I’m fairly new to woodworking and enjoying making and designing cabinetry. Is there a software program that will help me with this?

Currently I’m drawing my designs to scale on drafting paper, then figuring out a cutting list. I’ve looked into SketchUp, but it seems to have a steep learning curve. Any suggestions for any Mac (Apple) programs?

Free kitchen design software free download - Adobe Illustrator CS6, SketchUp, Logo Design Studio Pro, and many more programs.

Also, is there a list on a website of the dimensions for all the parts (cuts) for standard-size cabinets? – Dennis Sullivan Rob Johnstone: While I am not an expert on design software, I think is likely your best bet. I think there are some dedicated kitchen design software programs, but I’ve heard that they are pretty limiting (and, in truth, I have not used them). On the flip side, your learning curve for SketchUp could be offset by the rich amount of instructional material available.

Also, there are free online libraries where you can grab other people’s drawings of hinges, doors, drawer slide hardware and so forth, and use them in your own designs. They are real timesavers.

I found a couple of websites that have some reasonable dimensions for kitchen cabinetry, but I would personally recommend getting a book by Danny Proulx: There you can find dimensions and advice. It is not a new book, but as a primer for designing kitchen cabinetry, it is very good. Tim Inman: I’m an old guy and I love to use drafting tools and paper. I “think” better that way. I’m also a tech guy and I use computers a lot.

So, I’m not anti-software. My personal experience, though, is this: unless you are going to do a lot of drafting via software, you’ll spend hours trying to figure out how to manipulate the programs and neglect the design essentials. For now, as you learn woodworking and seek to enhance your skills in that world, I would forego the additional learning curve of software mastery. Others will surely disagree. But pencils and paper and rulers and compasses are still viable tools in my world.

There is so much to learn and know about good design. I heartily encourage you to spend your time studying the classic pieces and maybe even trying to reproduce them from available working drawings before you branch out into computer software. Software engineers are seldom furniture designers. They seem to me to be so “geeky” about how their software works they overlook the ultimate task it is seeking to accomplish — namely, the easy and efficient communication of good plans for good works.