Agreed. Here's the link again, shortened and full:
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* 49 Click and Play Videos in the Text * Table of Contents Links * Bookmarks for Easy Navigation * 184 Pages of Step by Step Instruction * 391 Detailed Screen Shots This is a comprehensive reference, designed to teach woodworkers how to use the popular, free 3D design tool, Google SketchUp. From the basics of setting up the program to the fine points of making detailed models of your next project, Woodworkers Guide to SketchUp provides the answers in an easy to use, easy to search digital publication. Robert W. Lang has years of experience as a professional woodworker and designer and shares the secrets of designing furniture and cabinets efficiently on your computer.
This Woodworking eBook is a new approach to learning. Place the disc in your computer's drive and launch Adobe Reader. It looks like a book, with clear step-by step instructions and hundreds of illustrations, and you can print a hard copy for off screen reading and reference.
Read on your monitor and follow along in SketchUp. Video tutorials are embedded within the pages. Just click on the image and a short video plays to show you exactly what to do. Built in bookmarks and search functions find the information you want instantly.
This digital publication comes to you on a single disc in Adobe PDF format. Requires Adobe Reader, and can be read on both Macs and PCs.
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I recall going through lots of tutorials before I figured out the most basic of stuff, like how to set up the program for a wood worker. I found this stuff not particularly intuitive and have no clue what tutorials taught me this, some I figured out on my own, some I found in tutorials, and most likely in my haste to learn, I may have skipped some of this in the tutorials.
For beginners, I'll give some tips that help before going to a tutorial that I learned over time:
First, you need a decent screen layout. Click on VIEWS, TOOLBARS and
Deselect: Getting Started, its cluttered and redundant. Select Large Tool Set Layers Standard Views
The last one, "Views" is important. It puts all the basic views, ISO, front, back, top, sides on the tool bar. I found it really helpful drawing stuff from a flat on view rather than an iso view when first starting out, but even now, rather than fool with drawing to axes, a flat front, top or side view is simple. Along with the View Extents on the Large Tool set, you can always quickly get things back into perspective when things get out of hand.
Next, go to Window, and select Model Info. Select Units and pick fractional and something less precise. I use 1/16th, but probably should use 1/8th.
This makes it easier to use the mouse to size things. I spend a lot of time trying to get lengths to a half inch or 1/4" before giving up and typing the numbers in. I still do, but this helps.
My next tip is hot keys. You must learn some always used hot keys for woodworkers. These are imperative:
Spacebar: Select R: Rectangle M: Move P: Push
R is how most all woodworking projects get started, because most wood is a rectangle. I was using Line a lot at first... nope, wrong way to draw a 2x6.
Pick a view, like front, and r and draw any size rectangle reasonably close to size, enter it then type in the actual size, say 30,5.5 and you will get a perfect 30" x 6" board. Next, hit P and make the thickness to anything, then type in the real thickness, .75 or 1 1/2 or whatever. Actually, I changed the P for push to V and made P paint. You do this in Window, preferences, shortcuts. I use V a lot and I find P less convenient, so I changed that shortcut.
Now, for my suggestion for a tutorial, I like this one by Gary Katz:
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you look at his desktop, you should see pretty much what I described above.
This tutorial is for a simple book case but it is a great tutorial for woodworkers and should be done following along step by step with SU. Once you can do everything he does w/o the tutorial, you are well on your way and can develop your own style to do the same things your way, as there are many.
Actually I would not suggest as coarse an 1/8" as you often have to split that distance
For years I waited for AutoCAD LT and Auto Sketch to add Dirrect Distance Entry, DDS. Much much faster if you simply click to start a line and drag the mouse in the dirrection you want to go. Type in the distance you want and enter, done deal. Watching for a snap distance can be tedious.
I also suggest adding L to start a line. G to form a component. D for dimension, Alt D to dimension an angle. T for Tape measure. Some of these are "MY" shortcuts. Any time I can type in a letter instead of going to an icon for a command I save time. These short cuts can be changed and or added very easily.
AND I set my center scroll wheel click to invoke the Orbit command.
A little further on that comment,, when zoomed in and trying to snap to a point to start or end a line, a coarse snap setting can make it difficult to get the line to actually snap/attach to another point to begin or end a line. I don't like having to deal with a jumpy cursor when zoomed in on a detail especially when trying to attach to a buried line only visible in X-Ray mode.
I agree, but my mind somehow looks at it as a challenge when I try to do the snap distance thing. I use the mouse, and overshoot by 1/64, under shoot by 1/4, over shoot by 1/8th and have to force my self to type in the number, as my brain wants to beat the snapper into submission. I always start out using rectangles and and typing in the distances but sooner or later along the way, when I'm not paying attention my mind slips into the game mode...
For sure. I left out the L line thing because when I first was learning I used the line tool to start everything. That was a waste of time and now I use it infrequently compared to the 3 I listed. I should have added G for for component. Others I use a lot is Alt and double click the scroll wheel which centers the drawing wherever your cursor is and shift and hold down the scroll wheel to get the pan tool.
Anyway, once you start using the shortcuts, you quickly learn all the most used, and edit some to suit your personal Preferences.
I think the default if you hold it down, is the orbit tool, and with shift is the pan tool.
> You and I have been using Sketchup for a while now but reading this book I
Cool trick! Now it would be even more helpful if that trick also worked for setting the plane in the rectangle tool -- it is a PITA sometimes to have rotate the canvas to get an orientation that favors your intended direction...
>>> You and I have been using Sketchup for a while now but reading this book >> I
If you figure that one out let me know LOL..
I always draw the lines to form a rectangle and push/pull to form a 3D object. I do use the rectangle tool when I am able to snap to given points, say to close the top of a box for instance.
As I said in a previous message if you set the view to front, back, top or side it is simple to draw a rectangle to the correct orientation. Thats why the first thing beginners should do is set up the tool bar with the Views on it as I described.
I never draw lines to draw a rectangle, that's what the rectangle tool is for. You can quickly type in the size of the rectangle to perfection so the line tool is just the wrong tool to draw rectangles, even if it seems to work, it is inefficient.
Still, the orientation is plain simple if you start out in the correct view, regardless if using the Line or Rectangle tool.
If you are drawing a cabinet, and starting with a side, use side view, if starting with the base or top, use top view, face frame, use front view. The plane of the rectangle tool will be set, no problem.
Yes I am well aware of that - still would be nice if the arrow trick worked for rectangles to set the plane the same way that it sets the direction for lines...
Sorry, I guess I got confused when you said you sometimes have to rotate the canvas to get an orientation that favors your intended direction. I've not had a problem with orientation once I learned to set the view to the orientation I wanted. The rectangle tool always draws straight lines along an axis w/o the arrow trick, which might be why the arrow trick doesn't work with it?
Yes it is simple to do it that way however when I was formally taught drafting we did front, top, side, and iosmetric views. Basically we learned to draw 3D. With Sketchup I very very seldom use a flat view to draw, it all starts and progresses as a 3D drawing. So going to a flat view just complicates the process to draw a retangle with the rectangle tool, much fewer steps to simply draw 2 lines and inference for the complimentary lines to draw the rectangle. I do use the views tool bar but for other purposes.
And oddly switching from ISO/3D to flat and back again to draw a rectangle seems way too complicated to me. ;~) To each his own. Keep in mind that once you have a few lines or rectangles laid out in 3D the rectangle tool works as expected when you use inferance points with out having to input any data at all.
Agreed, if you start with the traditional flat front, top of side view. For me those days are long past.
Joe Zeh, AKA Chiefwoodworker, has built a wonderful series of tutorials on his web site. You'll have to Google for it (old age has stopped creeping in and started leaping), but it's well worth the minimal effort. He not only gives examples, he builds the examples as he goes...and Joe is one helluva good woodworker.
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