CAD for drafting, woodworking...?

[WileyCoyote]

For quick drawings I use Visio but for drawings that require precision I use AutoCad. It has a very robust learning curve but the end results are amazing. I have never used it on a Mac though.
I know Lowes and maybe Menards have deck building aps on their websites that allow you to save the drawings.

[Hobbyman2]

A while back I went through the same issue , spent 3 hrs looking for some thing and trying stuff I didnt like, I could have just grabbed a pencil and ruler and drew it .
Actually I could have made a prototype from pop cycle sticks in that time lol.
did you try the demo version on openscad and polyboard ?

For spacing if you are referring to the gap between the decking boards a 16 penny nail is what they use here .
Check with your regulations if you are referring to the gap between the spindles and the minimum height of the top rail there are codes in some places if I recall .

https://www.decks.com/how-to/373/deck-railing-codes

[smokeshow]

Fusion 360, or Sketchup?

[charlese]

DeltaCAD is straight forward, easy to learn and use drafting program. It can be used for all projects. Plus you can try it for free for 45 days.
https://www.deltacad.com/demo.html
Just like the old days. If you want top, side and frontal views, just draft them. The learning curve is flat. I love it!

[reible]

I'm very much a fan of sketchup, well the real one not that online nonsense. I thought I might have to learn fusion 360 to be able to use the Shaper Origin but now a couple of solutions have showed up that lets me use sketchup and then output the files required for shaper.

I just finished this drawing last night:

ScreenHunter 69.jpg (112.41 KiB) Viewed 15250 times

This is about take 5 of the design. Changed what I wanted to do as well as other factors but having it as a drawing was a lot better then making 5 of them only to have what I wanted on the fifth try.

I have hopes of cutting it out today, we will see......

Ed

[rjent]

I have and use a drafting machine and table. I have been drafting since the 60's and really never felt the need to use computers, although computers and IT was my career for 40 years.

Most of the time I just do a rough sketch of what I want.

Just my .02

[smokeshow]

I can type a lot faster than I can draw. Also, shortcut and function keys, copy/paste are your friends. But I program/cut parts daily for a living.

[Ed in Tampa]

If anyone is interested there is a YouTube step by step demo of SketchUp to build a sofa table.
I never used SketchUp but the video seemed to give complete detail on how the author created each component using SketchUp.
Here is a link
https://youtu.be/LAVZZlw4_Uo

[dusty]

Thank you for posting. I use SU frequently BUT every time I watch a training video I learn new tricks. This one taught several.

Each element of SU, by itself, can be called simple. But when you put them all together to prepare a drawing it can become quite complex. I would call the learning curve steep and time consuming.

[Ray17]

Newbie here; let me know if I stray from approved protocol, please.

Has anyone here had experience with the open software Libra and its Draw application?
I've long experience with Visio on a PC, but having been burned out last October I'm now on a MAC, and miss my ability to make scale drawings easily.
Ray