Do it Yourself: Fw: [DIY] Wood Cut Sheet

01 January 2013

Fw: [DIY] Wood Cut Sheet

Howdy Dale and Everyone,

Dale just cought a part of your post about Alibre and was it still avalable. Yes it most certinly is and easy to get. Infact for the first 90 days it's on a free trial bases. I have reallyed liked it as it's much easer to use than AutoCad for small quick drawings. I've done and used full AutoCAD, when it first came out.(by cutting off a leg for the cost, and then a loan from a loan shark)

However though I use AutoCAD on some of my dwarings for professional projects, I will stay with Alibre for ALL my small personal drawings and for fast print-out drawings for friends.

AGAPE,

jdb, txredneck

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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Dale S <dalu@hbcomm.net>
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Wood Cut Sheet

Let me explain a bit further about Alibre. This is a full blown mechanical CAD system which I purchased for some of my other projects and using it for building cabinets and furniture is like taking a 747 to the grocery store, it is so easy since I already use if for many other things and it gets dimensions down to 4 place accuracy. In fact I have quit using pencils in the shop, I use snap blade knives instead and have found that no matter how sharp the width of that that pencil line is a loose fit in the making. Nothing quite as satisfying as splitting a line created with a knife blade.

Dale in the Flatlands.

Dale S wrote:

I use a CAD package called ALIBRE which was at one time available for a one time offer of $99.00 and since it normally cost about 400 I jumped. I don't know if it is still available for that price but if so I'd get it. I simply make 3D drawings of all the individual parts, then assemble them and when I'm satisfied with the final unit, lay out the individual parts on a diagram of my stock and get my best fit.

Now that I have impressed you with how I should do it, I'll tell the truth. I usually get my panels pre-cut in 2 foot by 4 foot panels for ease of handling and then what would otherwise be waste becomes shop drawers, tool chests and all the other smaller niceties I decide to make later on. Since most of my work is cabinets and the likes, 2x4 foot panels work out just right. The lumber yard has a good panel saw and so their cuts are easier to make than would be mine. I'm getting too old to wrestle 4x8 panels on a table saw or through the radial arm, and I'm too cheap to buy a panel saw of my own when I can use theirs for free. I do however make drawings first of all of my projects since it is so easy to get all of the dimensions and angles just right.

Dale in the Flatlands.
John S Moss wrote:

I'm looking for a better way to layout a cut sheet for a woodworking project. I have my materials list, but need to figure out what sizes wood I need to minimize waste. Drawing the layout by hand can get tedious and prone to arithmetic mistakes.

What do others use? I found a bunch of software online, but would like recommendations.

Thanks,

John

Death, like photography, is simply a series of chemical reactions.

--Franchesca Woodman