Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 21, 2007 08:20pm | #1

   Gerat post.. I.. well..

   I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

   And I was about 13 and her big brother beat me up!

   Aint' Skecth Up GREAT! And for free!

   Hardly gets better en' that unless when you said 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' And she beat her big brother for doing that! EDIT: As in she beat up her brother for messin' with me!

   Edited 10/21/2007 1:22 pm by WillGeorge

   Edited 10/21/2007 1:24 pm by WillGeorge

   
   

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   Edited 10/21/2007 1:25 pm by WillGeorge

2. 
   nivagthetool | Oct 22, 2007 12:22am | #2

   Great designs Russell!Sorry I cant show you mine but I have had no sucess with sketch up, maybe we are talking about different things,is this the one you can get free from google, if it is how long did it take you to get this good and how long does a design take you, sorry if these sound like stupid questions but I am still trying to master computers 

   They keep stable the fabric of the universe and their prayer is in the work of their hands  

1. 
   Russell | Oct 22, 2007 04:39am | #3

   I first downloaded google sketch up in February of this year, so really I'm still very much a green horn when it comes to the program. When you compare what I know about sketch up to what someone like Tim Killen (sketch up blogger for FWW) knows, it's quite embarrassing. Normally when I design something in sketch up I don't go into great detail, like making the mortis and tenons etc. I keep that stuff in my head and let it out when I build the piece. So because I omit that stuff in my drawings, it doesn't take me much time at all to fire off a design. For example, the square coffee table design that I posted took about an hour from start to finish. Much faster than a conventional drawing to be sure. My advise if you want to get prolific with the program would be to just play around and have fun with it, press the different icons and see what they do, can't hurt. I've also found reading the FWW sketch up blogs and videos to be incredibly helpful. There's been about four instances where I've said how the heck do I do that, and then found a video on the FWW blog that showed me step by step. Gotta love technology. Cheers for nowRuss.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.com

1. 
   nivagthetool | Oct 22, 2007 09:59pm | #5

   Thanks Russ I think you have inspired me to have another bash if I suceed I will post some stuff fingers crossed. Thanks GavinThey keep stable the fabric of the universe and their prayer is in the work of their hands  

2. 
   genecoder | Oct 23, 2007 02:59am | #9

   I would like to show mine but what website is it on google or do i have to buy a program please let me know I love those pictures.

1. 
   Russell | Oct 23, 2007 04:06am | #10

   The program is free, just click on the link below and choose what type of computer operating system you have (ie. windows or mac) click the download button and away you go. Don't click on the pro button, the pro version costs money. Cheers.http://sketchup.google.com/download.htmlRuss.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.comEdited 10/22/2007 9:06 pm ET by Russell

   Edited 10/22/2007 9:07 pm ET by Russell

1. 
   genecoder | Oct 23, 2007 07:56pm | #11

   Thank you very much it looks very complicated though i hope i can get it.

2. 
   dherzig | Oct 22, 2007 06:24am | #4

   I found "SketchUp for Dummies" very helpful. Walks you through without assuming any CAD experience.

1. 
   nivagthetool | Oct 22, 2007 10:02pm | #6

   Thanks dherzig,is this a book or software? Gavin They keep stable the fabric of the universe and their prayer is in the work of their hands  

1. 
   dherzig | Oct 22, 2007 10:47pm | #7

   It is a soft cover book. Should be available at any reasonable bookstore. Costs $25.

1. 
   nivagthetool | Oct 22, 2007 11:35pm | #8

   Thanks dherzig I will look next time I go book shoppingThey keep stable the fabric of the universe and their prayer is in the work of their hands  

3. 
   JimV | Oct 23, 2007 08:27pm | #12

   Russ,

   Here's a couple variations on a hall/sofa table that I'm designing. I use sketchup a lot for designing pieces.

   Please feel free to comment/criticize, I'm always looking to improve my design skills.

