It's not imo. It keeps you from making measuring mistakes and also you can figure out the way to get the most yield out of something like plywood. Also gives you an idea of what the finished product will look like
I used it on something as simple as a blanket ladder. Made the diagonal cuts for the floor/wall super simple.
Yeah idk why you wouldn't. You have a cut list and everything. I'm not sure how doing that in your head the old fashion way is easier or even more accurate
Unless you made the most complex blanket ladder in the history of blanket ladders I fail to see how that is necessary.
Idk how you build anything remotely complex without using it. Shit I still fuck up even with all the guess work and math done for you
Software sounds like a great teaching aid, and possibly more for complex projects. I do this for a living, and occasionally still stumble over complex details. For me, the time investment likely wouldn't justify the returns. For others, it might do so 10 fold.
Seems like the biggest advantage for using the software is designing something you plan on building regularly so you have a standard list of materials and measurements.
But then you wouldn’t need the program in the first place. Build it, write down what you used in your notes. Good to go.
Also helps to know what it would look like and make adjustments. Every single youtube woodworker I follow uses modeling. P bizarre reaction itt to it but to each his own I guess
an uncle of mine bought unused lumber/plywood on jobsites for about a dozen years after building his shop.. a split level with lumber storage being about half of the bottom of a large shop. I asked him if he's been selling any and he said not until 3/4 hits 100 some people invest in bitcoin or stocks and some people invest in lumber whos to say
Good for spouse approval too. Biggest complaint with SketchUp is getting it to recognize that the axis you intended but that’s probably user error. also attempted to model router coves, Roman ogles, etc and that was really frustrating. Basically don’t bother with curves
Lol yeah very limited with curves. Trying to to put an angle on two different planes on the same piece I can't get to work right without deleting faces or some dumb corner left over.
I see those videos where people turn whole logs that are uneven or big ass cubes and I imagine that their palms feel like they’ve been repeatedly hit with a rod.
My dad had a lathe in our garage growing up. It was the last piece of machinery he let us use as we grew older. And only then he had to be right next to us. All I ever did was spin a few baseball bats.
I used solidworks to model my deck so I knew exactly how many and what length to special order Trex decking. It has wrap around steps with 45ed corners so counting lengths was complicated.
Anyone ever built their own cabinets or a workbench? I have a couple cabinets in the garage the previous owner installed and they are falling apart due to being partial board. Considering replacing them but might decide to build my own to fit the space.