Hello All,
Since the boxjoint tutorial looks like it was worthwhile I’ll continue to post additional ones as time allows.
Here is one for dovetails. Very similar to the boxjoint but also illustrates the importance of being able to easily zoom and rotate around the model using the mouse wheel/3rd button.
It looks like I will need to keep the file size under 3 mb to get them to transfer. That puts some limits on what is easy to present. Give me some suggestions on what you would like to be able to do in Sketchup and I’ll see if I can cover it.
Regards,
Bob Babcock
Replies
Keep 'em coming, Bob. I went through your box joint tutorial and became acquainted with both nice shortcuts and a better understanding of those darn basic program principles. I even figured out the mouse wheel pan&zoom operations that are most essential to easy use fo the program.
How do you record your videos? I'd be inclined to do a tutorial for this board in creating a crown molding using the follow me tool, if I had an easy way of recording.
Paul
Sounds like you're making good progress. Sketchup is like a marathon that has the 1st mile uphill....then you get over the top ...and someone hands you a bike and a Mai Tai...its all downhill and you can really start to party. You're limited only by your own creativity after that initial hump.
I use a program called Snagit to do all kinds of screen captures including these videos. Now if it could just make my voice sound like I don't have a mouthful of marbles.....
Both the videos were very helpful to me, I had not up to this point been able to do those, and now I can....anything you can do surely will help someone here, me for one.
Bob,
I am in that first mile of the Sketchup marathon. I'm a total beginner to it and have no prior experience with CAD or other CAD-like 3d software.
Is there a particular resource you might recommend to a complete beginner to get through that first uphill mile of Sketchup? I would ultimately like to use the software to design the layout of a new shop I want to put in my garage and then ultimately move on to furniture pieces. Problem is, right now, I'm having a bit of trouble just drawing a basic table.
Thanks,
Joel
I recently posted a list of online resources (learning and otherwise) in the Design, Click, Build blog. You'll find a lot of other info there as well. If you look at the sidebar of the blog under categories you'll see "Bob's posts". You'll find an entry from May 2nd on Sketchup Learning Resources.
I know it's somewhat time consuming but the best way is to go through and follow along with the online tutorials at Sketchup. You'll find that you'll have a few moments when critical concepts become clear and suddenly everything will become easier. Some critical concepts to understand are the use of the red, green, and blue axes, and inference snapping. Both are well explained in the tutorials.
Best of luck to you. Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have. I can either point you to the answer or I'll create a tutorial to illustrate.
Make sure you look at Design, Click, Build. There are already a number of tutorials on there as well.
Regards,
Bob
Edited 6/27/2007 6:18 am ET by Stoneaxe
Bob,
Many thanks for your tips. I haven't spent a ton of time on Sketchup yet although enough that I am hoping at least a few of the critical concepts click for me soon.
I'll check out the posts you made. I did watch one of your tutorials for dovetails but I think that I need to lay a foundation first. I appreciate your offer to point me in the proper direction for things - it sounds like you've got a really firm grip on Sketchup's capabilities.
I'll be in touch.
Thanks again,
Joel
Very nice!
I am just starting to play with Sketchup, have done some detail (mortice and tenon joints, cope and stick rail and stile profiles, but now see how I can learn to do this kind of thing more quickly and accurately.
To respond to your request for suggestions: I've been wrestling with trying to model a Shaker knob. Can't figure out how to create the domed top, nor the flared stem. I've gotten certain incomplete and unsatifactory results using multiple circles and arcs, and by rotatong a cylinder, but I get the feeling I'm barking up the wrong tree somehow.....
Thanks in advance. I'll be watching for any and all further posts.
You are on the right track...it is a combination of geometry. The follow me tool is what makes it easy.
Kind of a fat shaker knob but I have to work fast to keep the size down.
Excellent!!!
You have demonstrated techniques I would have taken a loooong time to discover - you see, i've not been involved in the on line aspect of SketchUp due to being relegated to dial up service (at 24K).
I was amazed, though - after waiting for some time to simply see the video, I went back to see if I could "save target as", and it came through in mere seconds!
Can't wait to study this further, and apply what you've so generously taught me. Can't thank you enough! I'll try not to become a pest.
