You can talk yourself blue in the face, but the average bear will never quite comprehend just how much the ability to use that one free program can elevate almost everything you do as craftsman to a new level.
And as a contractor ...
I have been on the phone all week talking to tradesman and rounding up bids on a two bath remodel 400 miles away.
Thanks to Sketchup, and my modicum of proficiency with the program, the ability to bring those two bathrooms with me wherever I go, desktop, laptop, tablet, or cellphone, and to transmit clear, precise drawings, in great detail, for bids/discussion, on demand and at the touch of a button/screen, will have played a big part in doing the project, from demo to paint, less expensively, more professionally, and in a timely manner ... all from a great distance.
If you're listening in and haven't already done so, do yourself a favor and learn it ... it will do as much for you as the most expensive tool in your shop, and at no cost but the time to learn it.
Yes! But no registration marks, you really don't need them. You can just as easily use actual lines in the printed drawings as registration start/stop points.
There is a series of steps to printing accurate to scale drawings with the free version of Sketchup. Not something that I would have discovered with out have seen a tutorial video. I would be happy to explain the process. Once done a couple of times the steps make sense and are easy to remember.
That's sort of what I would (do) do. The first thing I would do is decide whether I want the doors to be conventional (as Leon did) or if I wanted the door stiles to butt into the rails (which would give one continuous curve, uninterrupted by the stiles. In the latter case, the tops of the stiles also have to conform to the curve; harder but not insurmountable.
The second thing to do is determine the length of the board. If conventional, one needs a board equal in length to the inside width of the cabinet less the combined width of the stiles. Plus a fudge factor. If non-conventional, the board needs to be the length of the inside width of the cabinet. Plus a fudge factor.
The third thing is to make a template; plywood, hardboard, MDF are all possibilities. I like 3/8" ply. To strike a fair curve on it, I generally use a batten (thin piece of wood, maybe 1/8" x 3/4" x longer than the curve will be) or a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe. Mark the batten/pipe at the center and at each end where the curve ends will be, drive a couple of nails into the template material where the ends of the curve will be, align the batten/pipe at the ends and bend it from the center upwards against the nails; when you have the curve you want, drive another nail into the template material to hold it in place and draw the curve. If you are using pipe, be sure to keep the pencil vertical. Cut out the template with band or saber saw, clean up with plane and/or sanding.
When laying out/cutting the template, be sure to keep at least one square edge so that it can be properly layed out on the finish board. If you layed out the curve of the template relative to the edge that will remain straight you can always use that to reference the template to the finish board; still nice to have square edges though and they are absolutely necessary if the finish board is to be curved at top and bottom and if one screws up and cuts the curves before cutting the finish board into its various lengths. BTDT.
To cut the curve into the finish board, draw the curve from the template onto it, cut out with band/saber saw leaving the line, tape template to finish board and cut to template with router and pattern bit.
You asked about making the template half length and flopping it. I've done it both ways but prefer making a full length one. IME, flopping it can induce errors - especially at the center - if the alignment is off a bit. If it should wind up a bit less than symmetrical side to side, that isn't a catastrophe; unless it is gross, it won't affect joining and will never be noticed.
One other thing for your consideration is this: if the board that is going to wind up as the top rails of the doors is wide enough, one could cut a piece off the top of it to use as the top rail of the face frame. Also depends on the look one wants and the grain pattern of the other pieces of the face frame.
Although am (vicariously) familiar with the concept, I can assure you that it was accidental in this instance. Plus they won't actually be seen the way I have shown the units in the photo; These two units will be on either end of the completed project, separated by two wider shelf units and a television.
Thanks for the encouragement. As I have mentioned before, I fully intend to make better mistakes as I go along.
Unintentional or not, you are aware of it now. About 10 months ago I built 3 piece wall unit/book case that covers a 10' wall. My customer was going to fill it completely with books and the look of the back panels would not show. But I was able to make the backs look uniform and she was all the more impressed. Little things like this add up.
FWIW and IMHO and other stuff like that, I have learned that the blades on my Laguna switch out quickly including resetting the guides going from a 1/2" to 1-1/4" blade.
Basically I have found that with this saw that a 1/2" blade will do a pretty good job of resawing too. With my resaw blade however, the Laguna Resaw King there is less waste. With that blade resawing 4/4 S4S oak I was able to get 2 pieces that could be sanded down to 1/4" and the waste was approximately 1/16" thick, veneer stock. ;~)
So I guess with money being no object a couple of these saws would be nice. LOL
I think by definition the weight of the curve would come into play however perhaps that would reverse the curve, lower in the center and higher on the sides. I tried several variations including parts of an ellipse and this seemed to look the best in this situation. Actually looking at an angle the curve appears more elliptical.
i meant an upside down catenary. that would put the ends just a bit higher than circle ends, with a changing (and lessening) slope in between the middle and the ends.
What sort of plane does one use to "clean up" the concave side of a piece of stock? In case it's not clear, I don't mean this in a snarky way; I'm not knowledgeable enough for that yet. :)
I mean, I'm guessing such special-purpose planes exist, but is there something I'm missing here? Could such a thing be reasonably done with a standard block plane?
How well a block plane would work depends upon how much curve there is in the wood and how the plane is held relative to the work; the closer it is held at 90 degres to the work the less contact of the sole and the more it will clean up.
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