Back in 2012, I wrote a series of posts titled “10 Things I Wish I Had Known About SketchUp” The series grew out of a presentation I gave at a woodworking conference. It turned out to be a popular series, … Continue reading →
Most good builders know and use the Pythagorean Theorem, even if they never heard of Pythagoras or slept through high school geometry. It’s easier to remember 3-4-5 than an ancient Greek and it’s a reliable way to make something at … Continue reading →
In between an idea and an object is the process of design. You may not like the process, but it can’t be avoided. You need to decide how big, what shape, what material, what color and what level of craftsmanship … Continue reading →
I will be teaching an introduction to SketchUp Class on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, 2015 at The Manufactory, here in Cincinnati. The class will follow the “Building Blocks of SketchUp” format, where you will learn how to … Continue reading →
In the cabinet business, good planning and keeping track of everything is essential. That’s one of the main themes of my book “The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker”. There are common tools used that have been around for quite a while to … Continue reading →
What I like most about modeling in SketchUp, compared to working with pencil and paper or in 2D CAD is that I don’t have to worry about what finished drawings or details will look like until after I’ve built a … Continue reading →
One might think that digital publishing in the 21st century is an easy matter. It is if what you publish is mostly text or if all you want is a replica of a printed book. That’s like driving a horse … Continue reading →
My SketchUp books are independently produced and published. That gives me an incredible amount of freedom as an author, but the flip side of that is there is no marketing department, broad-based distribution channel, or advertising budget. To succeed I … Continue reading →
A few years ago my son talked me into playing a video game, one where we had to run around an imaginary world with people shooting at us. I sucked at it, big time. I got blasted before I could … 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 →
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 →
In a few weeks I’ll be traveling to Maine to teach a week long SketchUp class for woodworkers at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. The class will be held September 8-12, 2014. There are still a few spots open, so … Continue reading →
When I was sitting in my high school geometry class I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me that one day I would standing in front of the class, suggesting that geometry was not only useful, but interesting … Continue reading →
With the release of SketchUp 2014 come a couple of options for drawing arcs. In the past arcs were drawn by selecting a start point, an end point and then specifying a “bulge” distance. That’s a useful way to draw … Continue reading →
One of the ways SketchUp resembles woodworking is that it’s easy to get caught up in messing around with the tools and never get any real work done. In my classes this year I only hinted at the ability to … 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 →
“Building Blocks of SketchUp” is a different sort of book. It’s designed to be read on your computer while you practice in SketchUp. Within the pages are embedded video lessons that reinforce the text and screen shot images. It’s independently … 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 →
When you write and publish a book independently, you don’t need to worry about the bean counters or the salesmen. You can do what you want. In “Building Blocks of SketchUp” I tried to write the book I would have … Continue reading →
Buying a book to learn how to use software is often a necessary evil. You can only get so far by poking around and seeing what happens when you push different buttons. A good book can save you a lot … Continue reading →
Update, October 15, 2013: “Building Blocks of SketchUp” is now available as a digital download. CLICK HERE TO ORDER! SketchUp is a wonderful piece of software for designing, visualizing and planning just about anything. Some people catch on to SketchUp … Continue reading →
With the release of SketchUp 2013, many of the tool icon images changed. What hasn’t changed is that for efficient work in SketchUp, you should be using keyboard shortcuts instead of clicking on the icons in the toolbars, at least … Continue reading →
One of the most important lessons I have learned in teaching people how to make 3D models in SketchUp is that different people learn in different ways. It’s a huge mistake for anyone involved in teaching or writing about how … Continue reading →
Last Wednesday evening I spent about an hour chatting with Dyami, Chris and Tom from the Modern Woodworkers Association. They recorded the conversation about SketchUp, my day job at Popular Woodworking Magazine, my books old an new, Arts & Crafts … 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 →
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 →
Last fall we spent four days teaching SketchUp to a group of woodworkers from the Gwinnet Woodworkers Association in Atlanta, Georgia. The group was enthusiastic enough to establish a SketchUp special interest group within the club. They meet regularly, and … 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 →
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 →
One of my favorite features of SketchUp Pro is the solid tools. I do a lot of detailed models of furniture, and these tools make my life a lot easier and my work go much faster. I can take a … 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 →
UPDATE: THESE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS ARE FOR SKETCHUP VERSIONS 8 AND EARLIER. THE ICONS CHANGED WITH THE RELEASE OF SKETCHUP 2013 & YOU CAN FIND AN UP-TO-DATE LIST OF KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS HERE One of the quirks of learning SketchUp is that … Continue reading →
You don’t need to be an expert in using SketchUp to use it. In fact, you can do some amazing things without ever drawing a line. The key is Google SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse where you can find thousands of models … 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 →
