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Need sketch up help Update Bookcase built

Bill Arnold said:
I had been using a 2D program or pencil and paper for so long that I had some kind of mental block being comfortable with SketchUp. I just couldn't "get it", even going through several of the video tutorials. Dave spent some time on the phone with me and that's all I needed.
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I had the same experience. I was all but ready to give up when Dave walked me through a couple of things until I hit that "ah-ha" moment. Dave's DVD "SketchUp, Guide for Woodworkers" available through Fine Woodworking Magazine is a real help too. I learned as much watching "how" he did things as I did watching "what" he was doing. My 'time to rough completion' of a drawing is a quarter of what it used to be before watching the DVD about a dozen times :thumb:.
 
Dave,

I have it loaded up in sketch up. I can get the dimensions with the tape measure but how do I get them to show on the plan so I can print it out ??

Also, I figured out some pretty cool joinery (for me anyway). It will be a fun build to document.
 
glenn bradley said:
Dave's DVD "SketchUp, Guide for Woodworkers" available through Fine Woodworking Magazine is a real help too.
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I really need to spring for that one of these days. I've done some basic "sketchups" with sketchup, but dang trying to get accurate layouts with it still makes me feel like i'm gouging my eyes out with a spoon.
 
Bob Gibson said:
... I can get the dimensions with the tape measure but how do I get them to show on the plan so I can print it out ?? ...
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Bob, use the "Dimension" tool to show the dimensions in the drawing. If it's not on the menu icons, you can click it on the "Tools" menu. Then use the cursor to click a point in the drawing, click on another point, click and drag the lines out.
 
Bob, Bill beat me to it and he's got you covered.

Ryan, maybe the DVD would get you on the right track. If not, you should at least use a sharpened spoon. :D
 
I don't know, Vaughn. In the morning the sharpened spoon remark doesn't seem as funny as I wanted it to be.

Ryan, using SketchUp with accuracy and precision shouldn't cause you trouble. It is certainly doable but like anything else, it depends upon the approach. It could be you need to come at it differently.
 
Dave Richards said:
I don't know, Vaughn. In the morning the sharpened spoon remark doesn't seem as funny as I wanted it to be.

Ryan, using SketchUp with accuracy and precision shouldn't cause you trouble. It is certainly doable but like anything else, it depends upon the approach. It could be you need to come at it differently.
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I agree with that. I have your DVD it is really good Dave but I seem to learn better when I can read it in a book & see an example of what should be on the monitor & go right back to the program & do it myself. Then if I goof up I look right back at the text & say oops there is where I goofed up & go back & correct myself.

We all have different ways of learning. I have known people who cannot read a auto repair manual & follow it to save their life, but show them once & they have it for life. For me read it & do it step for step works the DVD is very helpful though.
 
Just realized that I didn't think about putting a back on the bookcase. I don't know if cherry plywood would look OK or if I should resaw and shiplap some cherry boards ?? Any ideas ???

I was heading off to the lumber mill today to pick up some 8/4 cherry for the legs this morning but the weather is lousy. About 5 degrees and snowing. It's all back roads that usually don't get plowed or sanded until later in the day.
 
Amazon's got the DVD, too. Funny thing is the "About the author" section. Carol pointed it out to me the other day. I didn't know all that stuff about me. :D According to that I've been practicing law for five years longer than I've been alive. I'd think that would make me a progidy! :rofl:

I looked around but I can't find any way to contact someone at Amazon to correct it.
 
Dave Richards said:
I don't know, Vaughn. In the morning the sharpened spoon remark doesn't seem as funny as I wanted it to be.

Ryan, using SketchUp with accuracy and precision shouldn't cause you trouble. It is certainly doable but like anything else, it depends upon the approach. It could be you need to come at it differently.
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I still think its funny, in that sort of black "hmm yesss I should sharpen a spoon" sense of funny but funny nevertheless.

Yeah I'm pretty sure I'm just letting my preconceptions interfere with my actions :D
 
Finally got a chance to finish this. It kind of looks like the picture she gave me and Dave's sketch up plan but I made a few changes that I thought would better fit in with her furniture.

What's kind of cool is that I made 80% of this from 1 8/4 X10' piece of cherry. I had to make the 2 shelves from stock on hand.

The back is bookmatched. I thought it came out OK. I resawed 1/2" slices from the 8/4 and planed them down to 3/8". I was looking for an adjustable tongue and groove bit that would let me do 3/8"-3/4" boards but had no luck finding one so I cut an 1/8" slot in the boards and splined the joints.

I thought that the way I routed the ends of the shelves to wrap around the slats would look different so I made a template and gave it a try. I liked the results so I went ahead with it. I think that it looks pretty good.

The slats fit into a groove in the aprons and are filled with 3/8" x 3/8" pieces.

The finish.....big disappointment. 3 coats of Watco Danish oil. I didn't think that it would blotch (even tried it on a scrap piece first) but it did. Also the watco usually comes out a bit glossier but this looks more like plain stain to me. If she didn't want this tomorrow I'd probably add a coat of poly. I thought of using sanding sealer but the information I got said that it was not recommended :dunno:

Anyway, despite the finish I was very pleased with the build. Maybe over time the cherry will darken and even out.

A few pictures. comments and suggestions good or bad are always appreciated.

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