Sketch up

[Larkan]

I've tried this tool and failed miserably. Is there a more basic, more intuitive product for people like me or is Sketch up the basic?
I've heard the argument that you need to stick at it and whilst that makes sense it is not always practical.:aus:

[andre.g1]

YouTube some how to vids on using sketchup


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ruddy]

Hi Larkan,
My experience with Sketch Up is that you need to just get through the learning hump and then it becomes a valuable skill.....Like most things in life ,you get out of it what you put into it, so you need to practice the basics as part of the learning curve. I used the many videos , one on an iPad while simultaneously copying all the commands to a desk pc. Within a week I was able to do some simple stuff and then found out how really intuitive it is. First step is to learn the commands and try to get into the habit of calling them up with a single keystroke rather than using the mouse pointer..in the long run it is quicker.
My advice is keep doing the same tutorial over and over again and then you will find it suddenly gets easier.
Best of all, it is free and the warehouse is full of files others have done.
The funny thing is that with my brain I expected that if I didn't use it for a few weeks I would forget what to do.....but so far, every time I return for another project I manage to get a result.

[lewisc]

Try these tutorials out.
https://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/826 Make sure you've got the right template for what system you work in. I use Woodworking, Millimetres. The 4th tutorial in that link shows some features that seem tricky but turn sketchup into a powerful program.

Compared to some programs, it's simple. Once you get past the learning curve, it becomes easy to use. Getting used to command shortcuts always helps

[Chris Parks]

Some people have no 3D ability and can't use a program such as SU and I am one of those. Those that can use it would never understand the problem a program like this can be for some of us, it is almost like dyslexia for 3D or it is for me. I am not speaking for the OP, he might have some other reason for not getting on with it.

[Kuffy]

There are only a few basic things you need to learn for sketchup. Once you have learnt those things and you find yourself with a need to draw a cone shaped object for example, you can simply google "how to draw a cone in sketchup" and the results you get will read as if they are written in english instead of gobbledygook.

A good simple practice project to draw in SketchUp would be a plain jane rectangle coffee table with square tapered legs. A decent way to think about it is to draw the project the same way as you would build it. Start with a top, draw that and drag it aside. Then draw the legs, add in the rail mortices and square taper, then drag it aside. Draw the rails, add in the tenons. From there you have the main components you need to construct a coffee table. Then just copy the leg component 3 times to make four, the long rail copied once to make two, same with the short rail etc etc and move it all around in position as if you were actually picking up the real world components and assembling it with glue and pocketscrews clamps :D

[DaveVman]

You haven't said how much time you spent on it.
I'm in the software business - 30 years. I spent an hour or two on sketch up tutorials but then haven't managed to get back to it. So probably all I could remember to do is create a box etc.
Someone else might feel that they have 'failed' but I realise I just haven't put in nearly enough time.
For any software like this you need to spend a fair number of hours learning and most importantly practicing. Once you practice enough you become comfortable doing the basic things and then other functions become easier to learn. Once you have knocked out a couple of projects your competence in the software really steps up a level if you keep using it you'll have it mastered.
However it does take time and practice. For anyone.

I think also that some of us woodworkers are sort of lazy when it comes to plans. There is a tendency to want to get cutting wood. Some of us like to almost make it up as we go. Perhaps just a basic hand drawn sketch. How often do you see people on you tube requesting plans? People like us might struggle initially to stick with learning such software for the same reason we often don't bother to make a detailed design with a pencil.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Chris Parks]

You could give me a hundred hours on it and I still could not design or model anything form scratch. My computer has two 27" screens so I thought that was the answer, run the tutorial on one and copy on another, it does not work for me because I can't conceptualise 3D in my head. As I said above, it appears to be similar or is the same as reading Dyslexia and anyone who does not suffer from it will not understand the problem. There must be others who have the same problem but they most probably don't need the skill or if they do they have strategies to get around it.

[Cal]

I spent the best part of 20 years on photoshop, I looked at sketch up for doing woodwork and shut it back down. I think I have just had enough of computer time. I just cut wood! [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaveVman]

I spent the best part of 20 years on photoshop, I looked at sketch up for doing woodwork and shut it back down. I think I have just had enough of computer time. I just cut wood! [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThis is where I'm at as well. However hopefully I'll change my mind and get into it.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[BobL]

It's interesting to read about different folk's experiences with Sketchup.

In some ways I'm a bit like Cal. Being retired, I'd rather waste a few hours in the shed on a project due to lack of planning hours rather than sitting down at a computer. I spent too many years of my life in front of a computer already.

I can use Sketchup and do think it it can be useful for some folks, although do I realise it's not for everyone
I've had several attempts at implementing Sketchup in my projects but found it has yet to save me the time I spend using it.
Even before I use Sketchup I found I still had to doodle some rough sketches on paper but that is then enough to get me started and then I can wing it from there.

It's probably because after many decades of making mainly prototypes without any or minimal plans I can already think 3D and rotate and see through objects in 3D in my head, so I ask myself why would I need to spend time drawing what I'm already thinking about.

