If I were going to build the piece for real, I'd certainly follow your advice. But I'm content to draw a model and leave it at that. As for the seat slats, they rest on a curved cleat and could be screwed in place from the top. That would be far easier (and just as strong, I think) than trying to mortise them in place. The back slats are probably screwed to a pair of support pieces, one at the very bottom, another about half-way up the slat. At the top, they are mortised into the crest rail.
Thanks for the input. It's most helpful.
Best,
djh

Here's my latest model: a chair and ottoman by the Maine company Weatherend. As you can see, it's a modern take on the classic Adirondack chair, and in case you didn't catch on right away, the company calls it the Weatherondack chair. I worked from a photo and minimal dimensions, so I was free to guess at most of the component sizes and joinery.
And now, since it's Easter, here's the challenge: A few of the joints gave me problems, and I did not finish them. You could say that I have egg on my face. So consider this the SketchUp equivalent of an egg hunt. See if you can find the problematic joints. Bonuses awarded if you find other flaws. More bonuses awarded for suggestions on how to fix the problems in the model.
We can discuss prizes another time.
Best,
dh

weatherend weatherondack chair & ottoman.skp

Thanks, everyone.

delhi bench.skplutyens bench.skpswedish tuteur.skpweatherend bench.skpNow that spring is here (at least in the U.S.) it's time to get out the garden furniture. I recently modeled some classic pieces and a wild garden folly--a structure called a Tuteur, which stands about 8 feet tall. The Delhi Bench and Lutyens bench were both created by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a noted English architect. The Weatherend bench is in four sections and is meant to wrap around a tree. Take a look and let me know what you think.
Thanks,
dh

Also take a look at a Fine Woodworking article from the May/June 2009 issue, about how a woodworker in Wyoming handles end-grain pieces. Like you, he has quite some amazing pieces.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=32308

Jonavery,
You might be better off making a torsion box instead of laminating two heavy sheets of plywood. A grid of 1x2 lumber, with 1/4 inch masonite or plywood glued top and bottom makes an extremely rigid but lightweight structure. It would still need brackets supporting it from below (gravity usually wins, after all), but they probably would not need to extend the full width of the torsion box. Their exact size would depend on the width of the table you intend to make.

You can make the grid by sawing half-lap joints in the 1x2s, or simply butt the pieces together and hold them with some glue and finish nails. I'd base the grid on a 6x6 inch spacing. Again, that depends on the size of table you want to make.
Best,
dh

Dave and Chrisjk,
The model has one odd leg because the lower stretchers somehow didn't align precisely with the chamfer on the legs. Three mortises worked just fine, but one had to be made separately. And, yes, I did shift the axes, again dealing with the lower stretchers. Probably a mistake.
The fluting is as Lester Margon describes it in "American Furniture Treasures." He calls it filled in flutes. That's for the first 6 inches or so, then there are real flutes for most of the rest of the length. Who am I to quibble with John Townsend? If he wants filled-in flutes, by golly he'll have filled-in flutes.
Thanks for the comments. Always helpful.
dh

Just finished modeling a Pembroke table, from plans in "American Furniture Treasures," by Lester Margon. The original table was made in mahogany by John Townsend, one of the greatest of the Newport cabinetmakers. The structure is very simple, but the finishing touches are another matter: Two kinds of flutes on the legs. Chamfers. Carving on the apron. Scrollsawn corner bracket. Stretchers that are pierced. If it weren't for all those doodads, I'd have finished days earlier. I must be getting rusty. Or old. Or both.
Let me know what you think.
Best,
dh

pembroke table.skp

Folks,
Years ago, when my wife and remodeled our New York City apartment, we covered the walls with polished cotton fabric. We stuck it to the walls with undiluted laundry starch. It makes a great adhesive. We never had problems with the fabric wrinkling from seasonal changes, nor did we have trouble with the starch losing its adhesiveness over time. Sure, I know, a plaster wall is different from wood, with different behavior in seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. But it might be worth a try to attach fabric to wood with starch. If you prime the wood, then the starch becomes completely reversible. If it doesn't work, you can sponge it off and try something else.
Best,
dh

On a Mac, the default for Hide is command-E. Unhide is command-shift-E. You can use the commands to hide an entire component or, if you have a component open for editing, you can hide a face. I use these shortcuts all the time.
dh

Dave Richards gets my vote.

Occasionally, when I'm working on a fairly complex model, the cursor for the Line tool turns into a large white square. The behavior of the tool doesn't change, and the normal SketchUp inferences and guides still apply. Nevertheless, the rogue square makes modeling harder and it's disconcerting to boot. Is this SketchUp's way of reminding me to save my work? A minor quirk with Mac OS X? Gremlins? Smurfs? (Oh, right. Can't be Smurfs because the square isn't blue.)
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
dh

Dave,
I can always count on your having a well-focused eye. Many thanks for the constructive suggestions.
dh

I've recently drawn a couple of models based on pieces originally created by Gary Rogowski, founder and head of the Northwest Woodworking Studio, in Portland, Oregon. Gary arguably has the best sense of humor and irony of any woodworker in the U.S., and he runs one of the leading schools in the country. He has created a number of unique pieces for articles in Fine Woodworking magazine. All are characterized by a melding of West Coast-Zen-Krenov-Green & Green styles.
Gary's pieces feature immaculate joinery and a fine-tuned sense of proportion. And for SketchUp modeling, they bring some special challenges. For the nightstand, the plan in the magazine article was missing some critical dimensions (so what else is new?). The groove in the side panels follows the cloud-lift shape, and the panels are shaped to match. For the sideboard, there were construction details that weren't clearly explained.
Both models are up in the 3D Warehouse (search for davidheim). Enjoy. And, as always, I'd appreciate having feedback of all types--good, bad, and otherwise.
Thanks,
dh

rogowski sideboard.skp

rogowski nightstand.skp

Most helpful. Many thanks for taking the time.
dh

What does one do to activate the tools? I have them in the Tools menu now, but I don't know what to do to make them work. The SU file that accompanies the ZIP file is some help, but even when I lay in all the dimensions for, say, dowel holes, I can't figure out how to make the tool work to show the dowel holes. I gather that you've been working on this app for the better part of a year, and I commend you for that. But some additonal documentation would help us all.
Thanks,
dh

i have both files in the plugins folder, but I still get the error message when I start SU. The path I'm following is:
Applications>Library>Application support>SketchUp 8>Plugins. Any suggestions?

The tool set sounds very intriguing. But I can't figure out where to put the files once I download and unzip them. In the tools folder? The plug-ins folder?I continually get an error message saying there's no file to load. I have to confess that I'm often bedeviled by where to park files like these. I'm running a Mac, OX X 10.5.
Thanks for your help.
dh

Jim,
Many thanks for taking the time to look at the model so closely. Good points to remember for future modeling.
dh

Absolutely! I hate working in a vacuum, and crave feedback.
Thanks,
dh