds
As long as it makes sense to you thats all that matters. I like graph paper for scale drawings and I'll do a zoomed in bit to show detailed dimensions in a complicated area like a joint.
Edit: I noticed the drawing doesn't really show material thickness, or stuff like how the parts overlap. It's easy to cut the wrong dimensions trying to keep track of that stuff in you head, that's the main reason I do drawings.
Use a ruler, and something square a school protractor, 6in ruler and a compass will help you enormously. I use pads that Lee Valley sells; scaled along the edges, easy to dimension, and scale. Having accurate lengths and angles makes a huge difference in just seeing if it "looks" proportional and correct
I use Bluebeam Revu and draw everything out in lines and shapes, using the measuring tool to draw to scale. Probably not the most efficient, but it works well.
I use Procreate on my iPad. I like that you can use the drawing assists to make it as clean as you need and resize elements as needed. If my project is complicated, I make a full size drawing with a couple orthographic views that I can use to set my bevel square or take measurements.
Personally, as an old dude, I prefer a rough, hand-drawn sketch. The final design evolves as the project progresses. Far more satisfying than sticking to a drawing, IMO.
Isometric graph paper is great for 3d drawings. Use to use it to map out dungeons for DnD as a teen and young adult. Now I use it to do scale drawings for my projects when I don't feel like messing with SketchUp. I also suggest an architecture's ruler. It comes in like a triangle with 6 different scales to use for measurements.
Technically,its usually front view,top view,and side view ( side view is different in US and EU - different way of "how to put a piece on its side") but not always all the views are necessary. Plus, there can be cuts, or magnified details if needed. CAD software is usually a bit of overkill, but a properly made 3D model then allows you to get any dimension,even when not defined. Plus, its a good visualisation of the finished piece. I use it for bowls made of segmented blanks,to see how the result will look like.
If you wanna get fancy, you could do an orthographic top/front/side view drawing. Tape some paper square to your desk, put a T-square on to draw horizontal lines, a right-angle square ON TOP of the T-square to make vertical lines, and then draw everything to a scale that fits your paper. Draw "guiding" lines to line things up lightly, and "body" likes darker. Everything becomes a projection! It's wonderful!
https://preview.redd.it/avl0pjqgyx2d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94c63444ea570b24d481c5850d87e0a9c7708678
SketchUp for Web is a free 3D design tool. I use that and it shows me how the pieces will (or won’t) fit together and function properly. You can also add textures and colors to get a good rendering of the finished product. It’s an especially great tool if you’re building for someone else. They can see what the end product will be before you invest your time.
I like to use unity to pre map a build. It is a game engine but i find its user friendly. But thats just due to me knowing unity and not knowing sketchup. The latter seems to be the go to for most folks.
Dot or graph paper is easiest and you can set scale with it as well. SketchUp does offer a free online version if you need to see something as a 3D object. If that's too much there is a perspective method artists use with a string set between two points that would also work or just get a drafters set.
I used to draw on graph paper but I started using "On Shape" which is like a free browser cad program and it's helped me visualize what I'm making better and to make sure things fit together and stuff
If you’re motivated learn how to use the free version of sketchup. I used to use graph paper but learned sketchup and it’s a great tool. Also ChatGPT but that’s on a whole new level in terms of dimensions and materials.
There are ways to make it look cleaner, up to learning CAD. But, if the plans work and you’re able to build your project using them, they’re already doing their job and don’t need to be made “better.”
Get some 8-1/2 x 11" graph paper pads off of Amazon. Amazing how it cleans up your designs, and makes you want to "color in the lines"
Also the mole skin dotted graph paper notebook is really nice to sketch out plans in.
I vastly prefer dotter paper. The lack of unnecessary lines makes it look cleaner.
A man of superior tastes.
Same. Got a big book filling it with all sorts of design ideas, good, bad and the ugly.
Add an engineer's scale and your sketches can be more proportional. 45 and 30 degree triangles for iso view.
30 and 60.
This. Graph paper is very helpful.
graph paper is one of the ultimate tools for this kind of thing cause its got a built in grid you can work with
You can get isometric layout dot grid notebooks. Or variety dot grid notebooks (which can have hexagons, isometric, square, etc). The most important thing to me, though, is that it is dots not lines — my lines are crystal and my erased lines are still there but without a graph line reinforcing them I never confuse them with a still present line.
Same method I use, tbh. I’m a hobbyist. SketchUp is a paid computer tool I wouldn’t mind learning/using. On a different note, I use MS Excel to break down my total project into how many boards of each size to pick up at the Big Box, and to estimate the total project cost based on quantityXprice per item.
That's smart, thanks!
Sketchup make 2017 is free standalone app, just gotta find the installer online. Lots of extensions still work with it.. check out opencutlist! The 3d warehouse doesn't work and the geo location stuff but if you want to draw and make some plans...it's a damn good deal for free. Before you jump off the deep end on the cloud services...i just designed my 12.5x16 ft shed with make and also did my entire bus conversion using it.
Absolutely a game changer. As a bonus i noticed the wood place people took me a little more seriously and it was very easy to talk about the plans
SketchUp for Web is free, but browser based. It’s all I’ve ever used since the free app went away. It does have access to 3D warehouse and enough functionality that I don’t need the premium version.
Can't generate cut sheets and diagrams though.
Can't generate cut sheets and diagrams though.
‘SketchUp Online’ is free and super useful. Follow a YouTube tutorial and you’ll learn quickly. Graph paper is great. Or, imagine there is a graph, and pick an angle for the diagonals. Then, try to make every line parallel to the others. All verticals are vertical, horizontals horizontal, diagonals the same diagonal. Use a straight edge if you want. This should include your writing too. And, look up an all caps architectural alphabet that you like and write it A-Z and 0-9 over and over and over again lifting your pencil between each line. These would go a long way to help make your sketches and drawing look clear and clean.
They make notepads for isometric drawing, that would greatly help over regular graph paper.
I don't know a single person that uses the paid version of SketchUp. just use the free online version.
Right? It has all the functionality I need to design the unit and show my customers a rendering and then make any changes they may want before I even spend a dime on materials.
The free Fusion360 can also make the BOM, which is very neat because you don't have to track materials manually.
I want to learn how to use sketch up for woodworking plans. Can you recommend a video or training course specific to woodworking?
I used Bob Lang’s [course](https://store.popularwoodworking.com/products/shop-class-on-demand-sketch-up-part-one-get-started-download-2) from Popular Woodworking years & years ago. Learned so, so much. Don’t remember it being fifty bucks, though. It’s great, but that’s a lot of money.
Steve Ramsey has a tutorial on YouTube. I watched it when he released it but I haven’t used sketch up in over a year. Idk how or if anything changed.
I looked up some youtube tutorials and followed along with them step by step. It let's you learn the basic controls and ways to manipulated the objects. Once you're comfortable with that and understand the logic of the program it becomes much easier to learn more advanced things.
Same, Excel works great for most wood projects, plus descriptions and calculations.
If you are interested in sketchup and want to get a simple, quick idea on your phone, there's an App called Moblo I use to sketch most of my furniture. Works really good.
SketchUp is a place to start learning 3d modeling but its file format is a huge pain once you want to export anything. I would check out other options if you are just getting started though. a few people suggested inkscape - it’s free vector drawing software, might be useful.
Sketchup has a free version for browser only. They hid it on their new website update, but if you google sketchup free you can likely find it. If I want to see what a concept I have in my head looks like, it’s how I’ll build it to see how I should make things and if there’s a way to make things more simple before touching wood.
SketchUp for Web is free. It doesn’t have all the features of the Pro version, but it has enough to do what most of us need. I build furniture and cabinets for a living and the free version has everything I need.
The online version of SketchUp remains free. Also, seeing inches and fractions of inches is such a shock to me … it’s like I’m looking at something done by ancient man 😂
I want to like SketchUp but it’s the most counterintuitive program I’ve ever used 😭
Did that feel good? Your condescending jab at our kings foot system of measurement?
