SketchUp Tutorials

There are a few drawing tools I find myself using no matter what I’m working on in SketchUp. One of those is the Move tool. It lets me position objects exactly where I want them, but it’s [...]

A student wrote and asked me this paraphrased question: “Can you give me some suggestions for drawing these irregular tenons into the legs? If the mortises were rectangular I would simply use the [...]

Whenever I take on a new cabinet or built-in project, I like to model it in SketchUp. I sometimes have trouble visualizing how things are going to fit together, and an accurate 3D model helps me [...]

In my previous post about cutlist making tips in SketchUp for woodworkers, I discussed my CutList Bridge 3 extension and strategies to help you organize your models. That post went into detail [...]

Cut lists are dull subjects and always seem to be an afterthought; they shouldn’t be. The time to consider cut lists and material lists is before you begin to model a project. Doing so will [...]

Layers in SketchUp Aren’t Like Layers in CAD If you’re used to drawing in AutoCAD or a similar program, you’ll have to adjust to the way layers work in SketchUp. When drawing in CAD, it’s common [...]

If you are like me – compound miter joints always make me a little nervous – your blood pressure rises a little when you have to draw or cut a compound miter joint. So I am always [...]

SketchUp is an excellent tool for designing kitchen cabinets. The free version has plenty of powerful features, and even professionals with access to $30,000 cabinet design software frequently [...]

This video contains several excerpts from a 1-hour, detailed video about the new features of SketchUp Make 2015 being created by Joe Zeh. That video will be for sale at ShopWoodworking.com soon, [...]

I will be teaching a week-long SketchUp class  September 8-12, 2014 at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. If you want to get a better understanding of the 3D modeling [...]

A student emailed me and asked: “How do I model the cut a core box router bit makes in SketchUp?” At first glance you might think the answer is the usual – model the shape of the bit and use …

I have been teaching SketchUp for over seven years, both live and online. Students new to SketchUp struggle with a set of problems that are very similar in nature and can be characterized by one [...]