Using Sketch-up

[Frank S]

I`m wanting to use sketch-up but would like to know of any pitfalls or problems with it,so, does anybody have any info on it .please ??
F

 

[Sailormantom]

Hi Frank

I found that sketch up was a bit of a pain until I found this site and went through the tutorials. Then it all seemed to fall into place rather easier

http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com

Tom

 

[Steve Maskery]

Fine Woodworking have a rather good DVD presented by Dave Richards. It's aimed specifically at woodworkers who are new to Sketchup. It takes you through the modeeling of a simple shaker cupboard, from quick concept to detailed joinery. It's available from the Fine Woodworking store either as a physical DVD or as a download.
http://www.tauntonstore.com/fine-woodwo ... 67125.html
Worth every small penny.

 

[Mike.S]

I found the first 4 introductory (new user) videos at the sketchup site to be very useful:

http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/trainin ... o_gsu.html

GL

Mike

 

[RogerS]

Another vote for Dave Richards DVD. He is a regular contributor to Fine Woodworking and runs a blog on SketchUp.

 

[DonJohnson]

My vote for somewhere to start with Sketchup would be at Joe Zeh's site: http://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm

I was a computer analyst and programmer before I retired, and worked with Autocad amongst other things. I found Sketchup initially amazing, but soon seemed to get stuck 'cos it wouldn't quite do what I wanted, so - after several tries - I gave up on it.

When I found Joe Zeh's FREE tutorials, and particularly the use of components and layers, it all began to make sense and behave correectly, and I now use it for anything I need. I downloaded his tutorials - starting with the bedside table - so that I could run them anytime rather than watch them on line, and although they take a bit of time to view, the instruction is first rate. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Sketchup is well worth the investment of your time in climbing the learning curve.

 

[Steve Maskery]

The sketchupforwoodworkers site may be easy to understand but it introduces a lot of poor working pracitices.
OTOH the Joh Zeh site is good. He was trained by Dave R!

S

 

[plymouth pirate]

I`m wanting to use sketch-up but would like to know of any pitfalls or problems with it,so, does anybody have any info on it .please ??
F

Just do not see any point in it if you have any idea how to use a pencil and paper. The overall shape of an item can be done far quicker by that method. Where do the size and type of joints used appear on sketchup?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi PP
Well pencil and paper is fine. And if that is all you need, all well and good. But any CAD package does offer benefits. People would not use them if they did not. It is easy to change the proportions of something, or see what different hardware looks like. Or explore the effect of making a leg more slender or chunkier. Sure you can do that on paper, too, but, once you become skilled, it's quicker and easier on a computer. Yes, there is a learning curve, just like there is for trad technical drawing with a pencil, but it is a bit like saying you can't understand why anyone would want to drive a car when a horse has been around for ever. Nothing wrong with either, but one is a lot more expedient than the other.
S

 

[RogerS]

And you can have a drawing complete with mortice and tenons, then click on the CutList plug-in to give you your list of timber to cut..already dimensioned. Want to make thew window a but larger. Easy peasy. Then get your new cuttibg list.

 

[Frank S]

Thanks for the info.,guys. Steve, I seem to have opened a small can of worms here.
Plymouth, as an ex-design eng. I do know how to use pencil and paper but my drawing board went a long time ago when we moved from a large (12 rooms) Georgian house to a small bungalow.
I think I shall give sketch-up a go,after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
F.

 

[RogerS]

The other thing about Dave R's DVD (downloadable IIRC) is that his pace of delivery is streets ahead of many US 'presenters'. I find that so many of them grate - either with a folksy style ingratiating style or slow and ponderous 'I'm going to tell you this, I'm going to tell you the same thing again, I'm going to throw in something totally irrelevant, Oh Gosh, did I tell you about? '. Dave's style is concise and to the point.

 

[WandrinAndy]

I would suggest that new SketchUp users :

Download the four part getting-started-series from https://sites.google.com/site/sketchupv ... ted-series and watch and practice the basics.

Download the four Combined-Videos for Toolbars from https://sites.google.com/site/sketchupv ... up-toolbar, watch them all initially, and then only watch them as and when needed.

The tutorials here are also a good starting point - www.sketchupforwoodworkers.com