A sidebar you may wish to ignore re. electonic files and the internet:Anytime you want to open a file from the internet, whether it's email, a website, or whatever you will invariably benefit from first getting the file on your hard drive before opening it. (A case in point could be the Google SU tutorials.)You may run into problems if the software necessary to open and run that file doesn't reside on your hard drive. In that case, it is often worth opening your browser (w/o necessarily accessing the internet), and use File|Open to access the file in question (typically from your computer desktop, as that is the handiest place to which to download).I hope that helps with your dial-up situation. And, more importantly, have great time with SU and these latest and greatest tutorials.Regards
In,
I'm not following your logic. IE defaults to HTML files, the ones that are WEB pages. Granted it will open many different file types, but it doesn't work with .WMV (Windows Media Video) files, which are the type used in the tutorials.
Regardless, your PC will not operate any faster than the path to the file which you seek, which will invariably be your Inet connection in this case. There is no way around this. It may reside in your cache but at some point it has/had to come through your Inet connection to get there.
Internet Explorer will launch the appropriate software to handle the file in question, if it can find one which in this case it will most likely be Windows Media Player.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Ouch....24k....Isn't carrier pigeon faster? Sorry, I remember the pain of dial-up remotely. I used to run a BBS back in the pre-internet days.
Glad I can help. These are easy for me to do. Each only took about 5 minutes to create. I've learned so much on this forum. This is a great way for me to pay it forward. My woodworking skills are intermmediate at best so this is the best way I can contribute.
I agree with Inmyopinion. Direct transfers to your harddrive is the way to go. It is faster (although I suspect the quick download you experienced was because the file was already in your cache) and you'll have them to view over again and follow along with.
You should get a USB drive and go to a friends or Library with high speed access. Go to the Sketchup webpage...hhmm... I take that back. You use to be able to download the tutorials. I don't see that as an option anymore. Oh well...it would still be worthwhile to get to the library for viewing.
I'll keep them coming...anyone have any more suggestions? Things you are having difficulty with?
Hi,
You are correct, in all likelyhood the file was in his cache. I downloaded a slew of the Sketchup tutorials just the other day. Oh, they were the self paced ones, not the videos.
Currently I'm using a loaner PC from our IT group and I suspect it doesn't have the right viewer for the videos as they aren't working here.
I too have dial-up at home and it's forever on large files so I download at work via DSL.
Thanks again for the tutorial(s). Great stuff and most helpful.
I'm currently attempting to use Sketchup for a design I posted here a while back
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 3/27/2007 1:50 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
"I'll keep them coming...anyone have any more suggestions?"Stone-The excellent tutorials and the on-line Help pages provided by Sketchup provide most of the basic information on how to draw. I think woodworkers would enjoy some explanation of draw-once/use-often ojects--what Sketchup terms "components." For example, resizing a raised-panel door while keeping the width of rails, stiles, and panel edge constant. Or scaling a stock cabinet so it fits in a prescribed opening (stretching a 24"-wide cabinet, for example, to exactly 37.5").Another time saver is using the Push-Pull tool to change the size of a stock element, for instance, a piece of lumber. Sometimes it is easier to change a 1x4x8' into a 2x12x6' rather than drawing a new element from scratch. You've shown a good example of the Follow-Me tool for lathing a knob. What about a demonstration of wrapping crown (or other) molding around the top of a cabinet?Another area of interest is using the program for testing out various scales and proportions in design. A very ambitious tutorial would demonstrate how to change individual elements of a piece of furniture in order to arrive at a pleasing overall design.I think many people can gain confidence about using a program like Sketchup simply by knowing that something CAN be done. I congratulate you for the care and energy you have devoted to your tutorials.Regards,Don Brown
Hi Don,
Resizing a panel door is possible and it also relates to the idea of changing the sizes of parts of a design. Creating components of almost everything is critical to the control of Sketchup.
I usually do draw lumber from scratch though actually. Drawing a 2"x12" rectangle and then push/pull to 6' is pretty quick.
I've included a tutorial on changing the size of a door. I think this is what you described. The chair in the tutorial could have been a collection of components instead of groups. That way if I wanted to add another spindle to the side it would occur on both sides.
Regards,
Bob
Stone-Nicely done!There's another problem that seems to befuddle many people: Inserting a door in a wall with thickness so that it cuts a hole in both sides. Some people who are used to dealing with solids in conventional CAD programs have trouble with the fact that there are no solid objects in Turbocad. A 4"-thick Turbocad wall, for instance, is two separate parallel planes.Don
I just realized I hadn't answered this question Don.
That is a problem in Sketchup as well. A component will not break two planes at the same time. Sketchup was initially developed with Architectural rendering in mind I believe. In developing a model of the exterior of a building it would be rare to include wall thicknesses. The explosion of the use of Sketchup, especially since Google bought it and offered a free version, has the developers scrambling to keep up. It is being used in ways they never initially intended it to be.