   Jim

   "There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold

   
1. 
   Russell | Oct 24, 2007 05:55pm | #14

   Nice work Jim and Al,I'm glad you guys posted your designs, I was starting to think that I'd be the only one exposing myself. Jim, I'd like to make a suggestion if I could about your designs. I've noticed that the grain direction on the legs of your walnut tables is running horizontally. Did you import the wood grain images for your design yourself, or is that one of the ones that came with sketch up? What I do is import my own scans of wood into sketch up. Scans of wood can be found on various lumber and veneer retailers web sites, but I find the scans from certainly wood (http://www.certainlywood.com) to be perfect for use in sketch up. So what I do is right click on the scan of wood that I like, and save it to my desktop. Now in sketch up, when you click on the paint bucket icon a box will appear, look for the icon to import images. Click on that, click the browse button, find one of the images you saved to your desktop, and import that image. After you've done that you can edit the size of the image you just imported. Down in the bottom left corner of the box there is an area that has 2 sets of dimentions, I like to set the one for width to 12", it will automatically adjust the length to maintain proportion. After you have painted say a leg, you can right click on the part you just painted and go to adjust image which allows you to move the scan of the wood into the position that you like, you can also rotate the image of the wood in here also so that the grain is running in the correct direction, you do this by clicking on the green circle icon in the corner of the opaque wood image. Hit enter and your done. Hope this helps you out Jim.P.S. Here is a link to the type of image you should be looking for on that certainly wood web site. http://www.certainlywood.com/detail.asp?ID=599Cheers.Russ.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.com

   Edited 10/31/2007 10:36 am ET by Russell

1. 
   Russell | Oct 31, 2007 05:49pm | #15

   Come on now people, I know there's other designs you folks have made that are just itching to be exposed. If your just bashful I'll get us started again by showing another one of mine. Here's a design of a bar and stools I just finished. It's going to be made out of black walnut and claro walnut. Let me know what you think. Cheers.Russ.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.com

   
1. 
   JayTran | Nov 01, 2007 01:54am | #16

   I'd belly up to that bar ANYTIME! I like the design.

1. 
   Russell | Nov 02, 2007 03:31am | #18

   Thanks Jay, I wanted to draw in Norm at the end of the bar, but my screen wasn't wide enough. Cheers.Russ.

2. 
   Senomozi | Nov 01, 2007 03:30am | #17

   Hello Russ,

   I must admit I am impressed.  As a professional woodworker, at what point do you use SketchUp in your design for a commission?  There's seems to be a fairly significant time investment in the pictures you shared, should we assume you only invest that time once you know exactly what a client wants?  For example, do you start by presenting crude drawings or pictures of other pieces first and only go to SketchUp after?

   Thanks for sharing some more.

   Senomozi (a fellow Canuck)  

1. 
   Russell | Nov 02, 2007 03:47am | #19

   Hey Senomozi,I've been pretty lucky up to this point in terms of customers liking the designs I've come up with, but I do ask a lot of questions before I take it to this stage (ie. what style they like, dimensions, general shape etc.). I really enjoy using sketch up, so I don't really see my time at the computer as "work". Even if I was completely off target with the design, I've become prolific enough at the program that really it only takes about and hour to make a normal design. Not to mention, it's quite easy to go back and edit your drawing if there's something the client doesn't like. Anyways, thanks for the post. Cheers for now.Russ.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.com

2. 
   daverichards | Nov 15, 2007 11:55pm | #20

   Good work Russell. I liked the drawings of yours in the sidebar.

   Here's a few of mine. I can't claim all of the designs.

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/FurnitureWarehousepng.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/pipe_box-1.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/im1194654315png-1.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/Achair.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/stevesstandcurved.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/rustenchairH2O.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/gary_shed4.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/artsncraftschair.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/20061127121845.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/20061205093449_31m21s.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/20061202103033.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/DigitalRatLarge4-1.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/20in_iMac_desk2.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/Vesper.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/sled.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/screen.jpg

   http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/weekender410/sideboard_with_sconces.jpg

   Thanks for looking.

   Dave

3. 
   Russell | Nov 17, 2007 11:22pm | #21

   Wow, that's amazing Dave! Thanks a lot for posting those. Is the rendering capabilities you've used for your drawings in sketch up pro? I only have the free version, but if that's what the pro version can do I'll have to seriously consider buying that!
   Well done on the hardware blog posting too, I tried to make that same handle when I first started using the program but it didn't work out. I'll have to try making it again someday soon. Anyways, cheers for now.Russ.http://www.jensenfinefurniture.com

4. 
   daverichards | Nov 17, 2007 11:24pm | #22

   Thank you Russ.

   As to the renderings, no, that isn't part of the pro version. They were done as experiments with either Kerkythea or Indigo. Both freeware renderers.

4. 
   Al from Unionville | Oct 24, 2007 02:18am | #13

   Attached is a built-in storage unit for my basement. The jpeg is of the Sketchp model. The mdi file is a rendered version using TurboSketch from the TurboCad folks (IMSI). The mdi is a little ragged, but the original rendered file is 2 meg.