Bonsai Bench
I’ve often used SolidWorks to plan how I will build things out of wood. What is great about this is that I can design the item first and determine what proportion looks best before making a cut.
I also use SolidWorks to optimize how I use my material. SolidWorks allows me to visually represent the cuts I am going to make, which helps me find the most efficient way to cut the wood.
I modeled the 6ft pine planks I planned on making the bench out of in SolidWorks so I could plan out my cuts and get the most out of the wood. I also modeled the bench to determine what dimensions would look right.
From the models, I created the two drawings. The first was my shopping list and cut guide and the second was my assembly guide. Most of the dimensions are absent from the assembly guide since they are driven by the cuts of the wood.
I ended up needing to add the support bars at the bottom of the bench in the picture above since it was not rigid enough without them. In the end, the finished product looked great and I’m really happy with how this project turned out.