As an example, I know that they never thought that mechanical (piping) would be done in Sketchup. Part of my personal succes with Sketchup involves doing just that. I've modeled some fairly complex piping arrangements using it. The company I worked for was able to secure a contract even though we were the high bidder by $1 million because we were able to illustrate that the other solutions being proposed were band-aids and we were performing open heart surgery. I did the design and prepared all the graphics using Sketchup and Macromedia Freehand.
Anyway, back to the point, I think you'll see a lot of improvements in Sketchup as it matures. It's already a great tool and most issues have relatively easy workarounds. This tutorial will illustrate a quick work around for inserting a component into a wall with thickness and breaking both planes
Bob-Excellent tutorial, as usual. I wish Knots allowed more bandwidth for your movies; you sound sort of rushed.I have the luxury of not being able to compose an attachment in Camtasia (I use a Mac), so please permit me, with a more static illustration, to expand on what you've shown.Among the accessory goodies included with the free version of Google Sketchup are many pre-drawn components. In the Architecture folder, there are scads of cabinets, doors, windows, and the like. As you noted, component windows are intended to cut only one face. I show in the attachment a few ways to use these components and still have them accommodate to a realistic wall with thickness. I have shown a 6"-thick wall, but the techniques are applicable to any thickness.Sketchup is an amazingly flexible program; there are usually two or more ways to accomplish a goal. Many times, it is just dealer's choice which method to use. Woodworkers are familiar with that precept, so Sketchup is doubly suited to woodworking designs.
Thanks Don....
Rushed..unscripted, and unedited...I'm surprised you could tell...was it the ums, aahs, or the mic so close you can hear me breathing that gave it away...LOL.
Good tutorial, and I like the presentation of it directly in Sketchup. Definitely more bandwidth friendly. I've tried a number of ways to get the results needed for walls with thickness. That way is especially good for the canned components.
I will usually do it that way if I have just a couple to do. if I have many to insert I will usually edit the component 1st to be the correct thickness and then use the intersect model approach.
I've posted a suggestion to Sketchup for a multiple plane option in the component creation dialogue. That would be a nice small improvement for future versions.
Regards,
Bob
Edited 4/2/2007 8:05 pm ET by Stoneaxe
Bob,
Rushed..unscripted, and unedited...I'm surprised you could tell...was it the ums, aahs, or the mic so close you can hear me breathing that gave it away
Don't change anything!
IMHO your approach adds to the credibiity of your tutorials. I especially like the way you refrain from talking down to your audience. To me that translates into encouragement, the ultimate goal.
Best Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hey Bob,
I like to use components in SU alot, but I've found that it causes trouble when trying to add crown to a drawing made of components. The SU help on the followme tool mentions that the face and path must be in the same context...but if the path is in the form of components, you can't follow it.
There are kludgy ways to get around this, but I wonder if you know a quick and SU-elegant way to solve this problem.Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
Thank you for these tutorials!
Pete
Hello Pondfish,
I think the kludgy work arounds are probably the best you are going to do if you are doing what I think you are doing. Take a look at the attached.
Yep, that's the same problem I have. Your kludge is better than my kludge, but since we're both dealing with multiple components, one needs to put in a temporary path for the crown.Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
Stone-Another way to do what you did with the two-block component--no easier, just different--is to draw a rectangle on the top. The rectangle defines a separate plane, because it is drawn on a component. Then you can treat the top as though the center line is not there. Either select the rectangle area with a single click to define a path around the entire top, or click (holding the shift key down) on the individual edges you want for the path.Don
Thanks for adding to the discussion Don. Please feel free to critique whatever I do. Actually I think what you suggest is slightly easier. I'm hoping that we can all continue to learn together and feed off of each others ideas. Not only in learning Sketchup but in design suggestions and comments on proposed projects.
Stoneaxe,
You are the YODA of SU! Please keep the tutorials coming.
THanks
Bob
Stoneaxe, just a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate the tutorials you posted.
For anyone who can use them, I have a collection of sketchup models for power tools that I use to layout my shop. I originally downloaded these from the author of a FW article on shop layout.
Thanks again Stoneaxe / Al
Very, very nice. Getting a ton of information from your posts. I would be interested to know if pieces are resized how the dimensions are maintained. I know that has nothing to do with your tutorials but rather the capabilities of Sketchup.
I am trying to create basic components/groups in Sketchup that I can resize for different projects. Real simple stuff like boards, etc. In AutoCAD you can stretch pieces and am wondering if that can be done in Sketchup?