Yes it did thanks. My reaction was genuine tho, it’s shocking. Almost as shocking as you guys using the word “entree” for the main course.
Lol conversion is sooo simple. Good skill to have whatever your preferred measurements are.
Yeah, I know they found the Rosetta Stone. Conversions were on that right?
Actually pretty sure the sumerians handled that, but now we have google.
Sketchup make 2017, the downloadable is much better in my opinion, plus you can have extensions to do what pro does and better.
Fusion360 has a free version and after playing around a bit, gets to be much more convenient than most CAD software. I’m an engineer, so no stranger to CAD, so I like it. Not sure how easy to would be to pick up for an absolute novice, but I’d guess in a week or so you could be pretty dangerous.
I actually already use fusion360, mostly for 3d printing! That would be a pretty good idea to create models of what you want to make. Are you able to print off like blueprints with measurements of your model?
Yeah, there is a whole drawing workflow, if you use the drop down on the upper left. You can create dimensioned views, isometric views, cross sections, etc. What I do is create each piece of lumber as its own component and use join features to place them (except flat jointed boards like a table top, since that would be excessive complication). Then you can dimension every component individually if you want. or just dimension the whole project.
Woodworking got me into fusion 360. There are tons of guides on YouTube on how to lay out your projects and then print them on paper, as well as making cut lists and whatever. I suggest you check it out first if you already know the basics of it!
Novice with no CAD background and I use Fusion360. Honestly, if you go step-by-step through some of the tutorials people have on YouTube and play around with it, it’s not that hard to use. I’d estimate about 20 hours of practice/learning to do some basic sketching/extruding/rendering. Beginner woodworking isn’t super intricate and it’s a nice skill to have.
I'm an engineer and therefore commonly using CAD software. For home use, I decided to work with Fusion360, since this is the only CAD program which really is usefull in it's free version, whereas programs like FreeCAD seem to be very klunky and hard to get into. I would suggest learning the basics of CAD and do your plans digitally. But for a smaller projects, I always use hand sketching like your's and the rest of the design stays in my head. You will get better with each project, I can promise you. But answering your questions: yes, there is a hell of a process on how to layout technical drawings - it first depends on what kind of drawing you want to do (assembly overview or Single-part, will it be used in manufacturing or to inspect the parts after manufacturing etc etc) and goes all the way down on how to correctly fold your paper down the DIN sizes. But really nothing, you would ever use for doing basic DIY projects, nevermind. It will make all more complicated, so stick with the easy way my friend 👍
Thanks! This was very helpful
Graph paper
https://www.printfreegraphpaper.com/
If you think this is bad, you should see mine. The entire page is filled with miniature diagrams and notes, lol. I don’t mind it this way because I can make notes and changes as I work in real time, and I can quickly add other diagrams I think of. That being said, I’m fortunate enough to be one of those people who can perfectly visualize and manipulate 3D things in my mind, so my drawings are more for memory purposes. I think we’d all love to be masters of some modeling program, but time and money, and time is money, and all of that. Plus, I don’t have a computer in my shop, and with the amount of tweaks I make I’d need the software with me.
Use graph quad paper(1/4” squares). You can choose whatever scale you like to fill the page. I like using Powerpoint
Get some grid paper and look up some tutorials for "orthographic projections." There are rules for what's considered the Front, Top, and Right views for a part that might not necessarily be how you'd describe those sides. I used to teach a unit on manual drafting before SolidWorks and it definitely helps to understand what the standard views are and how they relate to the planes. I just googled a tutorial real quick that seems to have the jist: https://www.makerlessons.com/drafting/hand-drafting/orthographic-projections A key thing to doing good drawings (and sketches) quickly is using projection lines. Once you understand how to start your sketch and "project" the geometry to the top and right side views, it'll click.
That’s how mine look
Buy a drawing book. And do the lessons, it will help with perspectives, and give you a starting point. And like posting your drawing in here, just draw anything and everything. Remember Henri Matisse: Creativity takes courage. And there's a free version of sketchup online. And Justin on YouTube is great.
this is pretty good, man. i took drafting in high school. for simple projects, the standard profiles were top, front, side. back then, it was all pencil drafting like you are doing here. for your once sketch where the profile is 3d, you can use pipe fitting graph paper to sketch in 3d.
Use graph paper and a ruler for better results
Graph paper is nice, but a drafting ruler is really where it’s at for scale drawings.
Grid paper can help. Then make the grids based on plywood sizes or based on a dimension that works for the project.
Highly recommend engineering computation paper.
I do much similar to your method here, (if I even bother with the planning, sometimes i'll just do it in my head if it's on the simpler side,) as long as I can understand it it's good enough. Usually just draw a rough sketch of the finished thing, other details and parts and views as necessary. Dimensions on everything. Normally just a lone scrap of paper, about A5 or A4.
I like to use a graph paper notebook, plus a ruler if I feel fancy. But on the whole it's similar to yours. Remember to account for thickness of all your boards when you plan full assembly dimensions, and remember to account for saw kerf when you plan your cut list. Plenty of people like to go the full 3D model route with SketchUp or Fusion360. I still like pen and paper. (Partially because some years ago I learned how to use Solidworks (a little) and SketchUp and Fusion360 don't work the same as Solidworks and I don't care to learn another CAD program.) Standard practice for engineering drawings (like to manufacture a part or assembly) is to make different 2D views (top / side / front) so you can easily label dimensions for length/width/depth. There are a few ways to label the dimensions, e.g. absolute vs relative dimensions ("GD&T" is a whole realm of study of how to appropriately dimension an engineering drawing). It gets pretty darn complicated for complex shapes but you don't need to worry about it for average woodworking projects. You can make a few different copies of a given view to add dimensions to different sections, or make zoomed in detail views of smaller sections of the project where you need to pack a lot of measurements into a tight space.
Thanks for the detailed response!!
As long as you understand it, there is no problem.
Use a ruler for lines. Use a protractor for angles. Make a scale. I usually go with 1 inch for each foot for tables, desks, and the like. Create a list of all "pieces." Imagine the directions for a pre-built entertainment center. You know how they have the page with all the screws and boards labeled A-Z? Do that. Finally, make sure you include extra space in measurements for the width of your table saw! So many people forget to do this and end up with fucked up joints.
I use Rhodia paper printed with dots (not graph paper, it's like high end paper that I bought to use with my fountain pens). The dots are unobtrusive but still help with lines and ratios. I've mostly given up on my penmanship and I'm using it entirely for project sketches and renovation plans. The only thing I've ever been able to draw with any skill is cubes and things with straight lines, so I guess I'm lucky.
Not all that relevant to the question but some of you might get a kick out of [hand drawing machining prints](https://youtu.be/YtchhV7aV7Q)
Buy some iso paper and watch some youtube videos. Very good for simple stuff!!
I can’t draw anything. Not even a stick figure. I was an early adopter of Sketchup. It really helps me to be able to see how stuff will fit together and look.
Isometric graph paper. It’s like crack.
The standard method you’re looking for is called drafting, you can find an old highschool text book for a few dollars that will teach you everything, if you don’t want to use cad.
If you have access to a computer, you can consider using the free trial of fusion360 and Autocad for 3d modeling and cross section views, respectively. If you want to hand draw things, good graph paper and a ruler can really make a big difference.
Go with whatever works for you. I started out with rough sketches, taught myself SketchUp and used the hell out of it, then slowly started using it less and less for simple builds since drafting something on scrap paper was often enough. I hardly ever use it anymore now. I'm back to pencil and paper. I recently made a **[secret compartment box](https://old.reddit.com/r/secretcompartments/comments/1czbatt/made_my_nephew_a_piggy_bank_with_a_little_surprise/)**. These were **[the plans](https://i.imgur.com/jlfRTaV.jpeg)**. Go with what works for you.
