Several readers have been in touch wanting to know when I will be having another SketchUp class in Cincinnati. If you’re in the area (or willing to travel) you can help me decide when to hold a class and how … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Bob Lang
In a good SketchUp model anything that is a distinct piece of wood in real life is a component. (Click here to read about why components are so important). With components, you rarely need to draw anything more than once; … Continue reading
If you’re learning how to use SketchUp you have a lot on your plate. As it is with any new software you need to remember what happens when you click on this or that, but SketchUp is more complex because … Continue reading
Here is a link to the SketchUp model of the modified Harvey Ellis/Gustav Stickley bookcase that was the subject of a weekend build workshop held April 9-10, 2016. Click and drag with the left mouse button over the model image … Continue reading
I had heard nice things about the Alabama Woodworkers Guild before I left last week to teach a two-day seminar in building a Stickley cabinet and an evening SketchUp workshop. When I arrived on Friday I found a shop that … Continue reading
Next weekend I will be in Birmingham, Alabama as a guest of the Alabama Woodworkers Guild. On Friday evening, April 8, 2016 from 6-9pm I will be conducting a Woodworking With SketchUp workshop. This special event is open to the … Continue reading
Question from a reader: I’m trying to do a simple paneled door; 2 rails, 2 stiles, and a panel in a groove all the way around. I made stiles no problem, the rails have a groove and a little tenon, … Continue reading
My cynical side believes that there isn’t much difference between history and marketing, and my rational side has to admit that a lot of recorded history exists to sell something. Maybe not a specific product but a set of ideas … Continue reading
I spent a little time this morning making a SketchUp model of one of the pieces from Gustav Stickley’s “The Craftsman” magazine. This table has always intrigued me, it was designed by Ernest Gimson in the early 1900s. This was … Continue reading
I think my books are pretty good; they mix text and video in a digital format (PDF). These different methods reinforce each other so no matter what your learning style is you “get it” faster than you would with just … Continue reading
Knowing a traditional way of doing something is certainly valuable, but it’s easy to get trapped in thinking that the traditional way is the only way, or the best way to achieve a goal. Technical drawings and project plans are … Continue reading
The biggest advantage of SketchUp (or any other CAD software) isn’t in making an initial plan. That takes a while no matter what method you use. But if you want to change something, or make new design that is similar … Continue reading
What do middle school students and amateur carpenters have in common? Neither group realizes how tricky and troublesome compound angles can be. Carpenters will have fits trying to run crown molding and one group of middle schoolers recently hit a … Continue reading
One of the most popular posts on this blog is my “SketchUp Shortcuts Cheat Sheet”, a handy list of the shortcuts I use all the time. Those are all standard shortcuts that exist when you install SketchUp. A few years … Continue reading
For efficient work in SketchUp, you should use keyboard shortcuts instead of clicking on the icons in the toolbars, at least for the most often used commands. One of the quirks of SketchUp is that the obvious way of doing … Continue reading
Twitchy Index Fingers & the Move Tool When I teach SketchUp in person I get reminded of the basic issues that confront many people. If you can get past these hurdles you’ll be well on your way to mastering the … Continue reading
Since the first post on this site in August, 2011 I’ve written about woodworking, the American Arts & Crafts period and SketchUp. My interest in SketchUp began with my own use and that led to teaching other woodworkers how to … Continue reading
One of the most flattering things that can happen to an author is an inquiry asking “Can I use your book as a resource for my class?” It makes me feel a little proud and it also makes me want … Continue reading
SketchUp is a program that tries to make things easy. There are inferences at the ends and midpoints of every line. When you get close to one with the mouse cursor a colored dot appears along with a yellow tag. … Continue reading
Last week I spent a most interesting day in the tech lab at a Michigan middle school, showing a group of five (a middle school technology teacher, an 8th grade science teacher, a high school technology teacher, a high school … Continue reading
The weekend of January 30-31 I will be conducting a two-day SketchUp class in Denver, Colorado at the Rockler Woodworking & Hardware store. COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE CLASS ARE HERE If you would like to participate, you are not too … Continue reading
At the Alabama Woodworkers Guild – April 8-10, 2016 In a few months I will be traveling to Maylene (just south of Birmingham), Alabama to present not one, but two workshops for the Alabama Woodworkers Guild. The main event will … Continue reading
A few people have asked about the SketchUp class scheduled for January 30-31 at the Rockler Woodworking & Hardware Store in Denver, Colorado. This class will be held as scheduled. If you’d like to join me for this class, there … Continue reading
The new issue (January/February 2016) of Woodworker West Magazine includes an excerpt from my book “Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp”. My thanks to Ron Goldman for reaching out and including this. As a small, independent publisher it is an uphill battle … Continue reading
One of the features of SketchUp that isn’t immediately obvious is the value of storing and retrieving complex objects. A case in point is a project I worked on this morning, building and organizing a library of moldings for a … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for information. This is a hand carved, hand painted rendition of the Hebrew word Chai. It means life, now and in the hereafter. The carving is solid basswood, and the frame … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for information. What happens when a two-dimensional graphic is rendered in three-dimensions? That’s the question that I’ve been exploring for the last several months. As a woodworker, carving is the most … Continue reading
SketchUp 2016 was released a few weeks ago, with a few new features and under the hood improvements. You can find the full list of features (and download the latest version of SketchUp) at this link. If you use SketchUp … Continue reading
Making jigs (and writing about making jigs) is a popular topic. So popular that some woodworkers (and some authors) spend so much time creating jigs that they never accomplish much of anything else. I’m not one of those guys. I’m … Continue reading
One of the curious things about woodworking is that you don’t really know how thorough to be in one step until you are knee-deep in the next. With experience you develop a routine and can move along efficiently. Without experience … Continue reading
I only have a few classes scheduled (at the moment) for the coming year. Space is limited and my classes often fill early. Here are dates, places and information about signing up: SketchUp Weekend at Rockler Denver, January 30-31, 2016 … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. Good design is timeless, and one of my pastimes is taking an old design and reproducing it with a contemporary selection of materials. If you weren’t aware of … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. This is a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley No. 70 Music Cabinet in solid quartersawn white oak. The cabinet stands 47″ high, is 20″ wide and 16″ deep. … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for buying information. One of my favorite pieces of Gustav Stickley furniture doesn’t look like Gus had anything to do with it. The Poppy table was part of the collection of … Continue reading
This solid quartersawn white oak table is a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley splayed leg side table (the legs angle from front to back). This was not a regular factory production piece; I only know of one example that has … Continue reading
This piece is available to purchase – scroll down for ordering details. This little table is 16″ in diameter and the top is 18″ above the floor. It is made entirely from solid quartersawn white oak with through mortise and … Continue reading
Bits and pieces of this piece have appeared here for the last month or so. I’m blessed with a talented, lovely and charming wife, and this is a collaboration between Joyce and I. If you don’t read Hebrew, this is … Continue reading
UPDATE – JANUARY 12, 2016 – CLASS IS DEFINITELY ON! A FEW SEATS ARE STILL AVAILABLE! I will be teaching a two-day SketchUp class on January 30 & 31, 2016, and the Rockler Woodworking & Hardware store in Denver, Colorado. … Continue reading
It’s just starting to look like fall here in Cincinnati, but I’m working on my teaching schedule for 2016. I’ll be announcing some classes soon, but in the meantime you can help me out in a couple of ways. Here … Continue reading
The details that make the difference between furniture that is ho-hum and furniture that is WOW are most often subtle. If all you know about historical pieces is based on second hand information, you might believe that the way things … Continue reading