Sketchup Tutorials #2: About time I started doing these!

yippeee.. here we go :)

well done. I’ll have to watch it again (and again)
Thanks!!!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Thanks Bob!!!!!!

Fantastic Bob.
I have had sketch up on my PC since it was offer by Google and never used it.
These tutorial have re-inspired me.
Great job!
Thanks very much.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Pay not attention to the man behind the curtain! LOL

This is great to have, Bob! I’ve never done the intersect thing. What a time saver. Does it have to be used with components or groups? I’m guessing it wouldn’t work otherwise.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Thanks for the tutorials. I love to learn new techniques in Sketchup. Have you ever seen these podcasts?

http://www.go-2-school.com/podcasts

-- Mike, Charlotte, NC

The Google Sketchup tutorial videos are great … even some of the older ones I’ve found … that’s where I got my feet wet … and I work with the program ever day … even if it’s covering a technique I’m already familiar with … seeing how someone else uses this program always seems to get the wheels turning in a new direction … but I have to say Bob, I’m very impressed to see this tutorial for woodworkers … couldn’t have done a better job myself … and look forward to seeing more.

Might be more trouble than it’s worth … but it never crossed my mind to try to import that slab I’ve got into Sketchup and play with it … until now of course.

-- Lip's Dysfuncational Firewood Farm, South Bend, IN

Great Bob!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Thanks all….about time I got to it.

Jeff…yes you need to use components or groups. Otherwise everything gets stuck together. I make components of almost everything as I go along. It’s the key to keeping control.

Mike…thanks for posting the link. I was there ages ago and they only had a few. Looks like a good list now.
Lots of great resources for Sketchup out there now.
The 1st place to go is the Sketchup website itself for the basic tutorials.
http://www.sketchup.com/?section=training
Click on video or self paced tutorials. You’ll also see a sidebar that list other resources for learning and using the software (bonus packs, users guide,...etc.)
Here are a few of the 3rd party resources that I know of. Some are better than others. If you folks know of others lets start sharing them.
http://www.suwiki.org/suwiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
http://www.sketchucation.com/
http://www.smustard.com/
http://www.caddtutorialsonline.com/sketchup-tutorials.html

Lips…I know what you mean. I picked up Sketchup right away but it was all the tutorials that are out there that made learning easy. I’m always finding new ways to use it. hehe…that was going to be my next suggestion to Mark (he asked about the slab) Take a picture of the actual slab and you can make your model with the actual grain.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Bob, thank you and keep on doing it. You did in just a few minutes what took me hours to do on the mortise and tenon joints.

What are you using to make the tutorials?

-- Dan in Central Oklahoma, Able to turn good wood into saw dust in the blink of an eye!

Hi Dan,

I’m using Snagit. Great capture utility, allows for captures with audio, has editing capabilities for adding comments to screen shots. Good stuff.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Great job Bob!

For those looking to layout their shop, here is a guy that has alreays created all the most common
shop tools. Table saws both cabinet and contractors, band saw, dust collector etc. etc…

http://yda-online.com/shopmodels.htm

He did a really great job.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

That is a great resource Gary. It used to be on the Sketchup components download page as well but I don’t see it there anymore. http://sketchup.google.com/bonuspacks.html

I did this layout of my dream shop (...sigh….someday) using it. Great time saver. BTW…the timbers you see in this are part of the construction components bonus pack.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Gary. How did you know I was going to use SU to start working on some new shop layout ideas…. ;-)

Thanks a ton for posting a link to those components! I was all ready to work in 2D. No chance of that now.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

I will have to study this a bit and give it a try in the next few days!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Thanks for putting the time into this Bob. It’s nice to learn the right way to work with sketchup from a fellow woodworker’s perspective.

-- John Nixon - Buffalo, NY - www.EagleLakeWoodworking.com

This is great! I bet I can figure out how to get more room in my shop… ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

thanks for all this – I’ve been struggling the few times I’ve tried to tackle it on my own.

I trust your using the pro version, otherwise there are some toolbars I just can’t seem to locate.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Scott – The learning curve can be steep. When I 1st started I was frustrated and making a lot of funny mistakes because the interface is so different. The stickiness and inferencing are very powerful but can be a killer as well.

I am using the pro version. I keep meaning to download the free version for my other computer and limting myself to using it for tutorials since it will be what most are running.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

i’ve finally installed the free version i downloaded way back in july when ted told me about sketchup some time after he had used it to design the new school they are opening in a couple of weeks. funny thing is it took these tutorials of yours, bob, to motivate me to install it. now i am going through that steep learning curve as i struggle through putting that paddle floating around in my brain into a digital work space. it’s a great exercise. thanks for pushing me to that edge so that i could dive right in.

-- whoever invented the hole... knew nothing.

Sounds like Ted is quite a guy. Glad you’re jumping in…..speaking of jumping in….I’m am absolutely hooked on SUP….I need to go get a wetsuit to extend the season. I don’t think I’m quite crazy enough to be one of the winter surfers but who knows…..it would be cool to surf on my birthday in late January.

One limitation of Sketchup is organic shapes. It can be done but it tends to be arduous. You’ll especially want to experiment with the follow me tool. I used it for my paddle design study primarily for visualization of the laminations. I actually do more freehand sketching when I’m experimenting with organic shapes. Organic shapes are even more difficult to edit in Sketchup. Once I have the idea worked out I transfer it to Sketchup for detailed design.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

I too have had Sketchup on my pc for a long time and I would really like to use it more. I currently do everything in CAD Pro 4. I’m good at it because I have 3 years of time invested in it. I think the hardest thing for me will be getting adjusted to the 3D tools vs. 2D tools. My biggest frustration is knowing what I want to do and not knowing how to do it mainly because I don’t know what the technical term is for the action! I really found your video’s very helpful and inspiring. Please continue to provide more tips when you can

Ken

-- Making Quality Homes Better!

Thanks Bob. For those of us on the steep side of the Sketchup learning curve this helps a lot. I have been through Aidan Chopra book and the on line tutorials. This adds another resource that will help me through this challenge. From the other posts above it looks as if I am not alone in struggling initially with the software.

Thanks a great deal.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

O.K. I feel like one of the people applauding the emporer (who had no clothes). I don’t see anything but white space. What am I missing?

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net