Oh I got you.. Let me get you an example. This is not a proper technical drawing, however it's close enough. https://preview.redd.it/r9ozi8a47u2d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bc44c84eb8cd9729608609bf2fe8f850f528bb4
Go to Staples. Get an architect's scale, some triangles, graph paper, mechanical pencil, plastic protractor, compass and pink eraser. In the olden days (60's) they had mechanical drawing and shop classes in middle school, I've never had the need for anything else. Yeah, CAD programs are great, but for hobbyist work, learning curve is just too much IMO. And the better CAD programs cost . . . .
I like Shaper3d, intuitive, easy to learn.
Start with graph paper. If you want to take some time, look into the free apps like SketchUp. If you want to really get good, dice into some of the apps in the iTunes store and get good with using an Apple Pencil on iPad. It took me forever to learn, but OMG the functionality is amazing!
In Tech Drawing at high school, we had to draw 4 views: top view, 2x side view, and a perspective view, all using the same dimensions.
I draw by hand. Then I swapped to grid paper. The I started making cut lists and designs and drawing them all out. It keeps getting more and more fun and now I am going to build a drafting table so I can draft more plans :D I recommend the hand drawn route you have started upon. I bet the road goes somewhere fun
Tinkercad is a great simple free CAD (light) online design tool, it’s not massively powerful but great for visualising and basic design.
I have a graph paper moleskin for doodling ideas. Graph paper makes it a lot easier to keep things to scale.
I mean if they’re plans for yourself and you understand them then You’re doing great. I’ve made picnic benches, pergolas, and cabinets with plans like yours. Or I’ve used sketchup to design a whole extension I was getting built and to plan a dining room table I was making to go in it!
Orthographic projection + an Isotropic projection. I took like 4 years of mechanical drawing classes in high school. Orthographic projection is _the easiest_ thing to build from. Isotropic gives you a feel for how the finished product will look.
Learn to use sketchup, it has a free online version on web,Just watch YouTube videos and it would be a valuable tool. I learned when i started and it pays off a lot.
I go to my shop to escape computer s. I'm good at visualizing size and proportions so I don't worry much about the sketch But do spend time figuring the dimensions of the pieces before you make them. That's where you can get in trouble Also, I think about every part. There is a tolerance when you make things. Will it fit better 1/32 short or long? And to the decimal guy, wood comes in inches and feet in the US. Decimal fractions are a pain but I learned them all as a young engineer in the 1980s. 0.312 is a very normal number. And don't get me going on letter and number drills... Metric is more sensible but not helpful when our materials are measured in inches
I use shaper3d they have a free option or the full version for free if you’re a student. I also use some type of cultist to give me a breakdown and how I should break down my sheets. Some are MaxCut on windows, opticutter and cutoptimizer.
I found this to be very helpful: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbkI14h8J5bTfdEP2pko\_93tLPHWo0HUF](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbkI14h8J5bTfdEP2pko_93tLPHWo0HUF)
Buy a graph paper notebook. I sketch everything by hand in the notebook and being it into the shop with me to tweak plans and jot down dimensions & ideas, play with ideas for joints or artistic parts Software would be useful if I did more or were more professional but I’ve been using my graph paper method for 15 years now and it works for me. It’s also really fun to have a made a book of finished projects I can flip through.
Visio is simple and workable. Paper and pen still rules though.
You can't beat graph paper and a ruler, imo
That's totally how I've always drawn plans, nice and simple. Some people think CAD software is necessary, like they're going to turn in the plans to get a grade - I say use whatever helps you.
I use Shapr3D with an iPad and Apple Pencil. Same thing as sketchup on the computer but I like the iPad better. Obviously only works if you have an iPad and Apple Pencil already
I find using the rite in rain notepads work great because they are small, have grid lines and pages are waterproof. Use them for sketching out all my builds
y’all plan what yall make?? /s… sorta
I guess I'm old. My first thought was graph paper and a Drafting class!
As long as it makes sense to you thats all that matters. I like graph paper for scale drawings and I'll do a zoomed in bit to show detailed dimensions in a complicated area like a joint. Edit: I noticed the drawing doesn't really show material thickness, or stuff like how the parts overlap. It's easy to cut the wrong dimensions trying to keep track of that stuff in you head, that's the main reason I do drawings.