A few years ago when I was about to make this fairly complex bandsaw blade flattening roller where clearances were on the critical side I spent a couple of hours planning things on Sketchup.
A few days later I found a completely differently machine frame from another project under the house that I could adapt which changed everything and I found I used very little of what I had originally drawn.

417776

Some of this is because most of my projects are one of a kind and on the fly, based mainly on what stock and parts I already have on hand or find opportunistically as I go through the project.
If I make to detailed a plan before I start I find I won't usually be sticking to much of it.

Sometimes I draw up rough plans after the project is completed using a basic drawing package or the basic drawing tools in MS office but they are really just to remind myself what I did. I should probably use Sketchup for this as the plans would definitely look a lot better than the basic drawing package outputs.

About the only time I think I might use before a project would be if if I had to pack a lot of odd shaped things into a small space.

[woodPixel]

I'm the absolute opposite to everyone here! :?

I absolutely LOVE Sketchup. It is used on every single job, without exception. With clients, it wins the business every single time - no exceptions.

In my notebook I've a printed spreadsheet I keep of available timbers and their sizes (which is bloody hard to do given the UNBELEIVABLE recalcitrance of woodmongers to providing you with a list of what they sell and the prices).

In addition, I use Cutlist Plus to do the layouts and buying/planning for the timbers. It cuts sheets with minimal loss and maximum ease.mit also tells me what timbers to buy and in what lengths. It's fantastic.

i plan every detail, every cut, every screw, every hole, every bolt. Save the scenes as jpg's and send them to the client and print them myself for when doing the job. I make extra scenes showing how doors and drawers open, the exact nature of sliders, experiment with depths and fool with the maths to make the job perfect (I love ascending numbers, primes, Fibonacci and golden ratios in my jobs).

Personally, I think it's one of the most valuable tools in the studio. It is the basis of everything I do and highly highly recommend you purchase it.

As I said, every job, every time is won with this software. Clients LOVE it. CutList is also a super-recommendation.

[Cal]

I do that too Bob, 3D in my head. Always have, even at school. We had to draw something then make it out of clay. I went in to the pottery room with no plan and was told it isn't how to do it. Drew up a sketch and proceeded to make the clay model (how it looked in my head) it looked nothing like the sketch and the teacher was not happy. Then I did the 3D drawing from the model. about I know, but I can visualise most things better. If it is a cabinet fit out I just get out the pencil and paper. I am just not very tolerant of sitting at a computer these days.

I can understand why it works for you woodpixel, it's an efficient way to work when you earn a living from woodwork (a no brainier really) I don't think you could do without it.

I think at the end of the day do what feels comfortable, like anything in life.

[woodPixel]

These lessons are where to start: https://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/826

[Luke Maddux]

Heads up: This is going to sound sarcastic. It's not meant to.

A more basic version is just pen and paper. Let's face it... It is not a requirement of furniture making that you be able to view it in three dimensions before you even select the material. I've been drawing on graph paper for a while now and it's fantastic. I buy the stuff that's divided into 1/10s of an inch and have had great results. Granted, since my return to the USA I've been drinking the Imperial System Kool Aid, and have lost all of my metricking skills, but I'm sure there's metric graph paper out there.

If you're struggling to master Sketch Up, I'd consider going analog. It's worked for many people for, literally, thousands of years.

Cheers,
Luke

[arose62]

You could also have a play with TinkerCAD, online at https://www.tinkercad.com/
or take a different approach and look at OpenSCAD (which is a parametric modeller, using a programming-ish language rather than mousing around 3d objects in space on your screen. You also get to type in your exact measurements, and it's heaps easier to change a typed number, than some of the other ways in other software)

[DaveVman]

I have a tendency to want to just get cutting wood. I'll do a basic hand sketch but several times I've been caught out because I didn't allow for the thickness of a panel or something that is just a line on my sketch. No doubt that is a rookie mistake I'll grow out of but I also think that if I learnt to use Sketch Up perhaps I'd avoid that error.
This weekend I am making a rather complex window dressing for a corner window. There must be a simpler way to do it but I couldn't think of one so I'm making these complex wooden parts for it. I thought I should probably do it in sketch up but now I've run out of time and I just need to solve it and finish it. Making up the details as I go.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Chris Parks]

I was taught by an experienced woodworker to get a big sheet of 3mm MDF and layout the piece full size, that way you can quickly see any conflicting issues and check the parts you make for size as you go. Any mistakes can be rubbed out with a sander if need be.

[AlexS]

I also have trouble with Sketchup - to me, it's not intuitive. For most things, pencil & paper does the job, but the best CAD program I've found is Designcad. It's not a freeby though, and only runs under Windows. It's more intuitive for someone coming from an analogue background, & provides several ways to do most things. The main benefit is that it can calculate values, i.e. intermediate values for curves, and can rotate objects to give perspective views. Also, you can photograph timbers and render them on the object to see how it will look.