Google Sketchup tips & discussion

**WandrinAndy** · 10-07-2012

I'm wanting to draw plans myself and not sure what to use... Did you do those great detailed drawings using the free version of SketchUp or something else?

**Iwant1** · 10-07-2012

Yep with free version of SketchUp.

Go through all Google's tutorials for each tool then the getting started vids. This will take an hour or so. Next I found 'sketchupforwoodworkers.com' to be very helpful. The guy their designs some cabinets but talks his way through explaining every tool as he needs it. This was the best and really got me wanting to have a go. These drawing are my first ever SketchUp workings. I never even followed their tutorials, just watched and took everything in. One important tip is to have a mouse with a clicking wheel. The wheel acts as a zoom, when you hold the wheel down, it orbits the screen, and when held down with the shift key it becomes the screen panning tool. Lots of time is spent on centering on and zooming in the piece you are actually working on and using these techniques really makes it fast.

Lost of cnc machine parts are available in the SketchUp marketplace, which you get to from within SketchUp. All the rails, bearings, spindle, motors, ball nuts, etc are available. Have a search

Let us know how you get on.

**jcb121** · 10-07-2012

Originally Posted by Iwant1

Lost of cnc machine parts are available in the SketchUp marketplace, which you get to from within SketchUp. All the rails, bearings, spindle, motors, ball nuts, etc are available. Have a search

Let us know how you get on.

rate them up!

**Iwant1** · 10-07-2012

Originally Posted by jcb121

rate them up!

Thanks Barney, rated both you're components I used. You've done a fantastic job which really saves us time when modelling.

**WandrinAndy** · 17-07-2012

Originally Posted by Jonathan

P.S. Noticed there's two discussions going on here, the machine and sketchup - I can separate them if you want?

Jonathan, it would be appreciated if you could separate out the SketchUp discussion into some SketchUp thread as there are some great tips here for us novices, and I am bound to continue that discussion. Iwant1 is in agreement via a PM.

TIA,
Andy

**JoeHarris** · 11-07-2012

Originally Posted by WandrinAndy

Did you do those great detailed drawings using the free version of SketchUp or something else?

SketchUp is seriously undervalued, I use it all the time at work so if you have any queries I would be more than happy to help - I don't feel I can give back much on this forum as yet so anything I can do to help... With the scaling issue - if you want to scale accurately - take a dimension on the model you want to scale (say this is 1423.1mm) you know that this actually needs to be 50mm, divide 50 by 1423.1 = 0.03514. Now grab all of the element you want to scale and click the scale tool, then after you click on one of the green grips that appear, enter 0.03514 - hit Enter and hey presto it is bang on 50mm. Hope that helps...

Also I can't stress enough how useful groups and components are, they allow you to change multiple elements at once and isolate elements you are working on - plus when you enter a group by double clicking, go to View>component edit>hide rest of model to fully isolate the element so you can work on a part that would otherwise be hidden - can be a life saver some times! (hope i'm not teaching you to suck eggs but someone is bound to find that tip useful.)

Iwant1 - looks like a good build log beginning here - watching with interest as not a million miles away from what I'm trying to build; mine I fear may take a long while though (due mainly to funds but also a distinct lack of time!)

**Iwant1** · 11-07-2012

Originally Posted by JoeHarris

Also I can't stress enough how useful groups and components are

Thanks for the tip regarding scaling, will try it next time I need it.

Making groups in sketchup is vital. As soon as I made a square, it had to be grouped before I move, pull or resize it otherwise it messes up the box. Then use the outliner window to rename every grouped item so I know what I'm working with when hiding/unhiding.

Adil

**WandrinAndy** · 23-07-2012

Originally Posted by JoeHarris

If you want to scale accurately - take a dimension on the model you want to scale (say this is 1423.1mm) you know that this actually needs to be 50mm, divide 50 by 1423.1 = 0.03514. Now grab all of the element you want to scale and click the scale tool, then after you click on one of the green grips that appear, enter 0.03514 - hit Enter and hey presto it is bang on 50mm.

Thanks for this and other tips Joe... will certainly use this one as I'm slowly getting into Sketchup, and finding push/pulling precisely nigh on impossible. Thought I had picked up how to do this from one of the "SketchUp for Woodworkers" tutorials, which are excellent thanks Adil, but I sadly seem to be cocking it up.

Think I'm gonna sweat to define a component of extrusion that is exactly 1000mm and scale it from there.... Am I right in thinking that the red grip does the whole face, effectively push/pulling?

Btw, Thanks for splitting out this thread Jonathan.

Cheers,

**JoeHarris** · 23-07-2012

Originally Posted by WandrinAndy

finding push/pulling precisely nigh on impossible. Thought I had picked up how to do this from one of the "SketchUp for Woodworkers" tutorials, which are excellent thanks Adil, but I sadly seem to be cocking it up.

OK it's really going to annoy you how easy this is! Select a face you want to push/pull, then use the push/pull tool to extrude or cut in the direction you want to go then type the dim you require and hit the enter key. That's it!

**WandrinAndy** · 23-07-2012

Originally Posted by JoeHarris

OK it's really going to annoy you how easy this is! Select a face you want to push/pull, then use the push/pull tool to extrude or cut in the direction you want to go then type the dim you require and hit the enter key. That's it!

Yep, that's what I've been doing, but maybe I'm just being lazy or too demanding of a free product. Suppose I should better describe what I'm after, as some different form of the dim that is typed that interprets what is typed as the resulting dim (automatically taking into account the dim that was previously created possibly by another push/pull operation) rather than the dim for this push/pull operation alone. I am trying to avoid having to do calculations myself, lazy sod that I am. Hope this makes sense. I have at times first tried push/pulling down to virtually nothing (just before the whole face disappears into nothingness) which makes the calculation simpler and then push/pulling to the required length.

I like your "Benjamin Chair" very muchly by the way... guessing you CNC'ed the ply cross sections before clamping, gluing, and bolting through?