As all my scribes are into walls or floors they do not really impact my model (they are really never seen) and I also try never to model anything out of context. I think my stuff should be drawn the way it is built. The section cut will tell the story and words are not needed. Really do not even need dashed lines. Your example is very different. All through tenons need scribe added. Having that information in the materials list is a good place and then the model will look as it should when finished. A detail of the joint may be all that is needed. Thanks for helping me think this through.

Right now I am starting to play with Fusion 360 as it it free and seems to like I might not out grow it to fast. I will also look closer at VCarve. Trying to keep the costs down to make sure this is a road I want to go down. We have a large commercial CNC at work and use AlphaCam (might be getting a 5 axis soon!) but putting small stuff on it is a bit of a pain and getting time on the it is lately impossible.

That one I modeled uses a Gold's Gym Dumbbell handle cut in half for the screws. $6.87 with the knobs at WallyWorld. The T-track is for hold down clamps. The guy who designed it clamps a saddle square on one side to align the work with it. He uses another hold down clamp to hold the tailboard while he marks out for the pins. He was using a Veritas saddle square but he made a new one of wood today.

Box Thanks again for your suggestion (also all of your modeling tips!) and looking at the plugin to find the author, as I had forgotten where I had found the plugin. I emailed Joe Zeh and he sent me the files required and this very useful plug in is now working. If anyone is looking for this contact Joe - jpz@srww.com Great community we have here Jeff

Yes that is tiger maple on a desk I made. It is a photograph not a render. Guess I need to be clearer or learn to render.......

I have decided on finishing my sketchup models and meeting with a silversmith. Need to get a feel for the costs involved to see if this will go forward. I am also going to get a quote on casting them in stainless. If it is not outrageously costly then to then bench and then back to sketchup. Might 3d scan what I carve to get what I want into the computer. Lots to sort out to make this happen. As for the wood not decided yet but the construction of the handles I am going to make 2 halves to go over the tang. The tang will be almost the full length of the wood then glue it all together with no rivets. I have done this with knives and like the results. As for this batch, if it goes ahead I will be rough carving the handles on a CNC. Thanks Jeff

Good luck with the plans, Jeff. A couple of bits of advice for you: Make sure that you don't create modified scenes when adjusting viewports. That is, you never want to see a scene listed in the SketchUp Model window in LO showing modified. Remember that you can crop the view in the viewport to limit what is shown. For example, the halves of the head and footboard for the bed in the first image are cropped in LO. The scenes in SU show the entire assembly. You can use the same scene for multiple viewports. This will allow you to reduce the number of scenes you create. For example if you want to show a closeup detail of the mortises on the top of a table leg, you can use the same scene that shows the entire leg. Just change the scale for the detail view. No need to make a scene for each of them.

I use nested components for hardware and things which will be the same in different doors. I might also use it for the glass and muntins. Some of these simple shapes I scale when adjusting for new size doors... I used to use a lot of nested components. You'll still want them when it makes working (editing) on parts easier, like hiding the frame to work on the slab etc. If you are using cutting components, you might want to make a nested component of the whole unit except the edges that do the cutting. I used to nest a lot but I find that, the way I work, the various parts just get in the way of quick adjustments. I make a window for a project with all the trim and style, and keep creating other sizes and windows from that as the model develops or window selections change. Sometimes a component can be changed in all the windows at once if there's a design change (certainly with something like hardware), but there are so many different sizes and arrangements that trying to do this (maintain a nested component that works in all units) is more difficult than simply applying the update to each window type. I tend to keep the geometry more accessible in a couple nested components. I use Fredo scale a lot to make new window or door sizes. A nice thing with the tool is that it can work on multiple components, but it renames nested components, making them unique--when sometimes they are not-- and occasionally has trouble scaling them correctly. So, using this tool, I find the nested components are not so useful.

That's nice. I like the idea of just pulling out the whole thing to have a look and to place by your work. I have various drawer and the tiny single drawer setups. Never quite happy with them and usually take the drawers all the way out anyway to look inside.

In a separate model, you could draw a 2D edge consisting of a stack of rectangles and apply alternating materials to them. Save the result as a 2D graphic export. Then import that image back into your real model as a texture and paint the edges of the plywood with it.

I have tried DPI-8 handheld 3D scanner, it is easy to use. http://mep.trimble.com/products/scanning/dpi-8-handheld-3d-scanner

I have an article and companion video on how to use SketchUp to plan a segmented turning. It's scheduled to appear later this year in "American Woodturner," the journal of the American Association of Woodturners. If you aren't already a member, receiving the journal is an excellent reason to join. Best, dh

Dirty way with a volumes Aline the axes to the direction to pull Now you select multiple ungroup objects faces and use the move tool by dragimg it along the axes thus gives a push-pull effect or warping of 3d volumes objects

Thanks for the suggestions for the move by fence, but when I select the end by fence and extend the tube, the taper does not change left to right. Not sure it the taper changes in the other plane. I was hoping to easily extend the tube to have the taper grow or shrink on the ends, this would need to be in 2 planes. I will look at the plug in later. Thanks Jeff Test.skp

Dave I have a compass plane but i find them best if the the curve is only in one plane. The surfboard is always 2 curves so a compass plane would not work. Holding a plane at an angle with only a small area in contact with the board works well, just different from all my planing trying to make a surface flat.