A peek at my design sketchbook

I am often curious about how folks come up with their ideas, how they do the preliminary thinking and design that determine so much about how a project is planned and built. Here, I give a little glimpse at the many sketches and doodles I created while pondering a variety of woodworking projects and design concepts.

I've used Sketchup a little bit, and fiddle-fart around with it. In an earlier life, I used AutoCAD a good bit--waaay back in the prehistoric era of computing. However, I was classically trained in drafting: drawing board, mechanical pencils, french curves, gradient rulers, block gum erasers, compasses, t-squares, erasing stencils, and so on. (In fact, I still have all those drafting items from college on a shelf here in my office.)

There is something very satisfying about the feel and sound of pencil on paper. Plus I can do it anywhere and never need to worry about battery life. It's also a good deal faster for initial conceptual work to just use a pencil.