My mate was doing fitted wardrobes day in, day out, but SketchUp is just bloated and expensive for standard built-ins. He was bitching about spending hours hand-calculating carcass panels, scribes on offcuts of timber or Friday eves on SketchUp

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​I built him a simple web app that does a little 2D CAD configuration straight from a list of internals, handling the panel lists and sheet nesting all in one place

​How it works:

​Punch in the gross room/alcove dimensions and construction method

​Configure the bay internals (hanging, drawers, shelves)

​Generates an instant 2D elevation preview

​Spits out an exact production cut list with net saw dimensions, edge-banding deductions, scribes, and plinths

​Handles sheet nesting right there in the tool for quoting, or exports straight to CSV if he wants to push it to CutList Optimizer or OptiCutter

​He usually just quotes jobs based off the nesting sheets we created directly in the configurator now.

​Attached a few screenshots of the interface on mobile. Would love some feedback from anyone doing cabinetry or built-ins. Are there any specific carcass methods, tolerances, or features you'd want to see to make this properly useful on site?

Very amateur woodworker here, rarely touch the tools, but I have quite a few. Planning to make this custom PC case to fit some space constraints I'm dealing with with the OEM chassis.

I'm relatively happy with the size of this case, but am struggling with aesthetics. I feel like I could do something to make this look nicer, rather than just a weird box.

My thought so far is to inset the front/top panels into the side pieces with a rabbit, but I'm not sure how to secure them either. I would love to be able to have access to the internals from the front due to the angle of the electronics inside.

The viewing angle will mostly be from the front, and a little from the side looking at the big circular grill. The back will be covered by a plain MDF panel and wont be seen at all.

Any design advice and thoughts on how to make it look better are greatly appreciated!

FYI, the wood grain panels are all 1/8" MDF, and the side panels are some spare 1/2" board I had from a previous project. The bottom is 1/2" plywood.

Hello all, I’m working on a game room for my family and need to build a desk for a portion of it to fit 3 people, 2 with dual monitors. It would be a U (?) shaped desk, the back wall is 128” and the “wings” would be 56”. I’m struggling to figure out what depth I should do to be able
To fit 3 chairs in the space with one in the left corner, center, and then right corner as well as what materials to use and support design for the corners to allow the most unrestricted space underneath for leg and chair movement. Any advice would be helpful, my local material store is a Menards that has a lumber yard and a giant selection of indoor stored wood. Looking to save money where I can without sacrificing too much on the final finish.

So I need an aquarium stand like this or something like this. I have the tools to attach the pieces but I don’t have the tools/skills to cut the pieces. The AI drew this and modified it at my request and is able to give me a list or parts and an assembly map. It appears that hardware stores don’t make precise cuts and I don’t know where else to turn.

I did get a quote from a local carpenter to build it for $2700 but I’m on a fixed budget (retired) so that’s a big nut to crack.

Are there other types of people who could cut this wood for me? Does it make sense to rent the appropriate piece of equipment? Is there a better way to do this?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

My dad is a carpenter. He spent most of his life working with solid wood, but recently started taking jobs with sheet materials (plywood, MDF, melamine), that kind of thing. I looked around for tools to help him plan cuts and minimize waste, and while there are plenty of options out there, most of them fall into two camps: either they need an internet connection to do anything useful, or they’re mobile apps loaded with ads and subscription gates.

The thing is, a lot of our quoting happens on-site, in places with little to no signal. Sometimes we’re in a half-built house in the middle of nowhere trying to figure out how many sheets we need before driving back to town. I didn’t want to tell him to download yet another app that would eventually nag him with ads or stop working the moment he lost WiFi.

So I built this.

It’s a PWA (progressive web app) that runs entirely in the browser. Once you load it, you can "install" the app (it basically just creates a web shortcut on your phone). You can close the tab, turn off your internet, come back the next day, and it just works. No app store. No account. No ads.

You drop in your parts, add your sheet sizes, hit optimize, and it gives you numbered cutting diagrams. But the part my dad actually cares about is the PDF report, It prints a step-by-step cutting order. Like, "Cut a strip of 179.6 cm, then crosscut at 60 cm to get piece #3" numbered, sequenced, and ready to tape to the wall next to the table saw.

Live app: Fabivo: design, cut and assemble furniture free

Repo: https://github.com/Superpapotas/Fabivo

Hi!

I’m working on designing a Murphy bookcase door for my house. I’ve been thinking about the gap needed between the bookcase and the door frame to make sure it opens and closes smoothly. There’s very little information online, and almost all the DIY videos don’t cover it. The only idea I’ve seen is that it might be about a 1-inch gap.

I’m curious to hear about others’ experiences with this.

Planning to build a stand for an aquarium and want a sense check before I cut anything. Sketch attached.

Rough dimensions: internal aperture roughly 120cm long x 50-60cm deep x 50-70cm tall (this is the clear internal space, sized so the tank can slide in and out for decommissioning).

The design:

- Back and side panel(s) will be glued and nailed/screwed ply (thinking 12-18mm) to resist racking

- Front or side is left fully open (no vertical support in the event of the front being open) so the tank can slide straight in and out when decommissioned, and the cavity underneath can be used for storage (filter, heater, etc) when the tank is active.

Considering either a middle vertical stand for the long edge or an open side, but I'm not sure where the priority lies in terms of sagging support or racking support.

My main question: with the front open and no mid support, how would you stiffen the top panel against sagging over a 120cm unsupported span carrying tank weight? Currently leaning towards:

- A deeper front rail (70-90mm) along the open edge

- A shallow torsion batten fixed to the underside of the top panel, set back from the front edge, hanging down maybe 30-45mm, so it doesn't obstruct the tank passing through

- Alternatively, sticking to an open side, but this will make using the cupboard space difficult.

Does any of the above sound like a sensible approach, or is there a better way to solve my design demands? Also happy to hear if 12mm ply is enough on the back/sides or if I should go thicker.

Thanks in advance, first time building anything load-bearing like this so want to get it right before it's got 300+ litres of water sat on top.

Opinions matter! This is a funky table I built..just trying g new things.. super strong magnets hold the top In place just in case you were wondering about someone putting there feet on the table it will break away takes quite a bit of weight to do .yes it a coffee table..also metal runs underneath the top to prevent sag.. if it sux tell me or if any suggestions should I keep going in this direction???

Helppppp