MIMF

Is anyone here using Sketch Up for guitar design? If so what version are you using? I see there is a wood workers version and am wondering if that would be any better.

I have not used it for guitar design, but I do use it for other woodworking projects. I use the free version and find that it is more than adequate. I'm not aware of a "woodworker's" version- I think the only difference is in the way you configure it (e.g., dimensions in inches, etc.).

I designed my new workshoppe space in the free version with no complaints. I was unable to figure out how to easily do guitar shapes in sketch up (though I did not spend much time trying. I recently discovered the “G” thang software (free) at Mr. Mottola’s site. It looks very promising and I think you may be able to export into sketch up. . .

http://liutaiomottola.com/formulae/gthang.htm

I just took a look at the G Thang software...I like it too, R.M. really has made a useful tool!

The best free 2D CAD drafting program I'm aware of is DraftSight. It is much like a simplified version of Autocad, so you will recognize many of the functions if you are familiar with that. Anyways it should be more than enough sophisticated for anything guitar related (at least for 2D).

For years, I've used Visio. I know it's not AutoCAD, and frankly that's to it's credit. The learning curve was very easy, and I got to the point where I could quickly work through things. I've since gone through a few different applications, and for 2D DraftSight is the most attractive since it works on both Mac and Windows. After having learned Maya, 3DSMax, and AliasStudio, it was conceptually difficult to go back to 2D. Never really liked SketchUp for anything, but that's just me.

However, I don't use it much at all. I've been a beta tester for Rhino OSX and been using it extensively (or at least as extensively as I've used anything over the last year or so). It's not production ready, but I'd think it would be a great skill set for guitar builders to learn. Just one step closer to CAM and CNC...

I like Rhino also especially for 3D. I bought the latest release (5) at the educational discount for ~$135, a real bargain. I used AutoCAD at work and am quite familiar with it, but never tried much 3D with it because it was too awkward. That was several versions ago and it may be better now, the cost is prohibitive though. I found the free version of progeCAD an almost complete clone of AutoCAD.