Thanks again,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob,
Yes, dimensions are fully associated with the piece. If I made a component of a 2"x 2"x2" block and scale it by 50% all the dimensions would change along with it. If I change just segment of a design they also adjust. Take a look at the attached.
Hi and greetings from the UK - your tutorials are excellent and inspire me to learn more about SU - clearly much more powerful than I had thought. Any chance of getting some ideas from you on curves? You used a front chairleg as an example. How would you create a curved backleg as a component? I assume you would create straight lines and curves and connect them together to create the profile, but I don't know how accruately you can create curves (especially ones that are not part of a circle). If you had time for a tutorial on that, it would certainly help me. What chance of getting FW to give you a proper slot to create a complete set of tutorials on SU - I would vote for that! I'd love to see a selection of finshed drawings that you have created to encourage me to try more complex designs. Best regards, Michael
Hello Michael,
If you look at the tutorial for the cabriolet leg that I just posted it should help. In order to develop the profile I used in that tutorial I 1st place a 20" x 20" square into the drawing to give me height I want for the leg. I then draw the profile using the line and arc tools. All the curves are connected arcs. As you draw the arcs each segment will be tangent to the vertex of the previous arc, resulting in a smooth shape.
If you need more to go on let me know and I'll do a tutorial on developing the profile.
Bob
Bob
Thanks for that advice. I also found your posts from the earlier discussions - all very useful.
I need to go and practise next...
Michael
Stoneaxe,
GREAT JOB!!!! Everyone should learn how to use this program, especially people who think they can't draw.
How do you make the videos!? Do you point a video camera at your computer screen? I'm probably way wrong in thinking that, but that's how backwards I am. Please let me know?
Thanks,
Gary
The following is an excerpt from email that Stoneaxe and I had regarding resizing the cabriole leg. Thought we'd share it with everyone.
Stoneaxe, The problem I'm having has to do with resizing the cabriole portion of the leg. The tongue is no problem. I think my brain might be experiencing a cramp but I thought the first time I tried to lengthen the cabriole portion using the Scale Tool it worked, but I got it too long. When I subsequently tried to shorten it, again with the Scale Tool the cursor said you can't scale curved objects. Does that make sense? Other than that I've managed to create parts of the front rails and styles. Working on the drawers and doors. I'm making separate models for each part, hope this is correct. Once I get all the parts made I plan to insert them into what will be the complete model of the piece. Again, hope that is the correct procedure.
Reply from Stoneaxe:
You need to make a group or component of the leg before scaling it. You can then scale it uniformly or along any axis. Select the group and then choose the scale tool. You'll see a bunch of grip boxes appear. Depending upon which you choose you'll get different results. Hovering over the grip will tell you what it does. If you hold down the shift key at the same time it changes the function of the grip. The control key will also change the point from which it scales.
The scale tool is very flexible in it's function. If you want to create a mirror image of something you can simple start to scale along an axis and then type in -1. Scaling is also important outside of groups as well. The tapered table leg is simply an extrusion with one end scaled.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
I can't thank you enough for these. They are great!
How about cabriole legs and mortise & tenons?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob,
This should help. Organic features are definitely more cumbersome in Sketchup but they are possible.
I'll be uploading a model of a table I'm working on later. I'll prepare a tutorial of the mortice and tenon with it. Very easy, similiar to the box joint in that you create the tenon 1st and then move it into place where you want it, intersect it with the other piece, move the tenon out of the way, and push pull the resulting intersection to create the mortice.
Bob
My God man, are you a machine!? Or are you a Sketchup salesman in disguise? :-) :-)
OK, go look at my post about "How do you design our pieces" and create a Sketchup for it based on Rev. 2! Just kidding.
Keep this up and you could quit your day job! Fine Woodworking are you folks following this?
I made it through the Box Joint and Dovetail tutorials, i.e. made them with Sketchup. Experimented with changing dimensions from your Chair Leg tutorial. Great! I'll have to wait till tomorrow for the Cabriole leg as I'm on Dial-up.
Don't let the dialup speed issue deter you as to file sizes. We'll find a way around that.
Getting used to the GUI and making progress, thanks to your help. Now experimenting with the Dimensioning tool on the drawings.
Thank you so much,
P.S. If you need help with networking/Inet issues, let me know. Maybe I can repay you for all the help you've given me.
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 3/30/2007 9:16 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
LOL.....I wish I worked for Google....hhmmm....maybe I should look into that. I could surf the web posting Sketchup tutorials.....The Phantom Modeler.
Bob,
Absolutely amazing.
