First SU effort and a question

[Jeff Morgan]

Well I finally did it!

I have wanted to give SU a try but have been too busy and have
been working on projects that were too complicated for a beginner
to model. On Sunday I decided to build a shooting board to help
true up some miters I needed to cut for a table top. It was at this
point that a light bulb went off in my head (really doesn't happen to
often so I was quite supprised)!!! I spent Sunday evening going
through the tutorials (really helpfull) and yesterday evening working
on the model. The results are attached.

The primary material is MDF and the overall size is taken from an article
in Shop Smith about shooting boards. I faced the MDF with hardwood
where I expected there to be wear and attached a fixed 90 degree fence
to support the stock. I also created a 45 degree fence that could be
attached to the body for miters.

No on to the question. I have created components from the main board
and the 45 degree fence. I wish to extend the model to demonstrate
how the 45 deg fence will be attached to the base. I hope to use a
threaded knob going through the fence into a t-nut in the base (although
I am open to better suggestions). How should I go about representing
this in SU?

Any feedback on the drawing is greatly appreciated.

-Jeff

[Dave Richards]

Jeff, would you remove the 90° fence to install the 45° fence or use it as a reference? You could copy the parts over to the right and move the 45° fence into place or even place it above and draw the screws above that. Use broken lines extended from the centerline of the screws to the shooting board.

To draw a broken line, draw the line to the desired length. Select the line and right click. Choose Divide and enter an odd number of segments, hit Enter. Then delete every other segment.

Just a couple of tips. First, go to Window>Model Ingo>Units and set precision to 1/64" and uncheck Snapping. Also switch to Fractional instead of Architectural.

You may want to redo this drawning and make each individual part that you would make in wood a separate component or group. This would make it easier to edit if needed.

Pretty good job for your first try.

[Dave Richards]

Screen grab of what I meant.

[Jeff Morgan]

Jeff, would you remove the 90° fence to install the 45° fence or use it as a reference?

The 90 degree fence will not be removable.

You could copy the parts over to the right and move the 45° fence into place or even place it above and draw the screws above that. Use broken lines extended from the centerline of the screws to the shooting board.

I will try this tonight. Where did you get the screw component? Are
there other components that are useful in woodworking?

Just a couple of tips. First, go to Window>Model Ingo>Units and set precision to 1/64" and uncheck Snapping. Also switch to Fractional instead of Architectural.

Great feedback. Thanks for the tips. Please keep them coming as I have
a lot to learn.

Could you explain the impact of unchecking "Enable length snapping"?

Pretty good job for your first try.

Ahh shucks. Thanks for the kind words.

-Jeff

[Dave Richards]

Jeff, I just whipped out the screw component. It's a 1/4" diameter cylinder with a profile drawn on top and revolved with Follow Me. I drew one component and then copied it. The broken line was added to it after I positioned the screw.

There are quite a number of components available for free from the Google 3D Warehouse. You might find something useful.

Unchecking length snapping prevents SU from snapping to the nearest whatever dimension you have selected. Removing that will make it easier to draw small stuff.

[Jeff Morgan]

Well I took your advice and you will find my second attempt attached.

To draw a broken line, draw the line to the desired length. Select the line and right click. Choose Divide and enter an odd number of segments, hit Enter. Then delete every other segment.

I tried this and also attempted to create the screw / knob. It didn't turn out as nice as I expected but I'll keep trying.

You may want to redo this drawning and make each individual part that you would make in wood a separate component or group. This would make it easier to edit if needed.

The difference between a component and a group was not that clear (perhaps someone could shed some light here) so I created all elements as groups.

-Jeff

[Dave Richards]

Components are a special type of group. Groups are a collection of geometry which become a discreet object. Other geometry will not stick to a group and will not change the group. You can however edit the group to add, delete or otherwise modify the geometry.

A copy of a group (use Ctrl+Move tool to make copies not Copy and Paste) is a separate entity and not related to the original as far as SketchUp is concerned.

A component behaves like a group in that geometry drawn outside the component will not stick to it. It can also be edited as desired. Copies of components are related to the original. SketchUp only needs to keep track of a single component's geometry to be able to draw all the relatives. Using components when possible helps control file bloat. In the case of the screws I drew, SketchUp only had to keep track of the edges and faces for one screw.

An added benefit of using components for things that are duplicated in the model is that editing one edits them all unless you make that one unique prior to editing. This can be a huge labor saving thing if you have a large number of the same item in the drawing.

Keep practicing on the screw. It takes a little getting used to drawing a profile that works well when revolved.

I'll look at your new model shortly.