I’ve sketched out a bookcase I want to build and would like to get it into a piece of software to make sure I’ve got all the dimensions right before I start cutting anything.
Could someone recommend what software I need and help me with a complete beginners induction to 3D design? Happy to pay £5 to anyone patient enough to talk me through it slowly!
Can you upload a sketch of what the design looks like? I can show you how to make it with SketchUp which is a free program. If you want to get a bit more advance though I can show you the basics of 3DS Max, SolidWorks, Rhinoceros.
Sketchup will probably do what you want. 3D modeling software has a pretty steep learning curve, and Sketchup had the benefits of being free, relatively easy to get into and lots of online tutorials. I seem to remember an official Sketchup tutorial specifically based on modeling furniture which might be useful
Great thank you. These are my scribbles so far. The top shelf is shallower than the others and the back of it will be a narrow trough, open at the top, to put tall picture books in.
I’m thinking I will make it in 18mm MDF or pine with a thinner back and haven’t yet allowed for the thickness of the wood in the measurements.
I found this woodworking software which looks great but expensive. Has anyone used it? http://sketchlist.com
Yeah I was going to say that based on the measurements (inc material thickness) the bookcase is going to be quite a bit taller than in the sketch.
I like the top shelf being shallower and using the back space for tall books.
I haven’t used Sketchlist before, i’d get the free trial first and see if it’s worth buying later. Are you going to be doing a lot of furniture design or just 3D design in general?
I think its only going to be furniture I’ll be making.
I marked the heights out on a spare peice of wood, including shelf thicknesses, and based on that decided against a 4th shelf which I originally wanted otherwise it would come out enormous. It’s going to go at the end of a cabin bed in my son’s room so should end up around the same height as the bed.
I’d get as much cut at B&Q as you can. Their panel saws are super accurate.
You should just about be able to cut 300mm wide boards to length with the Space’s mitre saw. Put the back on oversize and sand or plane it down, unless you want to rout out a groove and fit it that way.
A biscuit jointer would be super useful for furniture like this.
I new nothing of SketchUp about 6 months ago, and whilst it seems un-necessary trying at times I found it the least trying (esp once I had figured out the sections)
It also has the added benefit of being free!
I have a love/hate relationship with SketchUp, but I think it’s pretty good fit this sort of thing.
You need a good methodology from the start: working in layers and saving components and groups as you go.
Lots of good tutorials online.
Startb by following a few, then have a go at making your object. Then you’ll be well prepared for someone to do a one-to-one with you.
I got myself a pocket hole jig and am planning to join all the sections with pocket holes & screws. I’m happy to loan it to the space when I’m not using it at home.
It would be nice to rout a channel for the back though to make a neat finish. I’ve only ever used a router once ages ago so might need help / advice on it once I reach that stage.
What material would you use for the shelves and uprights? I’d ideally like to use solid wood if it will work & not be too expensive but haven’t looked at prices or sizes yet and wonder if pine might be harder to work with than mdf.
MDF isn’t very good structurally and your shelves might end up bowing unless you design for that.
You can get pine ‘boards’ made up of strips glued together which is at lest real wood.
Birch ply is nice. But I don’t know off hand of a supplier who will cut to size for you - the diy sheds don’t tend to stock it.
Birch ply would look best for the least hassle. Depending on how you attach the back you might be able to go a bit thinner and save some money. I’d consider routing grooves for the shelves so they don’t rest on the screws alone.
You could have a look here http://www.mosstimber.co.uk/
They do birch ply under the sheet materials section. I haven’t dealt with them yet so I don’t know about prices, but its usually expensive. They also have a choice of softwoods which will probably be better than the B&Q stuff but will need to be planed at extra cost. Unless the space buys a wide enough thicknesser and you do it yourself (which is much cheaper than buying ply).
MDF you’ll probably want to paint and I don’t know how well it will hold together with just pocket screws supporting the shelves.
MDF bookshelves aren’t much good longer than 30cm or they start to bend. Ply is a much better choice.
Thanks for all the tips everyone. I want to paint it white so it doesn’t need to be ply with a fancy finish. But at the same time I’m a bit worried about off gassing from the glue from ply since my son will be sleeping right next to it.
MDF is a worse cuplret for formaldehyde.
If you want a good and durable finish you need to go with a 3 stage painting: primer (to seal the pores of the wood), undercoat (to make it white), and top coat (to make it more white and to protect it from uv and moist)
In this way will last year’s whitout problems!
Keep in count the cost of the paint! For what I know is hugely expensive!
I agree, I’d be much more concerned about the off gassing of MDF than Ply.
Obviously I am not at all trying to suggest how you care for your son, but it looks like this issue is both bigger and unavoidable, so you might not be able to avoid it:
It’s an interesting point raised though!
Paint and varnish will emit VOCs too… If its a concern you could always use real wood and some food-safe oil as finish !
