OK – so its redo time now I’m just playing a little trying to figure things out.
First off this picture is kind of messed up—not sure why my dimensions did not show correctly. But here it is.
I managed to get my legs spaced correctly at 39” front/back outside to outside and 36” front/back inside to inside measurements; and 12.5 side to side outside and 9.5” inside to inside measurements. The legs measure 28” tall. The mortises are 1/2” deep and centered on the legs. And surprise surprise, I think I’ve managed to get all four legs on the same plane.
Here’s an up close of the mortises.
With all the great help I’m getting from Dave and David (aka Brad-Nailor – by the way—- what’s the deal with the name?)—- I am probably (actually almost certainly) missing some of the small points of the instructions. Long and short though some of this stuff is sinking in.
Question – I made my first two legs and made each a separate component (left front leg and left rear leg). Then I copied each one and moved it across – then selected and right clicked to “make unique.” Does that make each right leg their own component? The reason I ask is that when you select “make unique” it does not give you the option to give it a new name.
Question Now that I have all four legs made should I make them a group? If so, how?
I’ll have to outline my steps making this far in a different blog entry.
I guess the next logical question is I need to make my side and front aprons and insert them into the legs. I am sure I need to make the short aprons (2), back apron and front apron separate components. Once I draw them, how do I insert or move them into the mortises?
OK – that’s all I can do for now. I sure hope that my floundering around the program is helping some of my fellow LJs.
By the way—not only do I appreciate all the Sketchup help I’m getting, I really appreciate all the good wishes coming my way while I recover from surgery. All are encouraging.
-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.
3 comments so far
lew
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4509 posts in 655 days
posted 481 days ago
Betsy,
Please take it easy, this is the second entry in less than a day!
Give yourself a chance to relax and recuperate.
We all appreciate what you have given us, but please take care of yourself!
Lew
Brad_Nailor
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1231 posts in 857 days
posted 481 days ago
Ok…
Question – I made my first two legs and made each a separate component (left front leg and left rear leg). Then I copied each one and moved it across – then selected and right clicked to “make unique.” Does that make each right leg their own component?
Yes it does. It doesn’t give you the opportunity to rename it at that time, but you can right click it and go into properties, and change the name there.
Question Now that I have all four legs made should I make them a group? If so, how?
I would…then you can move the whole “leg” group all at once. Just select each leg component, then when all 4 are selected right click and make group. You can have components/groups that are components/groups inside components/groups…hold on a minute, that one made me a little dizzy…
I am sure I need to make the short aprons (2), back apron and front apron separate components. Once I draw them, how do I insert or move them into the mortises?
The same way you move anything. Create one side apron with the tenons. Make a copy of it and put that aside for now. make the original a component and name it. Then to move it in place (I am assuming the leg is a component as well) Just grab the upper outside corner of the tenon ( the move tool should snap right to it when you get close and say “endpoint in component”) and then move it into place on the leg. Move the tenon into place inside the mortise you cut in the leg component, and using the snap inference, guide the apron tenon so it snaps to the inside corner of the mortise. You could also use the center inferences as well. You should instantly be able to see if you sized everything correctly. Now the other apron you copied and put aside, grab that and triple click on it make it a component and move it into place like the other.
Another cool trick is say your aprons were not centered on the leg. You cant make a copy and just move it to the other side. But what you can do is right click on the copy after you make it a component, and select “flip along” then select green for your axis. That will mirror the piece opposite the original, so it will work on the opposite side without having to re draw it. If your trying to use this feature and your not sure what axis to flip it, just try each one one at a time, but REMEMBER TO UNDO THE FLIP YOU DON’T WANT BEFORE YOU TRY AND FLIP IT ANOTHER WAY!
Good luck!
Oh ya, and the deal with my name is…I just thought that was kinda funny..Brad Nailor…the air nailing gun..but it sounds like a persons name…I am Brad Nailor on Wood Whisperers site also!
-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"
DaveR
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1529 posts in 620 days
posted 481 days ago
I just finished addressing most of this in an e-mail which is accompanied by a version of your model so I won’t give the same, long drawn out response I did there.
At this stage in your model the legs don’t need to be unique from each other. Mirroring with either the Flip command or Scale and -1 is all you need to do. I prefer the Scale,-1 method because I don’t need to know what axis I’m flipping along. The end aprons should be instances of the same component and as BN mentions, one should be a mirror image of the other.
If the apron is to be centered on the thickness of the leg, grab the apron at the midpoint of the top end edge—the tool will snap there when you get close. Then move the apron until it snaps to the midppoint on the top edge of the leg.
As to the group thing, personally, I wouldn’t bother. In fact I rarely make nested groups or components. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I don’t use groups at all. The problem with nesting is that it can make the model complex to edit because you have to drill down through the group or component wrappers to get to the geometry you want to edit. It’s easy to get things screwed up.
If you do want to create nested components, wait until you’ve got all the components drawn. For example you might want to make a nested component of the parts for the drawer. You mentioned in your e-mail animating the drawers. It would make them easier to move.
Just don’t overcomplicate the model.
-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.