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Dilemma with Maloof Rocker Arm
I was not satisfied with my first attempt at the Maloof Rocker Arm as shown in last week's blog entry. So I re-read the FWW # 42 article, "How to Make a Rocker". Each time I read Maloof's text, I...
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Dovetail Joints in SketchUp Made Easy
11 commentsA new plugin for SketchUp makes it dead simple to add dovetails to your model
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Another Look at Creating Plans From a SketchUp Model
10 commentsI just finished up a new set of plans and thought it would be nice to use it as another example of how I create plans from a SketchUp model. This plan is my interpretation of L. Francis...
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Maloof Rocker - Roughing into SketchUp
27 commentsReaders who know me will recognize my shift into contemporary with this blog entry. I admit being stuck in the 18th C with my furniture interests, but this excursion was too tempting. Some of my...
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Modifying a Component - Adding Details
The other day I got an e-mail from a reader about the pull I wrote about in my previous blog entry. He asked me how I would go about adding steps to the top surface of the pull to give it a sort of...
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Seven Beginning Steps in SketchUp
5 commentsI've been teaching SketchUp to woodworkers for about two years. Most of my teaching has occurred at the adult education center in Pleasant Hill, CA. However, there have been several sessions...
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Compound Curves -- A Contemporary Drawer Pull
2 commentsSketchUp models with complex shapes and compound curves can be daunting to draw but by breaking them down into smaller parts. the process can be greatly simplified. Recently I was asked for some...
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Bending a Continuous Bow
2 commentsWhile struggling to steam bend fresh ash lumber in the shop, I'm also striving for better and easier methods of bending on the computer in SketchUp. For "real" bends, I'm learning to appreciate key...
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Create Shop Drawings II
6 commentsThis is the second entry in a series covering the creation of shop drawings. Last week I showed the use of Scenes to provide a way of capturing views of the model required for construction in the...
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Layers, Scenes, Dimensions and Construction Drawings
6 commentsMy approach to utilizing layers for with dimensions and scenes when making construction drawings.
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Create Shop Drawings
10 commentsNow that you've got your piece of furniture modeled in SketchUp, how do you extract/ show information and drawings needed in the shop? For this you need to know about SketchUp "Scenes" which allow...
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Using the Shape Bender Plugin
10 commentsHere's an example of a table leg component drawn using the new Shape Bender plugin.
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Using the Intersect Feature
3 commentsIn SketchUp you can interact different model shapes and find their "intersections". The feature is called "Intersect" and comes in handy for furniture design. A popular example of its use, is the...
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Breadboard Joinery for the Table Top
3 commentsI'll show my SketchUp procedure for making detail connections of a breadboard to a table top. This design, while using tenon pegs, allows for seasonal movement of wood which is a main...
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Making a Bevel-edged Drawer Bottom
Both Dave Richards and I have recommended modeling components in the context of the assembled piece of furniture. This saves time and reduces errors by drawing a new component where it fits among...
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Another New Plugin with Great Potential for Woodworkers
10 commentsA quick look at a new SketchUp plugin that allows you to bend the geometry of a flat line to correspond to a curve. Read about one example of how it could be used for furniture design.
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More on Mirroring with Flip Along
2 commentsLast week I showed how to mirror table legs using the Flip Along feature of SketchUp. As pointed out in comments to the post, there are conditions which will affect the results of Flip Along. In my...
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Mirroring with Flip Along
10 commentsFor new students of SketchUp, the Flip Along command is one of the most confusing. Yet, it is a feature that is difficult to avoid in woodworking , as we continually "flip" or mirror components in...
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About Design. Click. Build.
Learn the art and science of designing furniture in SketchUp with Fine Woodworking's design blog. Moderated by a devoted community of woodworkers, we feature step-by-step tutorials for designing components in Sketchup, downloads of pre-built 3D models of furniture parts, and news and information about the evolving world of digital furniture design.
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Digital Project Plans
Download and modify SketchUp files for select projects from Fine Woodworking. View all. Top Sellers: Matt's Moster Workbench New England Pine Cupboard Garden Bench
Meet the Authors
DaveRichardsI am a Biomedical Equipment Technician. I maintain anesthesia and respiratory equipment for the largest medical facility in southeast Minnesota. I...
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Tim KillenI am retired from Bechtel Corporation after 36 years in Engineering and IT management. I grew up among woodworking machinery in...
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