152 – Wall Hanging Tool Chest (1 of 3)
Every shop needs a tool chest. So I set out to build a beautiful wall-hanging unit made completely from plywood. Plywood is inexpensive, durable, easy to find, and perfect for shop furniture.
The first video in the series focuses entirely on the design. Now I’m no George Walker and I would guess that you aren’t either. So how do we “average Joe designers” go about developing a project concept from start to finish? I’ll show ya!
My general workflow looks something like this:
Identify the requirements –> Establish what we know –> Determine what we don’t know –> Use SketchUp (roughly) to help define dimensions –> Assess visual appeal and apply relevant design rules if possible
Notice I said I only use SketchUp “roughly”. While SketchUp is an incredibly powerful tool and I envy those that are proficient in it, you certainly don’t have to be an expert to use it. Who says you need to sketch the entire project from top to bottom, inside and out? If you can draw rectangles and lines, you already know enough to help answer some fundamental design questions on any project you build. And if you have the time and desire to get deeper into the program, go for it! Your work will only benefit from the additional detail. But if you aren’t inclined to click ‘n drag design, you can still use this incredibly helpful program at the most basic level and still get something useful out of it.
Thankfully, Guild member Robert (TurkVA) is one of those fancy proficient SketchUp users, and he was able to create a SketchUp plan which is available for you to download now.
Remember, this is not a “how-to”; its a “how-I-do”. And you’ll see that I actually have to change my original design after I see how things are going to look in Sketchup. So its a fairly unfiltered look into my process. Oh, and Nicole is back to show us her sweet acting skillz! I should also mention that this video is being pulled from the Wood Whisperer Guild archive for your viewing pleasure. For more information about the Guild, check out TheWoodWhispererGuild.com
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