Yesterday the hard proofs for Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp, 3rd Edition arrived from the printer. As I went through it I took out the camera and took some photos of the inside pages. When I’m thinking about buying I book I want to take a look through it. Although the title is essentially the same as previous versions, and the content covers the same territory, this time around the format is “print only”. I’m still dedicated to providing videos that supplement the text, but putting those within the document is no longer practical. Every decision has consequences and as I began to work on the revision it became obvious that for this book to be effective more images and more concise explanations were in order. The most important thing in any book is the quality of the content inside.
- SketchUp is a game-changer for woodworkers.
- When you know how to use it efficiently you arrive in the shop with all the information you need about every part, and you have the experience of building it virtually before you begin to build it for real.
- If you aren’t absolutely sure about what you want to make you can quickly explore variations and make changes before you cut any wood.
- What if… questions can be answered in minutes, without starting over.
- With SketchUp you’re pretending to build, and you can make a good model without worrying about numbers or making calculations.
- When the model is done, SketchUp tells you what size each part is and where to cut the joints.
- Your time in the shop is spent making things, not scratching your head to figure out details, or wondering how to fix an issue you wish you noticed earlier.
- If you value your time in the shop, investing in SketchUp (and in learning how to use it) is well worth it.
- If you value your time spent learning, my book leads you over hurdles most people face and doesn’t waste your time looking for nuggets of useful information.
The following slide show presents a page or two from each of the 16 chapters in the 230 page book. I chose to use a spiral binding so that the book stays open as you work through it. Many of the steps are now presented as bullet-point lists and I added call-outs to most of the images so you know where to click and what tool to use. This is a reference you’ll go back to and I kept that in mind as I worked; finding information about specific steps won’t take long.
My first print run is due to arrive in a couple of weeks, and you can reserve your copy of Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp, 3rd Edition at this link. The PDF download version will be available when the print books are available.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY INCLUDING UPDATES IF YOU PURCHASED AN EARLIER VERSION OF THIS BOOK.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT WOODWORKER’S GUIDE TO SKETCHUP, 3RD EDITION
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