When I first was learning how to use SketchUp, one of my frustrations was that the available references were geared toward architectural use of the 3D modeling program. I have nothing against those who design houses, but my interests are … Continue reading
The “New Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp” is entirely digital. If you want a paper and ink version, you can print out the pages, but then you’ll miss out on the embedded videos and links within the PDF. This post details … Continue reading
Which SketchUp book should I buy? That’s a question I get a lot, and if you have no experience with SketchUp, I recommend that you start with “Building Blocks of SketchUp”. That book starts with downloading and installing SketchUp and … Continue reading
UPDATE, MAY 11, 2022: VIDEO CONTENT FROM THIS BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASERS ONLINE AND THE PDF FILE NOW INCLUDES DIRECT LINKS TO THE ONLINE VIDEOS. IF YOU ALREADY OWN “WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP, WE’RE HAPPY TO SEND YOU … Continue reading
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO PREVIEW OF THIS INNOVATIVE DIGITAL BOOK In 2010 I wrote and published “Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp” in enhanced PDF format. Staying digital let me put videos in along with the text and images. A lot … Continue reading
If you build furniture, there are a bunch of steps that have to take place, whether you like it or not. The parts need to go from rough lumber to finished size, and those parts have to connect with the … Continue reading
When I teach a class or talk to woodworkers about SketchUp, those two questions are almost always asked. As an unrepentant smart-Alec I usually reply “$590 – the current cost of a SketchUp Pro license, SketchUp Make is free”. There … Continue reading
This post is out of date! Click Here for up-to-date information about Upcoming SketchUp Classes. I will be teaching two, two-day SketchUp classes in the next few months, and there are just a few seats still available in each class. … Continue reading
The good folks at SketchUp recently released an updated version of my favorite 3D modeling program. As with previous versions of SketchUp there are two versions, the free for personal use “SketchUp Make” and the more advanced version “SketchUp Pro”. … Continue reading
In my post on making a template for through mortises, I used a full-sized paper pattern that I printed from a SketchUp model. A reader posed the logical and obvious question “can you print a full-size pattern from the free … Continue reading
SketchUp is a great tool to quickly draw parts for furniture and cabinet projects. Even better is the fact that if you know how to organize all the bits and pieces of the model you hardly need to draw at … Continue reading
I think of a SketchUp model as a resource for building the real thing. Making the model is like a dress rehearsal, you go through all the steps of the process, and you can solve problems with the Undo command, … Continue reading
Taking a week-long class in SketchUp is the best way I know to really make progress in using this program to design your woodworking projects. If you’re ready to take that step, there are still a few spots available in … Continue reading
Here is one of my favorite moves in SketchUp, exploding and redefining components to move geometry from one component to another. If you don’t speak SketchUp fluently, that means I can take an existing tenon from a table apron and … Continue reading
PLEASE NOTE: A NEW, REVISED EDITION OF “WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP” IS NOW AVAILABLE. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE “NEW WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP” SketchUp Book Now Available As a Download Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp is a unique … Continue reading
I recently received the following question from a reader, and as it is asked often it makes sense to post the answer here. At first glance it is a technical question, but my answer veers off into philosophy, and bounces … Continue reading
Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp is approaching its third birthday. It’s a unique work; it really isn’t a book although there are almost 200 pages to it. It comes on a disc in PDF format and what makes it different is … Continue reading
I spent Tuesday through Friday of the week after Thanksgiving teaching eight woodworkers SketchUp just north of Atlanta, Georgia. The class was held in the regular meeting place of the Gwinnet Woodworkers Association, the classroom at Peachtree Woodworking Supply. Six … Continue reading
My friends at SketchUp were kind enough to ask me to contribute a post about how I use the software in designing and planning woodworking projects. You can read it on the Official SketchUp Blog (and find out just what … Continue reading
I finally had a chance today to try out Google+ Hangouts, and I think I have found an exciting and effective way to share techniques for using SketchUp to design, plan and understand woodworking projects. Hangouts are a way that … Continue reading
When I teach SketchUp classes, I try to spend at least half my time looking over the shoulders of students, answering questions and coaching them past the hard parts. The answer to almost every question (and the solution to the … Continue reading
CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT CLASS LIST I will be teaching SketchUp classes in Cincinnati, beginning this summer. The date, price, and location will be announced soon, but in the meantime, here is the plan. Classes will consist of two, two-day … Continue reading
Components Can Be Redefined SketchUp is a powerful tool for designing furniture and other woodworking projects. In the design phase, you can quickly make objects, copy and compare variations, and see how things will look in three dimensions. But that’s … Continue reading
Paste in Place is My Best Friend My primary goal when modeling a project in SketchUp is to get away from the computer as soon as I possibly can. One of the main reasons SketchUp is the ultimate design/planning tool … Continue reading
The Power of Reusing Details Designing on the computer can be far more efficient than drawing with pencil and paper. The advantage isn’t so much in making the original drawing, that takes some time no matter how you do it. … Continue reading
Don’t Draw if You Can Copy & Copy is Part of the Move Command It’s easy to miss the obvious when you’re learning something new, and that was my experience when learning SketchUp. Once again, my AutoCAD experience was more … Continue reading
Components Are Crucial My abilities in SketchUp took a great leap forward when I gave up on drawing and began modelling, and I was able to take that step when I got a grip on using components rather than dealing … Continue reading
Just Type The Number I think this post is more about me and the way my brain works than it is about learning to use SketchUp. Now that I’ve become somewhat adept at modelling, I really admire the simple and … Continue reading
Click and Let Go, ClickClick, and ClickClickClick One thing I plan on emphasizing in this year’s SketchUp classes is using the mouse effectively. Modeling in SketchUp is a very efficient process if you click the right way at the right … Continue reading
Those Colored Lines and Dots Mean Something Learning how to use software that’s new to you is like adapting to the way things are in a foreign country. The language is different, the customs are different, and behavior that is … Continue reading
I Can Get Rid of That Guy Standing in The Corner All of us had at least one teacher in junior high who liked to point out the negative consequences of making an assumption. For me it was Mr. Sawyer, … Continue reading
I received an e-mail last week from a reader who feels that he is being “forced” to move from AutoCAD to SketchUp, and he isn’t a happy CADer. I can relate. I first learned to make design drawings with pencil … Continue reading
PLEASE TAKE NOTE! A NEW, REVISED AND UPDATED VERSION OF THIS BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE! CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE “NEW WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP” Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp This unique book is a comprehensive guide to using SketchUp … Continue reading
This is an example of one of the videos embedded within Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp. Follow Me can be one of the most frustrating tools in SketchUp, unless you know the trick revealed at the end of this video. This … Continue reading
Here is an example of one of the embedded videos from Bob Lang’s enhanced PDF book Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp. This video shows how components in SketchUp can be used as resources. Using this method saves time because you can … Continue reading
Here is a short video preview of Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp, a detailed reference to using SketchUp in enhanced PDF format with videos embedded within the 184 pages of text. For more information about this book, including a sample chapter … Continue reading
You can watch free SketchUp videos here, or on Bob’s YouTube Channel. Subscribe to our RSS Feed and you’ll be notified when new videos are added. … Continue reading