SketchUp Woodworking Help: What Do you need?

[Ben Abate]

Welcome Jonathan,

I'm looking forward to another guru, Dave is probably getting tuckered out answering questions. I'm just kidding, I just purchased Sketch Up for our training dept two weeks ago. We decided on three seats for the mean time of the pro version. Most of us have been so busy that we have not been able to use it too much as of today. We did how ever take a day of training from Nate; good guy. I hope when I get back to the office next week I can spend some time learning more of the program.

Welcome and I look forward to asking you some questions.

Ben

[Pam Niedermayer]

You drawing how you plan to mill the wood too?

Not at all. But I do need to see how my new workshop will look behind the house with big trees.

Pam

[Todd Burch]

Martin, you are too kind. But, I should be paid double what I ask though!! (I wonder how many licenses I've sold for SU over here... and now, you get it for free!!! Who would have thunk!)

Hey everyone, Jonathan is a good guy. I met him last October in Boulder at @Last's (at the time) User Conference called 3D BaseCamp. We were co-presentors for a session about.... drumroll please... Woodworking with SU! Jon stole the show.

I am working on a Cutlist script. Matter of fact, I had it mostly working back in October.

Pam, a cutlist, in my mind, is a "list of things to cut and their sizes". So, it's not a sheet layout program or sheet optimization program - just a cutlist.

My plan is work with CutList Pro and be able to export to that program. Time, however, has not been on my side and my day job has consumed me since then.

However, I am now back to writing scripts, and have some awesome scripts getting ready to release. Cutlist, however, won't be one of the first ones. I'll have it done this summer though, for sure.

Another script that I'm working on is a cube-to-cabinet morpher. You draw a cube (pushpull a rectangle into a cube) the size of your cabinet, and run the script, and now you have a cabinet. The first release will start basic and it will grow with more options as people ask for them.

Jon, one of the big things missing from a Ruby standpoint is the ability to dimension parts from Ruby. There are no methods to add or change any of the dimension objects.

Todd

[Pam Niedermayer]

...
Pam, a cutlist, in my mind, is a "list of things to cut and their sizes". So, it's not a sheet layout program or sheet optimization program - just a cutlist.

My plan is work with CutList Pro and be able to export to that program. Time, however, has not been on my side and my day job has consumed me since then....

Todd, I don't disagree, but I do think cut lists are much more important for sheet goods. Or, I have no problems ordering the right amount and sizes of board for my projects.

I do, however, have big problems with depending on export/import for any functions whatsoever. Why? Because they're all written for Windows.

As I said, my primary need is for additional landscaping components. My preference is for @last to write a component builder, which should also be a superior solution for landscape architects. It's what I would do if it were my software. The only other solution is for SU and others to hold the secret to component building, with which they build and sell additional components; but this means we'd all have to wait for those in the secret society to provide what we need, and it doesn't seem like the @last way. I don't know if it's the Google way or not.

Pam

[Vaughn McMillan]

Welcome to the Creek, Jonathon.

It looks like I'll be out of a job.

I second the welcome to Jonathan, but Dave, you won't be out of a job. There's the doc guy, then there's the support guy. Jon's the doc guy and you're the support guy. (Spoken by a doc guy himself, who's also done a fair amount of support.)

Dave, you've been a ton of help to me and a lot of others here.

Jonathan, glad to see you're around here. Now that I know you're a Creeker, I guess I'll have to actually start reading the docs. (RTFM and all that. )

- Vaughn

[Jamie Buxton]

Jonathan --
Welcome to the Creek.
What I'd like for Sketchup is a real manual. As far as I can discover, the only documentation for SU is the tutorial. That's not a manual.
The way a good manual works is the following.... I'm in the middle of something with Sketchup, and I want to do something I think SU should do, but I don't know how to do it. I go look in the manual's index, using words which I think of, and the index directs me to someplace which describes how to do what I want. That's a good manual.

A good index is not a computer-generated list of key words. It is constructed carefully and thoughtfully by a human, and it is real work. He or she knows the product inside and out. He or she also can look at the product from the point of view of the user, and realize that the words I might use to describe something are not necessarily the same words which SU authors use. The index has to help the newbie users as well as the experts.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here -- telling a professional tech doc person about indexes. You know what I'm talking about. I'm afraid the issue must be bosses who'd rather invest in new whizzy features instead of documenting the ones you already have.

[Marty Walsh]

Jonathan --
Welcome to the Creek.
What I'd like for Sketchup is a real manual. As far as I can discover, the only documentation for SU is the tutorial. That's not a manual.
The way a good manual works is the following.... I'm in the middle of something with Sketchup, and I want to do something I think SU should do, but I don't know how to do it. I go look in the manual's index, using words which I think of, and the index directs me to someplace which describes how to do what I want. That's a good manual.

