Getting into Sketchup

[Josko Catipovic]

I'd like to move from paper to CAD as my woodworking evolves. It looks like Sketchup is popular among hobby woodworkers. Here are a couple of basic questions:
1. I see on Sketchup site they offer free, 'shop' and 'pro' versions. The 'pro' at $300/yr is not in the cards for me, but what exactly do I get with the $120/yr subscription over a free service? Which version(s) do you folks have?
2. I see Dave Richards video and Tim Killen's book as popular intro materials. Is that still the recommended intro for a first-time hobbyist?
3. I'm about due for a new laptop. Are there particular Sketchup requirements/demands that I should be aware of in picking a new machine?

Thanks in advance.

[Mark Daily]

I tried using Sketchup but found it frustrating to learn. I switched to Sketchlist3D and got the hobby version for $149 (one time fee, not a subscription service). It is made for woodworking so it’s much easier to use.

They now have a cabinet wizard which comes with 10 or 11 pre-made “models”. By changing the dimension on one part, the wizard automatically resizes all other parts which are affected by the change.

www.sketchlist.com

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have the Dave Richard's video and plan on getting his Advanced Techniques video. Dave is a member here and is always extremely generous with his time in answering users questions. There is a learning curve.

Disclaimer- Dave is a friend with whom I met here at SMC, collaborated on a project of his and shared dinner with he and his lovely wife in a small town in Wisconsin. We also consumed a couple beers that night dinner.

[John Makar]

There are times when this site makes me feel like I spent the last 10 years living under a rock. I tried Sketchup, hated it, went back to paper. I had never heard of Sketchlist, but from the website it looks exactly like what I want.

[Josko Catipovic]

Thanks folks. Could anyone compare the learning curve for Sketchup vs Sketchlist? I did try out Sketchup, and it does seem I'll need significant help to get started.

[John Makar]

Welll, I am going to contradict myself. I looked at Sketchlist, thought about what I might want to do and decided to just march in the trenches and learn Sketchup. My recommendation is find and download SketchUp Make 2017. That is the last free version that was stand-alone for the desktop, I'm running it on windows 10 with no issues. I also downloaded Google SketchUp 8. I did this because the FWW SketchUp course is run in SU8. This is also running on Win 10 with no issues.

I did a career in software, proprietary products left me old and bitter, so I very much like open source. SketchUp Make 2017 is about as close as I can find. There seems to be a thriving community behind it, who give me cool things for free so I don't have to learn Ruby and go back to coding. I am less concerned about ease of use than I am about survivability. I can learn to overcome design quirks, having my knowledge base obsoleted will please me not at all.

I am just completing a total rework of my shop, trying to learn and build original design, and pretty much starting from advanced-beginner/low intermediate to try and build skills. I will just hunker down and learn this sucker. IMHO this is where woodworking design and planning is going to go for the immediate future. I see lots of SU in FWW and Popular Woodworking, and at Rockler and Woodcraft and my other vendors. I do not see Fusion, AutoCAD, others. I am very sorry, but installed base beats superior design in the software arena.

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a long history of using CAD from the earliest days of PCs and I use Sketchup a lot for woodworking projects. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you have it down you can fly. I can recommend Joe Zeh's training courses (and his books). He is a long time woodworker (and an engineer) and his training is aimed at woodworkers. Not production cabinet shops, but folks making furniture and similar projects. In particular, he teaches how to properly use components and layers to simplify managing complex assemblies. His Layer manager extension (available in the extension warehouse) makes it trivial to work with layers and scenes in SU. I believe the layer manager extension is free. He sells, for a modest fee, another extension that allows exporting SU projects to Cutlist Pro FX, which is a great program for creating cutting lists and sheet goods layouts. (CL PRO is not free).

I have no association with any of these products/etc, other than I found/find them really useful when working with SU. Good luck and have fun!

[Mark Daily]

Thanks folks. Could anyone compare the learning curve for Sketchup vs Sketchlist? I did try out Sketchup, and it does seem I'll need significant help to get started.

I tried out Sketchlist3D using the free trial and picked it up pretty quick watching their YouTube videos. They also have a blog to get help from.

[glenn bradley]

There are times when this site makes me feel like I spent the last 10 years living under a rock. I tried Sketchup, hated it, went back to paper. I had never heard of Sketchlist, but from the website it looks exactly like what I want.

Thanks folks. Could anyone compare the learning curve for Sketchup vs Sketchlist? I did try out Sketchup, and it does seem I'll need significant help to get started.

John's post is a good example of how different needs are met by different products. Consider what you are wanting to do. That being said, I too was on the verge of throwing in the towel on SU despite decades of 2D experience. Dave Richard's help led me to that "eureka" moment when I realized I was working within a #D "space", not drawing a 3D picture.

Dave's first Sketchup Basic disc taught me more by watching "how" he was doing things that what he was actually demonstrating. That is not to devalue the flow of the instructions. I am just saying, pay attention to how he does what he does as well as what he is doing. After that disc and the postings by Dave and Tim on Fine Woodworking online (with a subscription) I have found tutorials that well exceed my intended use. I do not require a fully rendered representation for a bid. I just want to design and then make a parts list from that design.

[Kevin Jenness]

I am finally diving into Sketchup in order to draw (model) in 3D so I can visualize my projects better. I have a Pro subscription as I need to be able to import and export dxf files in my business for cnc work and I want to be able to use various available extensions and Layout for drafting. The cost is $299/year. I don't like the subscription model, but that's the way most software is peddled these days. The fact that there is a huge user base including my son and numerous people at my old employer means I can get hands-on help. I know it has its limitations for complex curved work, but I have made only a few things in my 40 year career that couldn't be modeled in Sketchup.

I have Joe Zeh's book and am working through it. It seems to be a pretty good introduction, and it starts right off with some basic principles regarding components and layers that make a lot of sense.

Here's an explanation of Sketchup free vs Shop vs Pro versions https://mastersketchup.com/sketchup-...e-shop-studio/.

[roger wiegand]

I invested three solid weeks (about 200 hours total) in trying to get up to speed with Sketchup. I took a class at North Bennett Street school, worked on it, got one-on-one tutorials from Dave Richards (who is beyond fabulous both as a teacher and with his generosity with his time), and finally got to the point where in hours I could generate what would take me minutes to draw by hand. For my purposes (one-off drawings of furniture designs for my own use) it wasn't worth the time and effort, and I've reverted to paper and pencil. (That mechanical drawing class I took in 8th grade is still paying returns!)

The best drawing program I ever used was something called MacDraw back in the early 1980's. It allowed you to make nice dimensioned 2d drawings in a completely simple and intuitive way. It was perfect for my needs (I would dearly love to find such a program again). It was then subjected to feature bloat and was subsequently replaced by software that became even more bloated and unusable. I have to admit that now when I need a good looking picture for some reason I resort to Powerpoint or Illustrator.

I have to admit, I still don't understand why I would need or want 3d drawing for the woodwork I do in my shop. It adds nothing to my comprehension of the shape of the object that I can't get from looking at the front, side, and top view in 2d, and is near useless for construction purposes. (never did figure out how to get useful construction drawings out of Sketchup even after the model was built)

[Tom Bender]

Software updates, upgrades, fixes etc....those are things I miss the least since retirement. Manual drafting does not need to be learned over and over again and it does not distract me from designing.

[Patrick Johnson]

Software updates, upgrades, fixes etc....those are things I miss the least since retirement. Manual drafting does not need to be learned over and over again and it does not distract me from designing.

Plus one...and I use CAD every work day!

[Wayne Collier]

Roger,

Check out EazyDraw by Dekorra Optics. I used MacDraw and the Claris/Appleworks programs for years and have drawn everything from woodworking projects to floor plans (good floor plan tools) using EazyDraw. I agree with you that 2D is all I need for woodworking design.

[Joe Wood]

My advice, and Ive been using SUp for a long time now,

is before you even start reading and watching videos, is sit down with someone who uses it and watch them build a model. I wish I had but when I first started learning SUp, I was learning computers at the same time making it double tough!