Do you Mock-Up?

[davewyo]

Do you make use of mock-ups for your projects? (The recent X-table thread is a fine example)

If so:

What is the trigger or the threshold where you deem it necessary?

Primarily for complex joinery situations, or is it usually to get a feel for the scale and shape of the piece?

What materials do you use? Actual wood, or something like Styrofoam or cardboard and hot glue?

Do you go for full size or a scale model?

Do you then find the mock-up process super-helpful or just moderately so?

Anecdotes appreciated...

 

Dave

[..Kev]

There are times when I do..  Usually when there's something that I'm just not sure about.  Be it a joint, a look, or a function of the piece.

 

I usually use lumber that I get stupidly cheap and mock pretty close to full size.  I use screws to put it together and am not worried about gaps and looks.  Sometimes I draw full scale on paper as well.

 

I actually did a mock up on a very unique table for a client, I think it's here in the archives somewhere..  The client approved the build based on the mock up.

[wdwerker]

I often draw projects full size on a piece of 1/4" MDF. Difficult joinery usually gets a test run in scraps or poplar. Take a look at my Mahogany rolling staircase Project Journal for examples. Joinery mock ups also allow a test run on clamping. Doing a dry run clamp up can save much stress when you have many joints to glue at once.

[CessnaPilotBarry]

Sometimes I find mock-ups very helpful.

 

I often do them for strange large built-ins, like entire wall installations, or bars in weird spots.   I'll usually do these from rigid foam insulation, MDF, cardboard, packing tape, and hot glue, often drawing on major details with felt markers.  This is helpful when you're being asking to do something that will really change the room, or you foresee issues, like passage, door or window access, etc...  that the client can't visualize.   I've also mocked up foam 3D examples to see if an item could be moved into the location it needed to go, like a loft...

 

I don't do scale models as often as I used to, as a good SketchUp model can be just as useful, allowing me for show all the angles, scale to a person, etc...

[TerryMcK]

I don't mock up I just rely on Sketchup or Autocad but I've been able to mentally visualize for years. However the x table was a great exercise in actually visualizing the joint in scaled down 3D.

One aspect where I think mocking up fullsize in cardboard etc to be beneficial would be anything involving human mechanics, chairs and tables spring to mind. You want to make sure that what you are building will fit the user. There would be nothing worse than finding out a table you had been working on for months could not seat an adult without banging their knees. Or it was so high it came up to their armpits when sat down. Also the slope of a chair could be worked out to make sure you are not sat bolt upright or lying flat down.

Of course you could rely on taking measurements of historic furniture or even go to a furniture store and take a tape measure.

[wdwerker]

I have drawn entertainment centers full size on multiple sheets of 1/4" MDF , cut out arches and detail parts to use as templates and double faced tape them on and set the whole thing up in the clients home for approval before starting the build.

So much easier to visualize the size and impact of a large piece in a room this way.

[dwacker]

For cabinet type stuff no. For furniture like tables and chairs I'll build out of poplar, create templates and save tool setting before moving to good wood. I'll leave off things that don't matter to much like table tops and drawer bottoms.

[CessnaPilotBarry]

Of course you could rely on taking measurements of historic furniture or even go to a furniture store and take a tape measure.

 

Never forget the usefulness of your own body.   In spots where you can't measure, but can still touch, find a dimension, or a few of them, that matches something like your forearm, your hand, etc...    Use them as known starting points, then use the TLAR* method to develop the rest of the measurements.   Most all furniture, stuff like a cabinet that needs to sit in a line with others excepted, is more about proportion than precise measurements.

 

* - That Looks About Right

[Eric.]

Never.  Don't have the time.  I try to make good decisions as I go.  Usually it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Lessons learned for the next build.

 

The two exceptions when I would mock-up...if I were planning to make a big batch of a particular item that I had no plans for, or if I were embarking on an enormous original build, I probably would.  But I can't recall either of those scenarios.

[Tom Cancelleri]

2 years ago I bought 36" x 10" x 3/4" pine planks at home depot for $1.50. I picked up about 30 of them for mock up work. I do mock ups when setting up joinery to make sure my dovetails are right, I also use small pieces to adjust router bit height to see which part of the profile of the bit I want where.

