Drawings – An addition to Woodworking Masterclasses

Writed real good byJoseph Sellers ///

We work to make our videos as clear as possible and we think we do a good job of that. However, sometimes it can be difficult to note down sizes and memorise configurations so that you can easily take them into the shop and build a project. We looked at how we could bridge this gap and we noticed that somebody in this online community was already going a long way to doing this. Greg Merritt has been posting his drawings for the projects for quite a while. Users found these very useful. We approached him and asked if he would like to start creating some official drawings for us so that users can have these to hand from the beginning of projects.

He has agreed and we are glad to be able to support him in producing these drawings and also make them a formal part of what we offer.

He has already produced some beautiful drawings for the bookshelf and also our very first project on Woodworking Masterclasses, the wallclock. We hope that you will be as excited about this as we are.

Wallclock

 

We are not going to necessarily include a drawing of every project but we think they will be useful, especially for the complex projects. The drawings include:

  • Full cutting list
  • Front and side views
  • Metric and Imperial measurements

You can download a high resolution drawing in a printable pdf form for the wallclock here: Wallclock Drawing and (for paying members) the bookshelf project on the Bookshelves project info page.

We would love your feedback on any aspect of this development. Happy woodworking!

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45 Comments

  2. Thanks and Congratulations Greg! You have done a great job with this and it is very much appreciated. I am looking forward to you cointinuing this.

    It is great that we have someone from our community doing this, I feel Greg has a better understanding of what it is we are actually looking for and needing.

    1. I agree, it would have taken a lot of time and effort to work with someone who has the drawing experience but doesn’t have the insight into woodworking that Greg already has.

      Plus, as you say, it is great to include someone who is already part of the community.

  5. Thanks Joseph and Paul for this and “Congratulations” Greg, these drawings are very good and really a big help to me as I am a visual type person.

    As mentioned with Greg all ready a part of the “community” and is an excellent wood worker in his own right, this makes for a great marriage.

    Steve

  6. Fantastic development. Congratulations Greg for being recognized for your talent and kudos to the team for “promoting from within”! Greg certainly has demonstrated that he understands Paul’s vision and approach. His drawings will add a richness to the learning process. Thank you.

  7. Greg, your bookshelf drawings are wonderful. I think they are a useful, unique and elegant addition to the classes.

    Thanks for taking the time to do them
    Richard.

  12. Great addition to the site Joseph, thanks for that. Congratulations Greg you deserve the recognition. When working on a project I have found your drawings such a useful aid to take into the workshop.

  14. Everything about this development is perfect to my way of thinking. The drawings are a terrific benefit to me as I try my hand at building Paul’s projects.

    Not only am I learning to work wood, but I’m also learning about design, drawing, cultists and laying out the steps for construction. The drawings help me take the teaching from the videos to the bench.

    Greg, I’ve thanked and complimented you for many of the drawings you’ve offered to us. And now I’m delighted to congratulate you and the great people of Wood Working Master Classes for this perfect arrangement. I love this school and community.

  15. Thanks Greg! You’re drawings are excellent and are a great compliment to the design series. I am particularly pleased to see that you have done one for the bookshelves project.

    Thanks to Joseph and Paul too for getting them on the website.

  16. I wish to thank Paul and Joseph for thinking of me and then including me in this small way to Masterclasses. Thank you to all of you, the members of this community, for your kind words and congratulatory wishes. I hope that the drawings prove useful as each of you progress on this journey.

    Again, thank you all so much.

    Greg

  17. I think it is a fantastic idea to get a masterclass member involved in such a way… and Greg is a person who is always helping others out on the forums… a great individual. We have seen his drawings and layouts and he does a wonderful job and this really seems like such a great idea.

  20. Thanks Greg for your Drawings.. they look great and I am sure they will be helpful to a lot of the Masterclass users. It is appreciated that you are contributing your time and talent.
    Thanks again..Ralph

  24. As all the others have said before, this is a wonderful addition to the site.

    When I saw the first comments asking for drawings of the bookshelves project, I thought first of suggesting what follows, and then of Greg’s previous drawings. His work is excellent and I’m pleased to see him get the job and recognition.

    I must say though that Paul has several times mentioned the benefit that accrues when one learns to do their own drawings. Creating your own drawing of a project draws your attention to details and helps crystallize an understanding of how things fit together. Once you can make a successful drawing, you know how all the parts fit. And they don’t have to be perfect drawings, beautiful drawings or even accurate scale drawings. The idea is to form a clear picture in your mind by doing on paper first. Most of my project drawings are very crude sketches with a few measurement notations. They are not by any means scale drawings, but they help me understand what I’m building.