If you only knew how much you've helped me. The cabriole leg I made doesn't come close to yours. I'll need to practice more as I think yours has a much more pleasing look to it.
Most Thankful,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Here is the mortice and tenon you requested Bob. As you can see many of the operations are simply using the intersections of the design components to create your joinery. This is not only the fastest way (at least that I can think of) but it also virtually eliminates the possibility of mistakes. But as always "measure twice intersect once"
Regards,
Bob
Figured I might as well post the model. Give you something to look at in Sketchup. There are still a few things to add, tabs to hold the tabletop, pins in the legs for the bottom shelf (more decorative than needed I think).
LOL...despite my "measure twice intersect once" comment I just noticed a mistake in the model. See if you can find it. I actually didn't create that joint using the intersection process....I thought simply drawing this joint would be quicker because of its simplicity....oh well...thats what I get for thinking.
Hmmm.....I just realised I screwed up the model by doing the tutorial. The second crossing mortice is gone from the legs in the model. I forgot to make the copy of the leg component I used in the tutorial unique. I removed the second mortice to make it easier to show how to create the one in the tutorial.
This brings up an issue. See if you can do the second mortice in the model. You can use the extra one from the tutorial to make the changes. You'll see that there is a little added difficulty to the second mortice because of the creation of the 1st. It creates another set of surfaces to intersect and will require a little more manipulation but it is the same principal. The pin/dowel holes need to be redone as well.
This will also illustrate some of the power of components. By fixing one, you fix all.
Regards,
Bob
Edited 3/31/2007 11:46 pm ET by Stoneaxe
Edited 3/31/2007 11:47 pm ET by Stoneaxe
I see I've got some work to do.
The wife has had me busy this weekend setting up a new LCD TV. Will get at this ASAP. Most interesting and I want to thank you.
Give me a few days.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Great work, how are you making the files?
“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
I use a program called Snagit. It's great for all kinds of screen captures. It obviously allows for audio as well and it comes with an editing software for still images that allows you to annotate them.
Bob,
Many, many, many thanks for putting these together! And many thanks to your employer for turning you into a sketchup guru!
Glen
Bob,
Any chance of getting a copy of your cabriole leg? I'm having fits with mine aand looking at your might help me figure it out. I can't get the curves to work when I pull it to make the tenon part longer.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Stoneaxe,I know you asked me to contribute to the Sketchup tutorials here, but I've been swamped and haven't had a chance yet.Turns out that it hardly matters! You've covered anything I could have already and probably in a more thorough and elegant manner than I could have.Excellent work.Frank
Hi Bob,
Sorry I didn't get it back to you sooner. My web connection hasn't been working for a couple days. Comes up for a little while then dies.
Explain a little more what problems you are having. Making the tenon longer shouldn't affect the curvers at all.
Regards,
Bob
Thank you very much Bob,
I'm not sure why, but whenever I try to pull the tenon of my model, it changes the curve??? When I substituted yours it doesn't happen! Is the tenon in your model a separate component by any chance?
Most confusing to me but glad you provided a fix.
Best Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 4/6/2007 9:50 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Edited 4/6/2007 9:52 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,
Post your model and I'll take a look at it. I suspect you probably didn't get things square when you were drawing the original profile. One thing that I've learned is to pay close attention to where you place your lines. Being sure to snap to the axes as you draw a square or rectangle.
Learning to use the inference capabilities can be a little frustrating. I still find myself occasionally with geometry I didn't intend. It is a very powerful tool to speed up drawing, but it can sometimes be tricky.
Are you using the push/pull tool or trying to move the top. The push/pull shouldn't effect the other geometry that way.
Regards,
Bob
Edited 4/6/2007 11:52 pm ET by Stoneaxe
Hi Bob,
My access to the Inet has ben spotty of late. Not my ISP, but rather the PC. It's one I built 6 years ago, P-III 1 gig processor and a RAID-0 config. for the harddrives. Makes 4 20G drives look like one.
Anyway, recently upgraded to XP Pro. and have had issues with corrupt files. When I ran XP install - repair it found numerous corrupt files. Yup you guessed it, my leg. My leg was corrupt! I hate when that happens.......
I repaired it several times but it still came up corrupt so I deleted it, sorry. I've since replaced it with your leg and all is fine. I'm making good progress on the Queene and will post when through.
Thank you very much for your help,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 4/8/2007 7:31 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
This tutorial is in reply to PatCaps request about a curved headboard in another thread.
I assume you all know about the new blog on using Sketchup. If not
http://blogs.taunton.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=fw-designforum&redirCnt=1
See you there...
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