Learning to design #3: Next sketchup version - thanks DaveR!!!

Great work! I’m learning Sketchup too…so I’ll be watching ….I’ve got to make an armoire :O

I made a finger joint jig last year than got side-tracked and have’t used it much(4 young kids)..it uses the table saw and a moving holder with threaded rod and golfball as a crank..every time I rotate the the rod it moves the holder 1/16” . 4 rotations = 1/4” there a little bit to index..but very accurate.
You cut both sides at the same time…you don’t have to change the the table saw blade(1/8”)

If your interested I’ll lookout the plans

Dave

-- "Safety is habit you start and always keep!"

Good work mtkate.

As to your arch and the missing faces, how did you remove the waste? It looks like you drew the arc on each side and then deleted the chord line at the bottom. The trick is to use Push/Pull instead. Draw the arc on one side and then push the face under the arc through to the other side.

Now, if you did use Push/Pull, I would have to guess that you have way too many line segments for your arc.

Glad that I was able to help.

By the way, instead of groups, use components. Then, for duplicated parts such as the sides, you make a copy (Ctrl+Move) and flip it (don’t rotate it). That way, whatever you do on one side gets done on the other. Get in the habit of only using components.

When I drew the box I made the front component and copied it to be the back. At that stage I hadn’t added the opening at the bottom or the box joint fingers. I just drew the parts to their full size. Then i drew in a side and made it a component, copied it and flipped the copy to be the opposite side. It was also drawn to the full size of the part. Think of that as if you were making the parts out of real wood.

After cutting the box joints while editing the components (I only had to edit one of each), I made the front component unique (right click on it and choose Make Unique) and then I modified it to add the opening at the bottom.

Make sense?

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

mkake, DaveR:
I am following this project with great interest.
I dabbled in Sketchup last year while building my shop but really must move my skills up to the next level.
This project covers a lot of the things I was having trouble with last year so it a good reference for me.

thanks for the postings.

This is probalby a bit off topic but what are you favorite varieties of Tea?
I am and have been, a fan of green teas for years and have found a couple of dark teas from china that we enjoy very much.

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

mkake,

As DaveR said, the Push/Pull tool is the best way to create the arched opening in the front group. To repair your model at this point (rather than recreate it) would be to right click on the front group and select “Edit Group”. Then use the Line Tool to reconnect the lines at the bottom of the arch, front and back, to “heal” the opening and then use the Push/Pull Tool to select the front face of the arch and push all the way to the back so that it re-cuts the arch but leaves the faces of the interior sides of the arch intact.

-- Best regards, Jack, www.PixelsandSawdust.com

Hey Bob – off topic is often the more fun aspect of this website ;) I am also a green tea type… or anything herbal though for some bizarre reason I am not really into mint tea. It’s a shame, since I have a ton of mint growing outside. When I travel for work, I always bring along the chamomile. I hate being in hotels so anything to calm me down and get me to sleep is very important. I also discovered a ginseng tea (it’s called Korean Ginseng) that comes in packets with granules that dissolve in hot water. I really like it.

So, today I built the finger joint jig for the tablesaw from ShopNotes – the one that slides. It works really well – it took me from 10-3PM to build it. I was going really slow and trying not to screw it up. I have some rework on the jig to do in order to adjust the joint sizes – unfortunately my pegs ended up being 1-2mm bigger than the holes. Looks like another weekend day of work coming up, but I know what the problem is. My only issue is lack of skill :)

DaveR, you are absolutely correct about how I built the arches. I tried to use push/pull but thought drawing and deleting would be easier. I’ll do that next time.

Jack – thanks. You have given me a task for my daily commute on monday. I wish the help files were embedded in the app, and not only on the internet. I have not looked around if there is a big .pdf out there yet but that would be very helpful.

I will certainly read more about components. I made a group, then would explode it to modify, then recreate the group…. It’s fine when designing a simple box like this but I see how it would become cumbersome with a more interesting project.

I can’t believe a simple initiative to learn sketchup has led me to create a new jig…. but that’s the way it goes. It’s the same when you are remodelling the interior of your home. You decide to knock down a wall, but then you discover you have to reroute the wiring… but before you do that you have to move the lighting… it never ends!

“I will certainly read more about components. I made a group, then would explode it to modify, then recreate the group…. It’s fine when designing a simple box like this but I see how it would become cumbersome with a more interesting project.”

Hi mtkate. Don’t explode components or groups to modify them. Just open them for editing. Double click on the component with the Select tool and it will be open. You can then modify it. Or as Jack wrote, you can right click on it and choose Edit Component or Edit Group.

I only use components so that’s what I normally refer to.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

/First back to your box joint jig.
Here’s the one I use after making 3 different typs and one of them for the tablesaw.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/2843
It sounds to me like you are having a problems with adjustment and perhaps moving your jig the opposite of what you want.
DAMHIKT. <g>
I’m and still a chamomile virgin having never tasted it but so many of my friends use it and now you, it time I took a plunge. Are there different types?
That Korean Ginseng sounds good. Is there a brand I could look for?

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

I played with the sketchup design and made the group into a component. Indeed, you can edit it easier without affecting the other pieces next to it. What I had been trying to do was to create the arc, then use the push/pull but lines kept intersecting with the other pieces and creating a mess.

Using as a component (I bet it would work as a group also) – I can isolate it in it’s own “space”. The push/pull to remove the arc worked like a charm and now I see where the lines would have intersected.

Bob, I think I will need more skills practice before I try the model of jg you made. Those joints look TIGHT! Tonight, I decided to re-adjust my jig (the 1mm move) – and tested it out. Works so much better. It took a bit of thinking to figure out which way the 1mm adjustment should go. The joints are not as tight as in your pics but at least they fit and the pieces don’t break when I try to put them together. I will post it as a project tonight if the internet connection stops flaking out on me.

There are certainly different types of chamomile, but I think what they sell for teas is pretty much all the same variety. One year I grew some in my garden (just the regular seed packs you get at Rona/Home Depot or whatever your garden variety home hardware store is…) and took the time to cut off the flowers and seed heads to keep in a jar and drink later on. It was a LOT of work for a little bit of tea. I figured with labour each cup of tea must have been at least $20. LOL. I am not a big connoisseur but you need to try different brands. Some might have more pollen matter in them than leaves which gives a different taste.

I looked up the Ginseng from a packet I have – a friend of the family always gives it to us…
http://koreaone.en.ecplaza.net/catalog.asp?DirectoryID=54795&CatalogID=62780
Some may say it’s an acquired taste.

Thanks for the Link Mtkate.
The good news is you have mastered your jig.
Here’s a tip for you:
Make your boards wider than your final size and you can trim those edges to have a half pin at each end that way.

Enjoy!
Bob

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

Yes an important reason to use groups and components is you can draw directly on an object thats a component or group and not affect that object. Thats critical if you are building something that is made up of interconnecting parts..draw the first part, make it a component then you can start sketching the next interconnecting part right on top of the first one without destructively editing the first part, and you will be insured that everything will fit together perfectly.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

... I have also discovered another very important feature recently – “Make Unique”.... I am now onto working out the design for my new kitchen and learned that once you make and replicate a component you have to make sure if you customize one of them for any reason you have to remember to make it unique… or interesting things start to happen ;)

You should set up a keyboard shortcut for Make component and Make Unique since these are both frequently used.

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have a good enough memory to learn skectch up. But It’s amazing to see what it does. If you every write a book about it Dave R let me know.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Jim, I bet you could learn it but if I ever do get that book written, I’ll certainly let you know.

Dave

-- Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.

I’ll look forward to that day Dave. I hope it’s a best seller.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon