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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 was in the shop. As soon as I realized that I could make hunks of wood, copy them, stretch them, and change them all I wanted, my speed increased tremendously.
This is a common problem for SketchUp newcomers. A recent thread on a woodworking forum brought this to mind. Practice is essential to get the most out of SketchUp, but it is essential to practice things that will help. If you spend time practicing the wrong things you won’t get very far, and you’re likely to get frustrated. The reason we like using SketchUp for our design work is that it gets us out to the shop faster, and with an accurate bundle of information that makes our shop time better.
So here’s an exercise in the form of a challenge.
–Robert W. Lang
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