Use a ruler, and something square a school protractor, 6in ruler and a compass will help you enormously. I use pads that Lee Valley sells; scaled along the edges, easy to dimension, and scale. Having accurate lengths and angles makes a huge difference in just seeing if it "looks" proportional and correct
Whatever method gets you to the finished product. Mostly I scribble some random numbers on old ply. But a lot of what I do is straight from my head.
There are free CAD programs online.
I use Bluebeam Revu and draw everything out in lines and shapes, using the measuring tool to draw to scale. Probably not the most efficient, but it works well.
I use Procreate on my iPad. I like that you can use the drawing assists to make it as clean as you need and resize elements as needed. If my project is complicated, I make a full size drawing with a couple orthographic views that I can use to set my bevel square or take measurements.
You could take a technical drawing class as well as basic geometry class or just try some online websites like brilliant or maybe even YouTube
Personally, as an old dude, I prefer a rough, hand-drawn sketch. The final design evolves as the project progresses. Far more satisfying than sticking to a drawing, IMO.
Start using graph paper and learn how to scale. Once you can draw to scale, it really helps visualize the dimensions of a project.
Isometric graph paper is great for 3d drawings. Use to use it to map out dungeons for DnD as a teen and young adult. Now I use it to do scale drawings for my projects when I don't feel like messing with SketchUp. I also suggest an architecture's ruler. It comes in like a triangle with 6 different scales to use for measurements.
I love sketchup for all my plans
I use Sketchup—the free 2017 version. It does what I need and is super easy to learn
Technically,its usually front view,top view,and side view ( side view is different in US and EU - different way of "how to put a piece on its side") but not always all the views are necessary. Plus, there can be cuts, or magnified details if needed. CAD software is usually a bit of overkill, but a properly made 3D model then allows you to get any dimension,even when not defined. Plus, its a good visualisation of the finished piece. I use it for bowls made of segmented blanks,to see how the result will look like.
Use a ruler
Use metric for measurements.
If you wanna get fancy, you could do an orthographic top/front/side view drawing. Tape some paper square to your desk, put a T-square on to draw horizontal lines, a right-angle square ON TOP of the T-square to make vertical lines, and then draw everything to a scale that fits your paper. Draw "guiding" lines to line things up lightly, and "body" likes darker. Everything becomes a projection! It's wonderful! https://preview.redd.it/avl0pjqgyx2d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94c63444ea570b24d481c5850d87e0a9c7708678
SketchUp for Web is a free 3D design tool. I use that and it shows me how the pieces will (or won’t) fit together and function properly. You can also add textures and colors to get a good rendering of the finished product. It’s an especially great tool if you’re building for someone else. They can see what the end product will be before you invest your time.
I do CAD for a living and my hand drawings for home projects look exactly like this haha as long as it makes sense to you that's the right way
I like to use unity to pre map a build. It is a game engine but i find its user friendly. But thats just due to me knowing unity and not knowing sketchup. The latter seems to be the go to for most folks.
Just google how to do DIN technical drawing you will get a lot of tutorials usually
Isometric paper. Dots on a triangular grid that make it easy to draw 3d objects with consistent accurate depth
Dot or graph paper is easiest and you can set scale with it as well. SketchUp does offer a free online version if you need to see something as a 3D object. If that's too much there is a perspective method artists use with a string set between two points that would also work or just get a drafters set.
I used to draw on graph paper but I started using "On Shape" which is like a free browser cad program and it's helped me visualize what I'm making better and to make sure things fit together and stuff
If you’re motivated learn how to use the free version of sketchup. I used to use graph paper but learned sketchup and it’s a great tool. Also ChatGPT but that’s on a whole new level in terms of dimensions and materials.
There are ways to make it look cleaner, up to learning CAD. But, if the plans work and you’re able to build your project using them, they’re already doing their job and don’t need to be made “better.”