Here is a question I get asked relatively often:

I purchased “SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers”. Is this the same as your book?

Here’s my answer, and a quick look at recent history.

They are not the same, in spite of the similarities of the titles.

In June of 2010 I published the original version of “Woodworker’s Guide to Google SketchUp”, in PDF format with embedded videos within the 200+ pages illustrated text. It was the first publication in any format on the topic of using SketchUp for designing and planning woodworking projects. It was pretty successful and got a lot of attention online.

Several months later, Taunton Press, publishers of Fine Woodworking magazine released a book with the title “Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers” and over the next few years several videos with the same title. Google has since sold SketchUp to Trimble so in my revised version the “New Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp” the reference to Google was removed. The Taunton products have also removed their references to Google.

It is easy to see why readers would be confused. This is also confusing to search engines and I believe that is another reason for the similarity. Taunton isn’t the only publisher to engage in this practice, F+W, publishers of Popular Woodworking (and my former employer) recently released a paperback book titled “SketchUp – A Design Guide for Woodworkers”.

The obvious question is this; “If you’re proud of your product, why wouldn’t you give it a distinctive title so as not to confuse the audience”.

—Bob Lang

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION (AND TO PURCHASE) THE “NEW WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP”