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Fusion 360 for Woodworking [The Most Helpful Resources]

My Favorite Resources To
Learn Fusion 360 for Woodworking

Learning Fusion 360 for woodworking can have its challenges. But with these FREE resources, you can quickly beat the learning curve!

About a year ago I decided to make Fusion 360 my full-time woodworking project design software. In case you’re not familiar with Fusion 360, take a look at the following article:

It didn’t take me long to realize that there weren’t many resources showing you how to specifically use Fusion 360 for woodworking project design and modeling.

After lots of digging, I found several resources that I really liked and wanted to compile them into one easy to find list. Especially since they were so helpful to me and I’m sure they can be helpful to you as well.

These are the best sources I have found so far, and the ones that I used, and currently use, to teach myself Fusion 360.

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DN Handcrafted

The first place I started on my journey to learn Fusion 360 was with DN Handcrafted’s series on designing, rendering, and creating plans for a small pencil box.

What I liked about this series is how simple it is and how well he explains the basic fundamentals of Fusion, all while speaking in terms a woodworker can understand.

One big plus is the fact that he takes you from start to finish of a project and even shows you how to make detailed plans from your model, which for me is one of the big reasons I decided to switch from SketchUp to Fusion 360.

Click here to check out DN Handcrafted’s YouTube channel.

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Jay Bates Sketchup Videos

This next one may seem a little counterintuitive, but bear with me: Jay Bates’ YouTube videos about designing furniture in SketchUp.

I learned a lot just from seeing how Jay thinks about design and what his processes in SketchUp are. Which parts he models first, how subsequent parts reference prior parts, etc..

Once I understood these thought processes it wasn’t that difficult to apply the same principles and techniques to Fusion 360, I just needed to use different methods and make sure I was building my models parametrically.

If you’re unsure of what parametric design is, check out my article here to learn more about Fusion 360 and the neat features is has for woodworkers. 

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Skillshare

If you’re the type that likes a structured class setting, or if you’re completely new to digital CAD designing and want to start from the ground up, you can’t go wrong with Skillshare.

Currently, they have over 30 videos showing you how to use Fusion 360. From the most basic of beginners to seasoned Fusion Pros they have something for someone out there to learn (not including all of the other classes they have).

Kevin Kennedy, in particular, has a great series for complete beginners to learn Fusion 360 totaling over 11 hours!

If you’ve never tried out Skillshare, it’s definitely worth a shot. They even have a promotion going on right now for 1 month of their Premium Membership level for absolutely free, which is a pretty great deal. 

To take advantage of this promotion from Skillshare, simply click here or on the banner below and get your free month of premium!

Fusion 360 / Autodesk Forum

The courses native to Autodesk (makers of Fusion 360) are a wealth of helpful tips and knowledge.

When it came to learning Fusion 360 for woodworking specifically, I didn’t find them very helpful. I think this is in part because in its creation Fusion 360 was built geared more toward people using CNCs, 3D printers, and engineers. Then we woodworkers came along and hijacked it 😉

They do offer self-paced courses to learn their program that are produced well and very instructional, but in my journey with Fusion, I preferred to follow along with videos that dealt more in my woodworking wheelhouse. I found that it helped me retain what I was learning better.

That being said, the Autodesk forum has gotten me out of a pinch more times than I can count, so definitely check it out if you haven’t already.

And don’t be afraid to post a question, you might be surprised by how helpful the Fusion community is.

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Lars Christensen

Saving the best for last, I would have to say that Lars Christensen and his Fusion 360 based YouTube channel has been, by far, my favorite learning source. 

While very few of his videos are woodworking specific, his videos are highly educational, entertaining to watch, and easy to digest. 

On top of having a cool accent, he comes across as very genuine; not afraid to admit when he makes a mistake or doesn’t quite know why something is or isn’t happening the way that it should. 

But maybe the best part about Lars and his channel is that he’s a Jimmy DiResta fan, so he’s at least aware and somewhat up to date with the woodworking/making world. He even has a woodworking specific video where he shows you how to model Jimmy DiResta’s famous sawhorses. 

He also has a GREAT dovetailed drawer video series. Don’t hesitate to grab some popcorn before sitting down with one of Lars’ videos… I’m not kidding when I say they’re in-depth, but definitely in a good way.

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Combine Them All & Ascend to Fusion 360 Mastery

Let our powers combine!

Captain Planet jokes aside (how great was that show though?) by mixing and matching these resources as you see fit you should be able to ace the Fusion 360 learning curve very quickly and be designing your own 3D woodworking models in no time!

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- Cody
Craftswright & Makery