I wonder if you use:
1. Paper and pencil
2. A computer program like SketchUp
3. Some other computer program?
4. Do you simply wing it?
5. How do you arrive at the project’s proportions?

I’m not an expert so take anything I write with a grain. When I’m looking, meaning planning, I tend to get pictures, go anywhere I can see a piece that matches my needs. Then I use Paper & Pencil and keep drawing until I get what I think I want. The general dimensions come from the pieces I’ve observed. I’m starting to use SketchUp, but don’t really have any experience with it yet. I’m hoping to start using it more as it would be most helpful with my woodturning.

You are talking to a real beginner here.

Keep that in mind!

I get a “vision” of what I would like to create, and I spend waaaaay too much time on it, developing it in my mind.

Then, rudimentory scetches, just to record the measurements, to remind me when I have to cut it.

Then I just wing it, with the usual highs and lows that inevitably follows… LOL!

This is my hobby.

I do not have to create masterpieces or heirlooms to enjoy it.

Do I want to..?

Does a bear really poop in the woods..?

@Bill,

It is always good to use dimensions and proportions from pieces that appeal to one’s senses. It means the particular piece has good proportions. In case you have missed it, Bob Lang, Senior Editor at Popular Woodworking, recently started the online SketchUp Shop Class Now In Session. Drew DePenning, also with Popular Woodworking Magazine, did a review at http://blogs.popularwoodworking.com/editorsblog/SketchUp+For+Woodworkers+Review+And+FAQ.aspx .

I wish I could give provide really good expertise on SketchUp – but I also just barely scratching the surface with it.

On the Design aspects: Are you familiar with George Walker’s Design Matters blog? It is terrific! He now writes a design column for PWM, too. You will his blog at http://georgewalkerdesign.wordpress.com/. I have never come across material on design like George writes – he does it in easy-to-understand language, is very engaging, and makes me want to learn and read more and more!

@hoody,

The vision is possibly one of the most important considerations early on; there is no need to rush the conversion from vision to final piece, regardless what others might feel or think. It is *your* project, after all. Now, if it is a spouse, that is a different story…

No matter how simple the sketches, whatever medium we use, the simple act of recording it clarifies the *what* part. That is, *what* are we trying to make; *what else do we need to make it a sensible piece, to somehow reassure us that it is something that we can tackle, and that we can complete successfully. From there, dimensions – did you also imply a cut list of some sort? Of course you did!

An interesting note here: Even when I prepare my cut lists, they are nothing but raw numbers. They are so raw, in fact, that I won’t cut anything to final dimension until I *know* I am ready for that particular piece in the project. This has helped me tremendously in keeping wasted parts to a minimum. The use of a story stick has become a routine in the shop; it minimizes measuring and re-measuring, and wasting boards.

I have a feeling that you “wing it”, meaning that you adjust your process to meet the in-shop requirements for a particular piece. That IS pretty wise, hoody! In many ways, I wing it, too, but the story sticks are always close by.

Enjoying the hobby is possibly THE single most important thing. The same applies to the pros – what could be worse than doing something we hate? Yet we hear people mutter they hate their job. I love my work, working with wood every day.

Now, about that bear in the woods…