How do I attach a cone to the top of a cylinder?

[Roger Farmer]

Hi to all. I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions on the following problem: I would like to attach a cone to the top of a cylinder, where the center axis of the cone is identical to the center axis of the cylinder. The cone "sits" on top of the flat face of the cylinder. I can draw both the cone and the cylinder with no problems, but they don't always seem to attach to each other and I'm not sure how to align the center axes. Thanks in advance for any (hopefully simple) suggestions.

[Dave Richards]

Roger, I assume this is in reference to SketchUp. If so, one easy way would be to draw a vertical line from the top of the cylinder on its axis to the desired height of the cone. Then draw to the edge of the circle and back along the top of the cylinder to the base of the vertical line. Next, select the edge of the circle on the top of the cylinder, get the Follow Me tool and then click on the triangle you just drew. Presto, a cone top for your cylinder.

[tod evans]

hope you`re right about sketchup dave? i was fixin` to one finger out a solid wood response..... tod

[Dave Richards]

Well, if it ain't fer SketchUp, Tod, it's all yours. I'm not sure I could figger it out in solid wood.

[tod evans]

Well, if it ain't fer SketchUp, Tod, it's all yours. I'm not sure I could figger it out in solid wood.

dave, i can usually whup a board it`s these darn computers that kick my rear.....tod

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rumor has it tod....the LOYL says whipping your rear ain't that hard to do?

[Dave Richards]

Keyboard, Ken! You owe me a keyboard.

[Dave Richards]

Roger, here's a quickie visual for you. Maybe Tod can whup one from a board if you need it.

[Roger Farmer]

Perfect !! Thanks, Dave !! - I should have thought of that myself.

[Roger Farmer]

Well, I now have my cone and cylinder drawing made (mentioned above) and I want to import it as a component into a larger drawing. However, when I do that, it appears in the larger drawing inside a very large blue rectangular box with a “person figure” at one end of the box and my component at the other end. The “person figure” is not in the original component drawing - I deleted it. But it reappears inside the blue box when I import it into the second larger drawing. So how can I import my component without this “person figure” and inside a smaller blue box? (Maybe this question should be in a new thread??)

Thanks again for all your help. Sketchup seems like a very powerful program, but it often does unexpected things that are difficult to fix. In any event, I keep trying. Thanks again !!

[Roger Farmer]

Answered my own question - sorry to bother you. I did a right click and explode on the imported component, then deleted the "person figure" and now my imported component seems OK. I still don't know why it imports in that way, but at least now I can work with it.

[Dave Richards]

No bother Roger.

For the future, open a new SU drawing and do the follow:

Delete the person.

Go to Window>Model Info>Units and change Architectural to Fractional, Precision to 1/64" and uncheck the box for Enable Length Snapping. Close that dialog box.

Grab the rectangle tool and draw a rectangle that would be slightly larger than the sorts of things you would typically draw. Start the rectangle at the origin. Push/Pull the rectangle up to a height that would be slightly higher than the stuff you would typically draw. For average woodworking stuff maybe you end up with a box that is 48" on a side.

Click on Zoom Extents. The box should fill the drawing window.

Select the entire box (triple click on it somewhere). Hit the Delete key.

Go to File>Save As. Enter a name you can remember for the blank drawing. For the Save In: box, navigate to the Templates folder in SketchUp. Probably looks something like C:\Program Files\Google\SketchUp\Templates. Save the blank drawing in the Templates folder.

Now go to Window>Preferences>Templates. Browse and select the file you just saved.

The next time you open a new SU drawing it should start with that template you saved. You should see that the person component isn't there. You should also be zoomed in to a view that is more appropriate for what you're drawing and the units should be adjusted to something more practical for woodworking type projects.

You can also make and save adjustments to the rendering settings--I prefer no Profile lines and no other funky stuff (Jitter Edges, Endpoints, etc.) for normal drawing--display settings such as hidden line, shaded or textured, colors for background, front and back faces, etc. and view angle. Save the set up as a template and use that template to start.