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On Feb 28, 10:24 am, Larry wrote:

I've posted this before but the best tutorial I've found is
athttp://www.srww.com/blog. You'll need to hunt for it a bit but
it's called "Drawing a bedside table". It's an 8 part tutorial
that you can download in Word format or follow it online. It
covers a lot of the problems discussed here including making
components, using layers, dimensioning, etc.

As I said elsewhere, the model exists to allow me to make the piece.
Putting more effort into the model than what is needed to do that is a
waste of time. Why do I need a model of the drawer? All I need to
make a drawer is length, width, height, thickness of parts. That's
it. What is the point of modeling it beyond that? What do I need the
tenons and mortises modeled for in the first place, and what benefit
does showing them at each leg accomplish? Why do I need to model the
dovetail recess in the front legs if I am going to be cutting the
dovetails on the rail and using that to mark the location of the
recess? This isn't mass production where one needs drawings such that
I could give the drawing of an individual part to someone who has no
other knowledge of the rest of the piece and have them produce the
correct part.

-Kevin


As you get into more complex projects it does help to draw a complete model
of drawers or doors, or what have you, to see how they will fit together
inside a cabinet or case. In my case the model of the drawer helps me to
make certain that the rabbits on the front and backs of the jewelry chest
drawers do not interfere with the dado's in the sides of the drawer sides
that I cut for the drawer slide. Then the overall size of the drawer helps
me to see how far back it will fit in relationship to the back of the
cabinet or chest. More planning on the drawing keeps me from having to plan
during the actual construction phase. All of the parts and their sizes have
been predetermined and I know how they are going to fit before cutting any
wood. This is especially helpful when I made a 12 drawer jewelry chest with
4 or 5 different sized drawers.