I wasn't as close as I though I was, but ¾” isn't that bad either. I basically have 29 slat pairs I need to adjust the spacing to make is work. So if you look at the inside of the door, you'll see the 6 studs don't line up on the slat so the are in the middle of the overlap joint.

The 1st couple of attempts at laying out the holes didn't work either. What I'm trying to do is set up a component with all the holes (extra long) and a bottom marker. The bottom marker will line up with the bottom corner of the slat and the holes in the center of the slat. When I get the comp lined up with the slat, I'll open it and explode it, cut the whole comp. Edit the slat and then paste the comp in place and use intersect to make the holes. That a lot of work per slat I know, but until I can figure out an easier way. That's my only option I feel that will work.

Gaieus, I've tried that way to auto log in and it doesn't work. With the last change in the forum, I've had troubles logging in, some of my UCP (user control panel) info has changed, ie my name at the left side of a post is no longer Cliff, it's my forum name. My avatar was deleted, just to name 2 of the biggest problems there.

Any suggestion?

Pilou this file should clear things up.

Well after all the practice I've had drawing slats and trying to figure out how to space them. I've come really close. The last slat is 1/4” short (that's a 1/4” out of 536.735” circumference). As Dave would say, it's good enough for a sketch to so someone how a yurts is built. But the goal of this project is to draw it correctly down to the last nut and bolt. This is my big learning curve. I know it will take some time to finish and I'll be doing other projects before I'm done. To get it this far is “huge” to me. In the last couple of weeks, I've seen things that I've heard from people you just can't do with SU. Drawing something like this yurts is 1 of them. But then those people didn't have you guys helping them either.

The next step well working out the spacing problem, is to figure out a way to get the holes right. If I can get those right, then I should have solved my spacing problem. I've got a few ideas I've seen do something close and will give it my best shot. I've already seen a few things I'll be changing. Since I changed the top of the door, everything up there needs to be changed. Guessing is 1 thing, seeing it drawn out in 3D is another. Here's a few things for future work you guys might have seen something that would help. The canvas walls will not hang perfectly straight down, so is there a way to mimic the lattice work under the canvas to make it look closure to the real thing? If you lathe a cone shape, can you cut pie shape slices out of it?

So to Dave R, Pilou, Peter, TIG, and the rest of you guys that have posted up. Thanks for helping me get this far. Hope your around to see the final drawing.

14 ft yurts frame V6.skp

Thanks guys, I've had a LOT of practice trying to get it right. And a big thanks to Dave for showing me the helix and extrude by rails.

Pilou, there is a slat missing, actually 2 sets of slats missing. the spacing with the bolt holes is wrong so everything isn't lining up. I went all the way back to the beginning and found 1 more mistake that just compounded all the way through. I working on correcting that now. I also need to work on getting the holes in the slats, but that been a pain I still need to work on.

Here's the next file to check out. See if you like how I did the layers. There's small stuff missing and I want to put thread on the bolts, but that will be later.

Door test v6.skp

I'm making head way. I've got the slat to line up correctly. Now I just need to get the spacing down. Basically I went back to the 1st helix and started to double check EVERYTHING. I did find 1 small mistake I made in height, but that didn't affect anything. I also found 2 added inputs through boxes or cells on the spread sheet, but after recalculating the numbers, it seemed to small to worry about. But I started over just to play it safe. I could not tell the difference between the 1st helix and the new 1. The very tops didn't meet perfectly, but you had to really zoom in to see it. So I went through all the steps again, with 1 small twist. The outside slat is the old helix and the inside is the new. My 1st guess is I made some stupid rookie error and didn't catch it. I used some of Peter's suggestions to double check things where lined up as I went. But after practicing the steps all those times, there was less chance for an error. But I still need to check my typing when I enter file names.

4th tesh khana.skp

Well that's a beginning, Pilou has almost given me a thumbs up, I'll live with that for now. So what template do you use, Pilou?

Thanks Peter, I know that trick, Dave even said it works better scaled up. I just didn't know it was called lathe. The joys of learning a new vocabulary.

@ Pilou. those setting are the default for the program. I think it's the architecture feet, inches. I don't always turn them off, like when I copy something into a new file and have an idea to try. I forget about Style and just try to work out the problem. So what default format do you use?
Yes that's similar to what I'll be building, but with taller walls, smaller smoke ring, and a shallower roof. But that's the basic idea. Since I have built 1 before(plus there have been 100+ built by these plans), I know the plans work, but I'm having a problem doing it in SU. It could be my math (not like I haven't double, triple checked it and soon to do it again). Hopefully the next file won't make you want to scream at me again.

@ pbacot, welcome to scream at the noob. "Yes, I am joking around". You've got some good ideas I'll be trying. Dave and I talked about a WHOLE ZHIT load of stuff, We both have a love for woodworking and I got to see some of his work. Basically he showed me how he draws, a quick run though on the hilex extrude. Why components are better to use and when working with smaller objects like I have been, to make a copy, scale it up, and finish the detail (great trick). Mostly what's been covered in the thread I was having problems with.

@Dave, "Style?" not every guy can look that dam good in a kilt. The custom Doubles and shirts help, But it's the English can opener I wear on my right forearm that makes the statement!

OK joking a side, this next file is basic, it's the smoke ring, rafters, and the slat (uncurved), I tried to get the layers to work from the ground up so you can see each step in the build up. I added notes in the components info to help clarify things. As always, any suggestions, comment, rants, raves or different angles to think about, "are greatly appreciated". 1 last thing, if I copy the objects in this file into a new file. Will the layer come with them, or are they in the file protocol and not the object protocol?

Spoke ring V6.skp

Dam I forgot to ask about lathe. Is that the rotate tool used with copy / paste or is it something else. A quick explanation, thread link, video, anything. It's one of those terms I've heard, just haven't researched it yet.

I've been working on a number of small parts and that trick has made a huge differences in getting clean results. What I've done is draw the set up for making the part, make it a component, then copy it. Scale it up, finish building the part in the larger version, save the file, and then delete the larger component. It's worked every time so far.

Pilou, that was the ticket. Now it works great. I have better luck with the / before the number. Don't know why, just do. Hopefully I'll make you proud.

Dave, had a GREAT chat yesterday, you answered most of my question for my short term goals. I didn't work on the bowie any more that night, to frustrated. But I did get the rotate / copy array down (thanks to the precision adjustment). I think most of my problems with the slat build up was with weld. 1st I get better results dividing it into 2 and welding then /3. Then for some reason I have to click the long curved right helix, then the top and bottom, followed by the left helix to get it to extrude right. Plus walking me through the choices for the boxes helped. No more guessing and trial and error, mostly error. I thought that you had sub folders in your layers? Not just single layers, but I thought I saw 1 layer with 2 sub layers, if that makes any sense to you. If I'm correct, "How do I do the same?".

OK some long and short term goals. 1st I'd like to upload files that don't drive you all nutz trying to work with them. Then most of you guys should be able to work up plans from the files if you want to build one (you;ll still need the pdf). I'm working getting getting layers down to a point that help show how things are put together. On the short side, layers is in the works, drawing threads for both machine and wood screws. When I'm done with this project, I'll have it drawn down to the last nut and bolt. I'm not planning on doing it with other projects, but this is a big learning curve for me. I know how the yurts is built, how it works, so I want to see if I can pull off the details.

Time to beg for some more help. Here's 1 of the latest helix attempts. Problem is the tops of the inside slats are to far to the center. I've tried making an inside and outside slat, but dam near the same results. I followed Dave's walk through. Even tried scaling to mirror instead of flipping on the green. Any suggestions? It should be V6.

test helix.skp

I've got a rotate question. Will SU rotate to the .00 percentage of a degree? Say like 11.77 degree rotate. I remember doing the spoke wheel and manually placing parts. When I got to the end, the last pieces where out of place. After checking the angle, it read 11.8, I went back and changed a few to 11.7 to make everything fit. Would a rotate / paste array work better (I hope that's the right term) or would a rotate / paste by divide (12/ entered after rotate) work? Or is there a better way to solve this problem?

Cliff

Thanks Pilou, now what you guys have been saying is starting to make more sense. I might have been screwing around with SU for 2 years, but I've put in more hours the last 2 weeks then I have before. I just realized something major today as well, stop thinking like AutoCad, this is SketchUp, learn how it works.

Thanks for all the help for everyone. It's starting to sink in.

Sorry Pilou, my mind has been going in 4 directions the last few days. You where talking about the hooks from a drawing point of view, not the actual use. I was working out the math to layout the slats for the walls and took a break to work on the follow me tool. I redid the eye bolts or hooks and figured out a better way to do them. I also played around with making them components. Found out that you can modify a singular component without effecting the rest of them. I thought anything you did to one, happened to the rest of them. I'm starting to see the difference between groups and components as far as the layout goes.

That is called an eye bolt. Since the hook rolls over to almost a closed position. I though you where using the term as some kind of vocabulary used for SU. Sorry about that. The one's over the door are that heavy, the lag screw (wood threads) portion is cut short so it doesn't go through the 2x4. There's a rope that goes through the outside ends of the rafters, that is tied off to those eye bolts. It works as the top tension band making the frame work stronger. That was the 1st attempt at making something like that with the follow me tool. It's not perfect by a long shot, but close enough for what I needed at the time. They are a little to large for the door wings, but when I tried to redraw new 1's it did work out the same, I could have used scale to re-size them, but I didn't. Those are both changes I made to the original plans.

So I was wrong about my guess about changing group to components. Not the 1st time I was wrong about something in SU. Since we are kind of on vocabulary, when you say "heavy" is the file size larger or just the entities count?

I've seen the top video before, it's one of the video series I watching to find out how things work better. I remember seeing the Dummy's series a while ago, but never went back and look at it.

OK I thought I redid everything as components. So if you exploded a group and re component it, it's still a group? I did find a few parts I couldn't draw correctly just 2 weeks ago that I fixed. So I am learning something. Plus I'm not familiar with the term "hooks" can anyone explain?

@ Pilou. last night I did a quick conversion to the door file. Now that I know how components work, I was thinking about how I would have done things differently well doing some wood working. So here's the file, look it over and tell me if that's better or if I just went overboard the other way. I still haven't figured it all out, but there are some parts I'd have grouped that I made a component in the drawing.

New door try V6.skp

Well Guieus that where I got the pdf from, a re-enactment group and I do that myself. My last yurt had stones painted on the side to make it look more like a hut (my ancestors are from Scotland). The next one I want to do, will have flat stone on the sides and a thatched roof paint job. I can't find pictures of the old yurts or I'd post 1 or 2.

Cliff

Sorry Pilou, those files where never meant to be shared, but now that I'm trying to learn SU. That has changed. I'm sure Dave is planing on schooling me about the use of groups and components in the near future. Please bare with me well I'm learning. My old files well be the same, but the newer files should improve with time. With your help, I can only get better.

And the door again

14 yurt door SU V6.skp

@ Pilou, I don't know how to switch the default save to V6 and not sure I want to. When I get a project like the helix or Tig's design. I do a step by step save. That way I can go back and check where I might have screwed up and do the plug-ins that have multiple steps different ways to see how they work. Do I mind saving a file in V6. 'ell no. Besides it let's me get my post count up so I don't look like some noob.

14 rough yurts V6.skp