 

I true woodworker doesn't build things perfectly, but instead perfects their ability to hide their mistakes. I've had to call a few audibles mid project because I over cut, or made a mistake that was recoverable without having to rebuild. 

[Eric.]

 I do mock ups when setting up joinery to make sure my dovetails are right, I also use small pieces to adjust router bit height to see which part of the profile of the bit I want where.

 

That's not a mock-up, that's a test cut.   Test cuts are not optional.

[weithman5]

when I built our new vanity, I made it first out of scrap laying around.  altered it until I had the shelves where we wanted, height where we wanted.  has had a dry wall counter top with the sink on top and faucet set up.  just need to decide on material and final locations.

[Tom Cancelleri]

That's not a mock-up, that's a test cut.   Test cuts are not optional.

 

Is it still a test cut when you put the sides all together and now have a box with no top? Though the routed piece is usually a mock top.

[Eric.]

Well I suppose it's splitting hairs, but I personally think a mock-up is when you build most of a project in a practice run before starting on the real deal in order to iron out kinks in design and joinery...stopping short of sanding and finishing and other embellishments, but getting pretty damn close to a complete build.  A test cut is what you do to set up your machines for a particular task.  I do a test cut on almost every single step of every project, but never do a full mock-up for lack of time and, quite frankly, out of laziness.

[G S Haydon]

I often draw projects full size on a piece of 1/4" MDF. Difficult joinery usually gets a test run in scraps or poplar. Take a look at my Mahogany rolling staircase Project Journal for examples. Joinery mock ups also allow a test run on clamping. Doing a dry run clamp up can save much stress when you have many joints to glue at once.

Yep. like a pro 

[Trip]

I do an A4-sized plan and elivation view to scale. I check with proportional dividers, then that's it... I'll do a scale drawing of bent laminates and/or joinery for curved surfaces. I'll also draw angled joinery, skew legs, etc. I then transfer the scale drawing onto 1/4" BB ply for templates...

 

When do I build a mock-up:

When I need to test a template...

When I need to test some angled/skewed joinery...

When I sketch the piece and something doesn't quite 'look right'...

When there is some aspect of the joinery that I can't quite work out...

When there is some quesiton on assembly for a complex piece...

If the piece is very different from anything I've done before...

 

I don't mock-up the entire piece, just the area where I've got questions and need answers...

 

I've only completed one complete mock-up in the last several years when somehting didn't 'look right' -- and was glad I did, the piece was butt-ugly...

[Gilgaron]

Never.  Don't have the time.  I try to make good decisions as I go.  Usually it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Lessons learned for the next build.

 

The two exceptions when I would mock-up...if I were planning to make a big batch of a particular item that I had no plans for, or if I were embarking on an enormous original build, I probably would.  But I can't recall either of those scenarios.

+1... if I was making things to sell maybe I'd consider it, but it is hard enough to have time to make the project to spend time and money on a mockup.  It is easier for me to ad hoc a change of plan if needed to cover a mistake or so on. 

[wdwerker]

Trust me I am quite experienced at changing things on the fly to cope with little mistakes, but when you have invested the $$$ in a pile of 8/4 mahogany planks suddenly you find the time to do some full size drawing & mock up some of the most difficult joints you have ever made in your life. Mis-cutting a $95 board is not fun, wouldn't you try to avoid it?

[Gilgaron]

I read the rest of the thread after posting my reply to Eric and I think I'm along the lines that he is after the clarification:  I might do a test cut but I wouldn't build a full mock up.

 

Walnut is about as expensive as I've gone so far on anything large, which also colors my opinion I suppose...

[wdwerker]

I wouldn't built a full mock up unless the project was small to medium sized and the wood was something like $15 a bd ft or more.

It really made good sense for Kev to build a poplar mock up of his little table with the gold leaf work. You have to get set up to produce 4 identical legs and cope with all kinds of little details anyways.

If you have to set production up for a large batch then building a prototype is almost essential. I have an order pending for 50 semi complicated drawers to be retrofitted into some office equipment. So I am basically building a kit to be shipped to every branch and it has to be installed so each kit has to be easy for someone to assemble.