Andy’s ezwoodshop.com

It seems to be increasingly common for new projects to be designed using some computer drawing package, such as the free Google Sketchup.

Some pretty amazing things can be created with it, to a very advanced level, if you have the time, and aptitude to extract the most from the product.  It is reasonably easy to get a start in it too, probably why there has been quite a take-up.

A creation using Sketchup

There are even self-help manuals appearing to try to assist those who feel a need to get straight into Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Sketchup for Dummies

I have only briefly tried a couple of things in Sketchup, mainly because I have a version of AutoCAD – a professional CAD package.  I have done a few projects, where I have jumped straight in, and designed the entire item from start to finish inside the CAD package, but the ones I find that I have been the most creative is when I have initially ignored the computer, and picked up (shock-horror) a pen/pencil and paper. and really started sketching and planning the project in earnest without the extra layer of constraint of having to manipulate a CAD package to achieve my ideas.

Now I have an added advantage that I have had extensive technical drawing training and experience (I even worked in London as a draughtsman for a while, designing shop shelving layouts and shop fronts).  Not everyone has had that same amount of experience in taking an idea and getting it down on paper. This is where Andy’s concept really steps up.

What Andy has done is produce a number of layout assists in a document form that can be printed out, and drawn directly on with faint lines to guide you in producing objects in 3 dimensions.

Magic Drawing Cubes

The Magic Drawing Cubes is a good place to start to see how the concept works.  It is a downloadable PDF, that incorporates 9 different sized cubes ready for printing out and costs a massive $US4.95.  This isn’t a one-use item – you can print out the design as many times as you want, whenever you have a project to start – the PDF you buy is a file you keep.  The concept is simple, and the cost is low so whenever you have an idea, even without any technical drawing experience, pick up a pencil and start sketching in 3D.

Andy has then progressed the concept on – this layout assisting idea, and importantly getting designing back to its pen and paper roots.

There is a plywood planner, which is so you can lay out all the different items you need to cut from a ply/mdf/veneered sheet to maximise the yield.

Plywood Planner

A jumbo floor planner to help plan the layout of a workshop etc. Sure, some of these can be replaced with simple graph paper, but this does give you the ability to print out as many sheets of graph paper as often as you like – digitally stored graph paper if you will (and the Magic Cubes are not available in shops!)

The EZwoodshop hasn’t stopped there, and Andy has been applying the basic concept to more specific projects.

For example, he has a Workbench Planner which covers a whole range of considerations in workbench design. It is an indexed PDF file still, which you can print out and has a number of chapters, including choosing bench size, height, workbench joinery etc.

Workbench Planner

In the package, Andy has included the various tools needed in designing the workbench, including 9 pages of instructions, calculators for working out the length of material in the legs, the stretchers, rail lengths etc.  The final page is a materials shopping list planner so you can itemise exactly what you need to buy.  And what is interesting, is this project planner is still…..$US4.95  I feel it would be good to have some discussion on bench vices etc included – as it is commonly said you start with the hardware, and plan the bench around it, but even so, this pack may be enough to get a home handyman off to a good start.

Workbench Design

There is a bookcase designer with the same level of detail, and includes a sheet of Magic Drawing Cube so you can design a book case specific to your requirements.  He has taken into account the reach height of adults and children, the amount of sag for different shelf materials, and ways of increasing shelf strength.  There is also info on different ways of fixing the shelf in place, including dados, and even a page about how to cut dados using a circular saw, a tablesaw and a router.

Bookcase Planner

There is also a generic project planner, including Drawing Cubes, Ply cutting planner, Graph Paper, Shopping List planning etc – each of the project planning sheets needed for designing a project.

All these planning packs, some free downloads, and downloadable sample PDFs can all be found on Andy’s website

www.ezwoodshop.com

What I like is the amount of thought and detail Andy has included in each project planner – they are simplistic but that isn’t a bad thing – perhaps more for the home handyman who needs a bit of help getting into a project than for a serious/experienced woodworker, and the cost is…..$US4.95 each!  Have a look – they won’t be for everyone, but if you are not interested in computer project design, and want to design your own projects but still need some help on the draughting side/project design side, then Andy’s planners may just be what you need.