SketchUp TutorialsRSS

SketchUp is a free 3D-modeling program, and Robert W. Lang, executive editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, is an expert at using the program and at teaching it. This woodworking blog will help you learn how to use SketchUp to create models of your woodworking plans. It’s a great way to “build” a project and work out the design, details and joinery before you take tools to wood – that way, you can head to the workshop with a solid plan and the information you need to build any project with confidence.

Below are our most-recent articles about SketchUp. Here are some quick links to our key SketchUp Pages.

Resources for Learning SketchUpWhat is Google SketchUp?SketchUp Q&ASketchUp Models

New Features in Google SketchUp 8

Time to Go Pro? Every week, one million people around the world use Google SketchUp. Last week, I was one of 250 SketchUp users invited to Boulder, Colorado for 3D Base Camp. While there, the release of a new version of SketchUp was announced. For woodworkers using the free version of SketchUp 7, the changes … Read more »

Google Releases SketchUp 8

I’m spending the next few days in Boulder, Colo., at the Google SketchUp 3D Base Camp. Base Camp is a gathering of 250 expert SketchUp users from around the world. It’s always fun to meet people face to face that you know from the Internet. And after a morning of great hospitality and excellent food, … Read more »

Mitered Door Frame in SketchUp

I received a question from a reader, concerning a problem he was having modeling a kitchen cabinet door. In my book and video I cover how to make a similar door using a cope-and-stick joint. This door uses the same profile and groove, but the corners of the door frame are mitered. Here’s my technique, … Read more »

Learning SketchUp: Playing With Blocks, Part Two

Yesterday I presented an exercise to increase skills in SketchUp. Our blog lists newer posts before older ones, so you might want to click here to get caught up. Here are the techniques I used, and you can find my completed model in our 3D Warehouse collection. Start with drawing a cube. I made mine … Read more »

Learning SketchUp: Playing With Blocks, Part One

When I first started using SketchUp, I made a fundamental error. I tried to draw, applying what I knew about hand drafting and CAD to a program designed for 3D modeling. It was slow and tedious and didn’t work very well. Eventually the light bulb went off over my head and I started pretending I … Read more »

Woodworker’s Guide to SketchUp Now Available

The easiest projects to make are those you’ve built once before. Most woodworkers only tackle furniture projects once in a lifetime and then move on to something else. So the next best thing is to build something mentally, visualizing how the pieces and parts fit together. Google SketchUp makes this mental process extremely close to … Read more »

Wood Movement Calculator for SketchUp

A nickel in summer, a dime in winter is a seat of the pants method for figuring gaps around drawers and doors. If you’d like something more precise, and you’d like to be able to make calculations as you design a project in SketchUp, Joe Zeh has developed a plug-in that you should know about. … Read more »