Clear Workshop Drawings for Adapting an Existing Kitchen Unit in TopSolid Wood
Not every job starts from a blank page. In this episode of Draftsman's Day, a bespoke solid ash kitchen unit made a few years ago needs adapting for a new owner. The challenge is less about design and more about communication: making it impossible for the workshop to confuse what already exists with what needs to be made.
The Brief
The property changed hands, and the new client wanted changes to an open-shelved hob unit: extra shelves, both ends closed off, and doors added to the front.
The original style sets the rules. The unit is built from 40 mm solid ash with butt joints rather than mitres, so end grain and panel construction are visible by design. Every new part has to follow the same language.
Organising the Model: Existing vs New
The most useful habit in any model is organising it into groups and layers from the start. Here, the model is split into three main layers:
Existing geometry: the original panels already on site
New parts: fillers, back panels, side panels and new vertical panels
New doors
Color reinforces the split. New parts are shown in green, existing parts in grey.
A change that ripples
Adding doors meant one existing panel had to be trimmed back, leaving it without support. The new vertical panel needed for the hinges also becomes its new support. A matching panel was added on the other side to keep the unit symmetrical.
The Drawings: Two Pages
The drawing set is kept to two pages:
Page 1, the existing unit: overall heights, the spacing between panels and the parts to be cut back. It's for the draftsman and the workshop to understand what is already there.
Page 2, the new work: front, top and side sections plus perspective views with and without doors. Existing parts are greyed out and unshaded, and new parts, whether sheet material or solid timber, are highlighted in green.
How View Styles Do the Work in TopSolid Wood
Because the model is organised in layers, each drawing view can be controlled precisely:
Chosen layers can be excluded from shading
Chosen layers can be shown in grey
Layers such as doors can be hidden in specific views
Line colours and hatching can be set per layer
Once one view is set up, its style can be copied onto any other view in seconds, including a new perspective view. The layer setup does the heavy lifting, so every view stays consistent.
Little Job, Clear Drawings
Two pages, one colour rule: grey is existing, green is new. For a small alteration job, that's enough for the workshop to know exactly what to make, with no guesswork. Watch the full episode on YouTube and subscribe to follow the Draftsman's Day series.
