I think drawing is the first level prototyping... if you can build virtual
prototypes with CAD tools... that's just the next level.

I have done a couple of full sclale prototypes, but I would generally skip
the pocket joinery. For me prototypeing is not intended to aid the
construction process. It is a design tool to hone form and in some cases
function.

Steve


"Tom Watson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 09:43:13 -0700, charlie b
wrote:

There are those who find and build from someone else's set of plans
There are those who make their own, down to the last detail, set of
plans and build from them - exactly. There are some with The Gift (and
the discipline, experience, knowledge and skills) who can visualize and
construct the finished piece in their head while looking at candidate
boards/timber. And there are those who just wing it, starting with the
basics of an idea and evolving things as they go.

A pro will often develop a set a "product lines" of a dining table and
chairs sets, a bedroom suite, etc., in a style he likes and knows will
sell. He/she will basically build the same pieces over and over again,
varying the woods and maybe the finish, slowly refining his/her "style"
- and method of constructing.

But amateur/hobbiest woodworkers seldom, if ever, make the same design
twice. And I'm betting that few amateurs/hobbiest complete a project
without saying "I wish I had . . .". Am also betting that few amateurs/
hobbiests make a mock up or a full prototype before making The Real
Thing.

That's a pity since seeing an idea at full scale and being able to
tweek/tweak it, with little if any risk, can take a good initial idea up
a notch.

Now there are prototypes and then there are prototypes. You can do a
full scale basic mock up out of MDF and use a hot glue gun and pocket
screws to hold things together. With reversible "joinery" you can
experiment with parts placement and widths, edge treatments, shadow
lines and proportions. However, the shortcoming of an MDF prototype is
the joinery. It's often the joinery that present the "challenges".
THAT requires wood. Fortunately, construction grade 2x4s, 2x6s etc.
are, relative to hardwoods, fairly inexpensive.

Imagine doing a mock up in MDF, then a prototype in fir or pine and THEN
make the actual piece. Think of it - make your errors before you get to
the expensive stuff, figure out how to either avoid them next time or
fix them, THEN make the real thing. And you may be able to use the
prototype as shop furniture.

How would your last project turn out if you'd made a prototype FIRST?

Just something to think about.

charlie b


Interesting post, charlie b.

I spent most of my professional cabinetmaking life designing and
building pieces that were particular to the customer.

Elements would repeat, but the whole was always a "one off" or,
"prototype".

I spent a lot of time drawing.

Drawing is, to me, a fundamental skill for a woodworker.

Let me say that I suck at sketching freehand and always drew at the
board, until the advent of reasonably priced drawing programs.

I would then use a simple 3D program like 3D Home Architect to do
basic space planning, taking the time to draw the room, with its major
elements; ie: walls, doors, windows, fireplaces, existing furniture,
etc.

I would then draw in a somewhat crude representation of the cabinets,
to the degree allowed by the program. Although not refined, it would
show the doors and drawers, and how the intended piece would relate to
the space.

I would then print out different views, setting the 'camera angle'
from various positions in the room, so that I could come to a general
agreement with the customer about mass, proportion, position, and the
gross elements of the piece.

Then I would go to the CAD program (mostly TurboCad) and make
traditional views of plans, elevations, sections, and details.

At the end of this regimen, I usually had a firm grasp on the project
- but often the customer did not.

At this point I would take sample doors, drawers, molding, hardware,
and finishes to the customer's house for some show and tell.

The whole game was to avoid having the customer say, at the end of the
job - "I didn't know it was going to look like that." (Note:
sometimes this can be said in a positive way - I am referring to those
instances where they see a finished product that they are not happy
with.)

Even though I'm out of the game, professionally; I still draw and draw
and draw until I understand the project that I am working on for
myself.

I'm fortunate in having access to AutoDesk Inventor these days, which
allows me to quickly generate a 3D representation of any object but,
it has only speeded up the process.

A CAD program like TurboCad, used at the level most wooddorkers are
going to use it; by which I mean basically rectilinear shapes (boxes
and rectangular elements) is not very difficult to learn.

The problem is that the tutorials and books are geared to a general
understanding of the program - while we only require the ability to
draw rectangles and the occasional curve.

I won't say that prototyping and modeling are wrong paths - they
simply were not what I learned to do when fleshing out an idea.

There are people out there who will never truly understand a two
dimensional representation of an object (a drawing) - I have most
often called these people "customers".



Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/ (website)