| Project by jayman7 | posted 362 days ago | 5830 views | 60 times favorited | 43 comments | ![]() |
![]() |
Hi guys. After I completed my first cutting board, I wanted to make more using a different design. I wanted an easy way to design one on the computer, so I made a simple program in Visual Basic the other day. I hereby proclaim it as CBdesigner. Not so clever, huh? :) It helps me visualize what small changes in the first glue-up will turn out in the end-grain version, so maybe it will be of use to some of you woodworkers out there as well. I made it pretty self explanatory to use.
It creates a materials list so you know how much you need ahead of time so you can decide if you have enough scraps. It even takes into account the amount of wood lost from the saw blade itself so you can minimize waste. I made it as accurate as could be, but of course there is the possibility of errors so any comments/corrections are more than welcome! The colors I picked may not be the best representation of the woods listed either. Maximum layers is 200 (though the program breaks long before you get there). You can now insert and delete layers in the middle. You can also now drag the layers around by dragging the double-headed arrow. This program works on the assumption of ideal conditions, so please be sure to account for extra wood as you should be doing anyway. :) Feel free to distribute it if you like it. Lemme know if there’s a better way to host the file too. Thanks!!!
IMPORTANT: If you don’t have it already on your computer, you will need the comdlg32.ocx file in your Windows\System32 folder. I used its scripts for the standard Open and Save commands in the program. In short, just follow the instructions at this link to register the ocx file and it should work. You can tell I don’t do computer programming for a living. :P
Download and register comdlg32.ocx file
NEW: Special Thanks to Brad over from Sawmill Creek for hosting the file on his personal web space!! He even made the “official” webpage for CBdesigner.
CBdesigner Home Page and Download Link
CBdesigner v1.3 Direct Download links:
Mirror1 , Mirror2, Mirror3, Mirror4, Mirror5





























43 comments so far
lew
home | projects | blog
4466 posts in 646 days
posted 362 days ago
NEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!
Lew
toyguy
home | projects | blog
712 posts in 728 days
posted 362 days ago
Thats kind a cool… Don’t know if I’ll ever use it but thanks.
-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/
Ampeater
home | projects | blog
200 posts in 638 days
posted 362 days ago
Thanks for posting. I will use it on my next cutting board.
-- "A goal without a plan is a wish."
Devin
home | projects | blog
89 posts in 419 days
posted 362 days ago
Very cool! Thanks for posting.
-- If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? - John Wooden
Bob42
home | projects | blog
285 posts in 681 days
posted 362 days ago
That looks great!!
I will try it tomorrow. I have some boards to do.
Thanks for sharing.
-- Bob K. East Northport, NY
Bureaucrat
home | projects | blog
7173 posts in 543 days
posted 362 days ago
Thanks for posting, this will be a big help.
-- Gary, South Central Wisconsin. So much to learn, so little time!
bayouman
home | projects | blog
86 posts in 556 days
posted 362 days ago
Jayman:
That is a fantastic help to all of us not smart enought to figure it out otherwise. Thanks for posting. I know I will get a lot of use from this.
Garyb6
home | projects | blog
262 posts in 521 days
posted 362 days ago
Getting ready to build my first cutting boards as Christmas presents. This will sure come in handy. Thanks for the timely post!!
-- Garyb6, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” - Albert Einstein
Garyb6
home | projects | blog
262 posts in 521 days
posted 362 days ago
Jayman, Is there anyway to save? I would like to save different configurations so I can compare and choose the one I loke best.
Thanks!!
-- Garyb6, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” - Albert Einstein
Wally_nd
home | projects | blog
35 posts in 501 days
posted 362 days ago
Thank You… Very good of you to share
-- Jeremy, North Dakota
jayman7
home | projects | blog
29 posts in 396 days
posted 362 days ago
Thanks for all the compliments! I’m surprised and glad to see many of you are finding it useful. If there is enough interest and suggestions, I might incorporate them into a later version of the program (such as saving; that’s a good idea!).
RobH
home | projects | blog
460 posts in 940 days
posted 362 days ago
Thanks for the effort. I am sure that will help out in the future.
-- -- Rob Hix, King George, VA
jm82435
home | projects | blog
508 posts in 633 days
posted 362 days ago
very cool, thanks!
-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...
rikkor
home | projects | blog
11338 posts in 765 days
posted 361 days ago
It’s blocked here at work, but I plan to try it at home tonight. TIA
Bob42
home | projects | blog
285 posts in 681 days
posted 361 days ago
First.. I tried the program this morning and it very easy to use and does a wonderful job. For me simple is better. With in only a few minutes it gives you a chance to see before hand what the board will look like. I really like this program.
Thanks for taking the time to not only make this but share it with us. Keep more programs like this coming.
Now, If I could be so bold as to ask for in a future update a way to save, print, and more choices of wood.
-- Bob K. East Northport, NY
LeoZ
home | projects | blog
25 posts in 360 days
posted 360 days ago
wow this is very nice!! ive been browsing here for a while, and finally joined.. ill have to share my CB creations now!
i agree, save and print would be great, thanks!
-- just another woodworking newb
newTim
home | projects | blog
245 posts in 497 days
posted 360 days ago
Amazingly cool… many thanks… is there a way to save a project to a file?
-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com
jayman7
home | projects | blog
29 posts in 396 days
posted 359 days ago
Updated to version 1.1 to add the ability to save designs. Enjoy! :)
HossMan
home | projects | blog
22 posts in 609 days
posted 355 days ago
Can’t wait to give it a test drive when I get home.
Thanks for posting it up!
Bob42
home | projects | blog
285 posts in 681 days
posted 354 days ago
Thanks for the update.
-- Bob K. East Northport, NY
Brad_Nailor
home | projects | blog
1210 posts in 848 days
posted 354 days ago
I downloaded 1.1 and tried to run it and i get an error message!
-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"
Karson
home | projects | blog
25787 posts in 1291 days
posted 354 days ago
Thanks for the program. I had the OCX file. No problems
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
JerryS
home | projects | blog
73 posts in 501 days
posted 353 days ago
Can you Download this using FireFox ? Which link do you click on ?
LeoZ
home | projects | blog
25 posts in 360 days
posted 353 days ago
wow.. great updates!
On v1.2, the boarders you added around the previews cause the image to get truncated unless the preview size is less than 25% (obviously dependent on the cb size..)
-- just another woodworking newb
Tim Dorcas
home | projects | blog
130 posts in 749 days
posted 333 days ago
What a great program! I wish I had found this three days ago though…..:)
-- www.responsetolight.com - A Woodworking & Renovation Blog & www.craftedbytim.com - I make. You buy.
etivancic
home | projects | blog
14 posts in 665 days
posted 332 days ago
This is why I LOVE THIS SITE!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
I just made my first cutting board and was getting excitted about my next few…
I just designed my next one with your program. It is a GREAT program!
I feel like a little kid at Xmas :)
YorkshireStewart
home | projects | blog
782 posts in 792 days
posted 332 days ago
That’s just amazing jayman7. Thanks for sharing it.
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
LeoZ
home | projects | blog
25 posts in 360 days
posted 289 days ago
v1.3 is a GREAT update!!! Thank you :)
-- just another woodworking newb
John Kasparian
home | projects | blog
21 posts in 543 days
posted 275 days ago
Nice
-- john
sbailey
home | projects | blog
1 post in 256 days
posted 256 days ago
This is great. Thank you
WillyWally
home | projects | blog
8 posts in 224 days
posted 211 days ago
What a dope I am. I don’t get this File Dropper page I get. Where to go from there?
-- Willy Wally's Wood Stuff
codaman33
home | projects | blog
6 posts in 591 days
posted 207 days ago
I can’t figure out how to download this thing either. Anyone can help please?
jayman7
home | projects | blog
29 posts in 396 days
posted 207 days ago
Click the “CBdesigner v1.3” link and then click “download file” link to save the program. I also fixed the mirror site at filedropper. The file at filedropper expires after a certain amount of time.
codaman33
home | projects | blog
6 posts in 591 days
posted 207 days ago
I have it now. Thanks. I look forward to playing around with it.
SheriDi
home | projects | blog
21 posts in 194 days
posted 191 days ago
Excellent program. I know how much effort goes into a program like this and appreciate your willingness to share it with others!
-- Goodbye said the fox and now here is my secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
a1Jim
home | projects | blog
16514 posts in 468 days
posted 191 days ago
cool Thanks alot
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
MWF
home | projects | blog
6 posts in 425 days
posted 187 days ago
Wow this program looks great. I have made one cutting board and would like to make a few more when I came accross this posting.
I have downloaded the v1.3 and the comdlg32 but getting an error that says “component comdlg32 or one of its dependancies not correctly registered or is missing or is invalid” Any thoughts on what I can do?
maluco
home | projects | blog
34 posts in 386 days
posted 182 days ago
nice program!
if you wanna, please share the source
planet source code is one nice place to do it http://www.planet-source-code.com/vb/default.asp
maybe you also get some ideas to improve it there
btw, the problem of registering the cmdialog can be fixed easily
vb have dependencies and are not supposed to be only the exe
it work fine if the computer have all files needed but this don’t happen always
just make the setup for the program and it can create all for you
(in vb6, menu add-ins / package and deployment wizard )
found 2 small bugs
interface: taborder are not correct – just click with the mouse in any control to get the focus and press tab to check .. the cursor don’t go to the next control in the correct order ( goes to the next in the order you included in the form )
no error procedure: create 68 layers and get overflow
I hope it can help you to improve it – tanks for posting it
ChuckNorris
home | projects | blog
13 posts in 233 days
posted 157 days ago
Sweet program!! What’s the chance of adding more wood types? Maybe even some pictures of the endgrain rather than the standard colors? Anyway, this program is great!
-- Brent (Table saws worry about kickback from Chuck Norris)
roer
home | projects | blog
4 posts in 130 days
posted 130 days ago
Hi
Brilliant idea !!
I have now installed the program, and it is apparantly running allright, BUT when I press “Lets make a cutting board” nothing happens I run on vista – is that a problem
Any help will be appriciated, as I would very much like to use your software
ffishermen
home | projects | blog
11 posts in 125 days
posted 91 days ago
is there another link for this software?
looks like the hosting site is have problems. have not been trying for about week now.
topp
home | projects | blog
2 posts in 76 days
posted 76 days ago
Any chance for some updated software links?
Thanks,
Topp
topp
home | projects | blog
2 posts in 76 days
posted 75 days ago
Mirror is working. Now I have to try to come up with a nice pattern.
Thanks.
Topp