A good index is not a computer-generated list of key words. It is constructed carefully and thoughtfully by a human, and it is real work. He or she knows the product inside and out. He or she also can look at the product from the point of view of the user, and realize that the words I might use to describe something are not necessarily the same words which SU authors use. The index has to help the newbie users as well as the experts.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here -- telling a professional tech doc person about indexes. You know what I'm talking about. I'm afraid the issue must be bosses who'd rather invest in new whizzy features instead of documenting the ones you already have.

There IS a real manual...

http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=29

You can download it and print/view it, or you can buy an already bound version.

While your on that page, have a look at Steve Johnsons' tutorials. I learned all sorts of stuff from that!

Good luck...
- Marty -

[Paul Davidson]

I am a new user of Sketchup, but have used a variety of programs for years. I should be able to draw (to scale) lumber (2 x 4/6/8/12 etc) and sheet goods (6 x 5, 4 x 8 etc) in Google Sketch but I have not yet figured out how to do so. In most graphics programs that I have used there is a command which changes the scale of the entire window but I have not been able to find such a scale control as of yet. My efforts to use the "value control box" have been frustrated by my inability to type in any measurements.

Along the same lines, a small "library" of standard construction shapes (lumber, door frames, etc) would make the product much more useable by people who have work to do and regard computer drawing programs as just another tool.

[Dave Richards]

Paul, this is very basic and simple stuff. SketchUp is more than capable of doing that. You need to learn to use the move and scale tools. Take a look at the help files for them and see if that helps. Also learn how the VCB works. You can draw a rectangle and then type in the desired dimensions and the rectangle will be that size.

Also look around at the SketchUp site. You can download the Construction Components library and add all those parts already made to your available components. There is lumber, door frames, window frames, joists, trusses, etc.

[Chet Parks]

Hey everyone, Jonathan is a good guy. I met him last October in Boulder at @Last's (at the time) User Conference called 3D BaseCamp. We were co-presentors for a session about.... drumroll please... Woodworking with SU! Jon stole the show.

Todd

To Todd & Jonathan,

Is there any chance that a link exists where we could get a copy of the notes, PDF, or other hand outs from this woodworking session? It sounds to interesting to not try to know more about what was presented.

May I also add "CUT LIST" to my wish list of what I would like to see in SketchUp.

Joanathan--please convey my thanks to "the powers that be" at Google/SketchUp for the free release of this fine program. I am totally hooked. As a retired engineer, now part time woodworker, I never would have thought of trying it because of the cost, but now, I will probably inquire about an acidemic license at the community college where I attend some classes. The word about this fine program is sure spreading like wildfire.

Chet Parks

[Jamie Buxton]

There IS a real manual...

http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=29

You can download it and print/view it, or you can buy an already bound version.

While your on that page, have a look at Steve Johnsons' tutorials. I learned all sorts of stuff from that!

Good luck...
- Marty -

At last! Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

[Paul Davidson]

The last sentence of the first paragraph of your reply solved the problem with using the VCB box. Thank you. Someone should include that sentence in the manual/materials to keep people like me from futilely moving the cursor over the VCB box (instead of the object) and trying to type in the information in the wrong place.

With respect to "construction components library" I have not found it yet. I did determine that I needed to go into "warehouse" and eventually found what I was looking for by searching for "plywood" and "lumber." I have not yet found "Construction Components"

As an aside, under the Google window the command "get models" appears to only work with Internet Explorer. This posed some problems since that is not my default browser (I use Firefox for most things). When I reconfigured Internet Explorer to work without going through my usual security steps, the problem(s) went away.

[Dave Richards]

Paul, the components are here: http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=38 but it appears they are now only available to Pro 5 users--they are Version 5 files which won't open in lower version. My apologies for sending you on a wild goose chase.

If you haven't done so, take some time to go through the video tutorials on the SketchUp site. I think you'll find a great deal of information packed into those videos.

[Paul Davidson]

I followed your suggestion and went through all tutorials. They were useful (and well done) but I still need some help on the "scaling" issue. I would like to be able to use a 4" to 1 scale for a variety of projects I am starting (bookcases, shop cabinets, etc.) Currently I can draw the objects to the correct size and then use zoom in/out to fill the screen, but I would prefer being able to change the background scale.

I have noted that in Preferances, Templates there is a "woodworking" setting, but I can't find any materials on what it does or how it worrks.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Dave Richards]

Paul, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. Is this related to printing? There really isn't any need to scale your model when you're drawing it.

If it is related to printing, I don't know what specific abilities are available in GSU as far as printing goes. I can tell you that with perspective turned on, you won't be able to print to scale, even if GSU has that capability. V5Pro does have it when perspective is turned off. Look under the Camera menu.