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Showing Off Your SketchUp Inventory

Showing Off Your SketchUp Inventory

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It recently occurred to me that I could create display rooms of my furniture in SketchUp. I'm not sure how this could be productively used, but it is interesting to see what you can achieve. I was...

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From 3D Model to Shop Plan -- A Workflow Example

From 3D Model to Shop Plan -- A Workflow Example

The other day a friend of mine was asking me about how I go from a 3D model in SketchUp to a plan or shop drawing. He was looking for an efficient way to do the same thing so he can spend more time...

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Tough Going with Follow Me

Tough Going with Follow Me

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The Follow Me Tool has been one of the most reliable and effective tools in my design of furniture in SketchUp. After all, I like furniture with turnings and moldings so Follow Me has been...

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Have You Run Into the Clipping Plane?

Have You Run Into the Clipping Plane?

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In this case, I'm not referring to a particular shop hand plane, rather a phenomenon in SketchUp. You can run into a Clipping Plane when zooming in very closely to your model.  All of a sudden...

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Putting Slats on an Adirondack Chair

Putting Slats on an Adirondack Chair

I had a request for the contents of a blog post I did on the old blog platform. I no longer have the text and images but I found the model so I could redo it. Perhaps this will be new for some...

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Do you Click-Move-Click, or Click-Drag-Release?

Do you Click-Move-Click, or Click-Drag-Release?

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A reader of my book recently asked why his mouse was not working like my book explanations. While drawing a line with the Line Tool, he could not get the mouse to "click-move-click", rather he was...

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Creating New Materials

Creating New Materials

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Last week  I was asked to describe how I make wood grain materials for use in SketchUp. Here's a bit of the discussion we had. To start with, I find some useful images. For wood grain materials...

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Evolving a Design in SketchUp

Evolving a Design in SketchUp

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When beginning a new design, I plan on saving several SketchUp versions as the project develops. I will start with a "1" after the filename, and continue with "2, 3, 4, 5…. etc." when changing...

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Drawing With Plugins

Drawing With Plugins

The other day I was looking through an old book and came across a ladder back chair with a rush seat. I thought it would make an interesting excercise in SketchUp and commenced to drawing it. I made...

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Showing Shop Dovetail Procedure (in SketchUp)

Showing Shop Dovetail Procedure (in SketchUp)

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Recently I tried to explain my dovetail procedure used in the shop. The project was making several Shaker Chip Boxes, and each corner is fastened with hand-cut dovetails thesenbspare...

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Resizing a Model

Resizing a Model

In my previous blog entry I mentioned that, after drawing the model to the dimensions of the original, I would like to make it slightly deeper. I also think wider would be good. At the request of one...

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Modeling a Windsor Chair - Part 1

Modeling a Windsor Chair - Part 1

For next semester's class at Mount Diablo Adult Education Center, I'm developing a model and accompanying design documents for a Braced Comb-Back Side Chair. I like to replicate actual 18th C...

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Using a Reference Sketch—Another Approach

Using a Reference Sketch—Another Approach

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In my previous blog post entry I wrote about tracing a reference drawing to get the basics for a 3D model. sometimes the reference drawing isn't at all useful for tracing. It may not be drawn...

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Tracing a Reference Drawing

Tracing a Reference Drawing

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Once in awhile it happens that you want to draw a SketchUp model from a sketch on paper. Perhaps it is something you've drawn out by hand or as in this example, it's from a an old book published in...

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Checking a Plane Angle - in SketchUp?

Checking a Plane Angle - in SketchUp?

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Sometimes it's easier to determine a difficult angle by drawing a model of the problem in SketchUp and measuring the angle. Recently in one of my classes, while hand planing the surface of a drawer...

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An Index - eBook References to DCB Blogs

An Index - eBook References to DCB Blogs

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Several blog entries here in Design. Click. Build.  provide more information on sections and procedures in my eBook, "Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers". Below I've idexed these references...

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Stopped Curved Chamfers

Stopped Curved Chamfers

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When I was working on the SketchUp model for the plans to Michael Peckovich's Arts and Crafts Dining Table I had to draw the chamfers on the curved end caps of the hayrake stretcher. The...

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Connecting a Dowel Joint

Connecting a Dowel Joint

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Some SketchUp users may wonder how you align and connect a dowel joint. After all, there are no corners  to grab on the dowel to match-up with the socket. To get around this limitation, you need...

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Reusing Your Models

Reusing Your Models

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Students of programs like AutoCAD learn early to never draw anything twice. The same applies in SketchUp. If you can do so, reuse components you've drawn rather than redrawing them. I written in the...

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Documenting a Shop Procedure (and also a Training Tool)

Documenting a Shop Procedure (and also a Training Tool)

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I sometimes regret not capturing and documenting successful shop construction procedures, particularly those complex ones not used frequently. I easily forget how I worked it out before, and end up...

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showing 41 - 60 of 257 posts
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