    ANY of us can draw. Yes, some will be better and more comfortable than others, but any of us can produce the information needed for most of these projects. If you haven’t tried it, give it a go. Your first won’t be one of Greg’s fine drawings, but each iteration… just like each woodworking project… brings improvement. Give it a try.

    Yes, there are whose among us who don’t have the time and want to get to work using prepared drawings. (I think woodworking magazines have really spoiled us in this regard.) If you need the prepared drawings, you certainly will appreciate Greg’s.

    1. Bob, I cannot agree with you more. I am drawing for every one of my projects, and Paul’s instruction and journal combined with Greg’s drawing are helping me greatly improve my approach to projects. The book, By Hand and Eye is also a very instructional tool. If I learn anything at all from Paul, it is how comprehensive his plan and understanding of a project are befor he ever lifts a saw.

    2. Thank you and I agree Bob. Everyone can learn to draw. In the beginning it can be a steep learning curve to learn woodworking techniques as well as drawing techniques. Hopefully these drawings will help to ease the process. Visualization is a big part of drawing and comes easier for some than others. The drawings will serve as reference and starting point for everyone to begin developing their own visualization and drawing techniques. Also, I’ve taken great care in these drawings to not go into great detail so that they keep with the fluid nature of Paul’s methods. It will still be up to the individual to fit each and every piece of a project.

      Thanks again for the kind words.

  26. This is really good news. Greg’s drawings are my reference in the workshop whenever I work on a project. I am trying to do my own, but it’s a struggle.

    Really pleased at this initiative and congratulation to Greg and thanks to the WWMC team!

    Paul

  27. Congratulations Greg on some well-deserved recognition for your excellent drawings. Let me add my gratitude and a hearty virtual pat on the back to the long list of those who have already expressed what a great addition these have been to WWMC and will continue to be in the future.

  28. Thank you Greg and everyone from Masterclasses for this latest development! Greg, I always knew you had a talent. Your drawings have enriched our community and will ccintinue to do so. The importance of making drawings is now and for all time impressed upon me.

  31. That is a very good news indeed.
    Firstly I was a little bit confused about the idea of detailed drawings. I have a background of structural designer (these are guys who make 2000 drawings of a building before construction; you usually see Georg Cloony & Co studying them in the first half of the movie).
    There is no more efficient method to kill creativity than a shop drawing.
    But the level of Greg’s drawings is just accurately abstract and leaves room for really “making things”.

    With best regards,
    Neeme Nõmme
    Tallinn, Estonia

  33. Many congratulations Greg. A very deserving recognition. I hope your drawings will inspire others to have a go too. Be prepared to be bombarded with questions about what equipment you use to produce your work and the methods you use.
    I’m dead jealous and dead cuffed for you – all at once.
    🙂

  36. Hi Joseph
    How will we be able to see which of the projects have Greg drawings? As far as I can see on the Clock it shows there is a drawing on the Clock Videos but does not show on the Bookcase video that there is a drawing?
    Will all of Greg’s current project drawings be listed so they can easily be located

  39. Hi, Paul. I am new to woodworking master classes (have been watching the free videos for quite a while). I understood, perhaps mistakenly, that you were going to teach a class in making your own to scale, working drawings. Have you done so, and if so, please point me to it.
    Thanks,
    Kathryn

    1. I’ve always hoped Paul would convince Greg to give us some drawing classes. It could be like one of Paul’s project series. A few videos on the fundamentals, and then show us how he goes from whatever Paul gives him to one of the nice drawings he provides to us with each project. I realize that drafting and drawing are skills people spend years to develop, but we could be awakened with a few lessons and pointed in the right direction. It has always seemed that Paul’s concept of Masterclasses included inviting other lecturers, so Greg could be the third lecturer (Joseph being the second). In any case, thank you, Greg, for all the effort you’ve put into the project drawings.

      1. I’m afraid there are too many complexities to this, Ed, not the least of which is my time and everyone else’s time to organise and then maintain it. For now we will continue as we are and perhaps some time in the future we may be better able to open yet another door.

        Best for now,

        Paul

    2. Hello Mary,
      I may well have said something like that, I can’t recall. The reality is that we have quadrupled our workload and even postponed other important aspects of my work to keep progressing our goals. In my future work I will be including concepts of design and drawing but I am not ready for that just yet. For now we will continue to provide drawings with projects though and this does keep everyone on track as far as learning to make the projects.

      Kind regards,

      Paul

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