David Winegardner.
David Winegardner is a one-man operation providing plans for DIY furniture makers. Plans are available in 2D, 3D and 3D PDFs as well as SketchUp models. All of these tools allow you to see exactly what you are getting (and making), even before the build begins.
Winegardner runs Foremost Design in Salem, Oregon. He describes himself as a designer, cabinetmaker, installer, troubleshooter—and troublemaker. He spent over 30 years as a cartographer and geographic information systems analyst. He finally jumped at an opportunity to do something that for decades, since college, he has loved to do—design and build furniture. A self-taught CAD user and self-described “synchronous junky,” he uses Solid Edge, starting with ST6 and is currently learning ST8
Each project for Winegardner typically takes between four and six weeks, depending on the complexity of the design and his current workload. As a one-person shop, Dave wears a lot of hats, so interruptions are frequent. Dave will stop and start projects frequently, and it is rare that he is working on any one design at one time.
Winegardner’s process often begins with creating something in SketchUp and then moving it into Solid Edge. He adds the necessary dimensions and does an assembly model to check the fit. He builds the project in his shop, making sure the design works as intended. Since he works alone, he finds the implicit quality assurance check in the design/build process helpful; with Solid Edge he sees what fits (and what does not). All of the final drawings, SketchUp models and 3D PDFs come out of Solid Edge.
When building the project, Winegardner might notice that what looked good in CAD might not look correct with the chosen wood. When that happens, he goes back in to Solid Edge and quickly fixes what did not work either structurally or aesthetically. Changes can be accommodated until the design has been approved. Quick iterations between the CAD model and reality ensure the project “just works.” Proportions have to look correct in addition to the basic fit of assembly. An engineering buddy provides an additional layer of quality assurance support.
The actual build process also demonstrates what may be a complicated fit—something that looks right in CAD but cannot be built. Fixing this could mean changing the design shape or build process, and the assembly is tried again. The CAD model is kept up to date and always reflects the current state, and any dimensional information is automatically updated to match reality.
One of Winegardner’s current projects is a secretarial organizer. The multiple components have to fit, and the tight tolerances make a one-pass design unlikely. There is a constant interplay between CAD and the pieces of wood in the shop as the organizer is created. Both CAD model and the physical pieces are adjusted to ensure an attractive and fully functional design.
“It’s more complicated than a birdhouse,” Winegardner says. “I leave the joinery up to the user.” Since his customer base is made up of small cabinet shops and aspiring cabinet makers, he fully expects his users to be able to set up and create a dovetail, mortise and tenon, as well as a simple rabbet. The build requires that the user select appropriate primary and secondary woods as well as plywood. No specific accommodation is made to address the differing properties of the woods. For example, if the customer wants to use oak, they can get an accurate weight estimation by assigning a property to the components.
As both a sales and assembly tool, the 3D PDF is a huge help. With a free download from Adobe, users can see what is a hidden line or an outside surface or how a joint should be assembled. Selectively turning the parts off and on, users can see the exact shape and fit in full 3D, as opposed to trying to figure out a complicated fit from 2D sketches.
The one-page assembly and parts breakdown diagram is almost a tutorial demonstration of the output capabilities of Solid Edge and includes:
- Finished project image details
- Exploded views
- Tagged parts (tied to bill of materials)
- Bill of materials (part name, quantity, wood type [primary and secondary], sheet and length, weight and thickness)
- Each part of the desk has a drawing, listed on the cross-referenced sheet pages.
Winegardner shows how even a one-man shop can make use of high-level design tools, as his Foremost Design sends a very professional-looking packet to woodworkers to allow them to craft semicustom wood projects.
See Also
Solid Edge - by Siemens PLM
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