No replies to sketch up help

[Grain Guy]

I posted a question in sketch up and haven't gotten any replies.

I have a component that I want to taper on all sides with multiple angles. I can taper the two parallel sides by drawing a line and pushing them away. When I go to the perpendicular sides, draw a line I can only pull the shape.

Anyone know how to do this?

Thanks guys

[TerryMcK]

You may have to construct the component using lines rather than starting with a solid and using the push tool. For example draw two 2 inch sided squares separated longitudinally by a 3 inch gap. On the second square select all four sides and use the follow me tool. Select those lines and move the follow me .5 inches inside. This will draw a square with 1 inch sides. Erase the lines making up the second two inch square. Next use the draw tool to connect the outside intersects of the first square to the corresponding intersects on the newly drawn one inch square. Gradually you will build up a solid object with tapering sides. You can use the same principle with any number of sides and any form of taper. All you have to do is think in 3 dimensions and think laterally of how to construct an object.

The push tool is good but doesn't always work the way you hope it would. The paid for version of Sketchup does have extra solid modelling capability but it is far too expensive for an individual to buy.

Hope this helps.

Tmcwoodworks.blogspot.co.uk

[RenaissanceWW]

I think if you explode the component reducing it back to lines and faces you could move the perpendicular edges into the angle you want. This gets a little hairy as sometimes Sketchup wants to move it on an unintended axis. I've found aligning the camera view just right helps with this.

[Bob Lang]

The easiest way to make a taper is to move the lines at the narrow end, all the connected lines and faces will stretch as the line moves. If your leg is already a component, don't explode it, double click on any part of it to open it for editing. If the tapers don't start at the very top, copy the lines from the top down the distance you want. For example, if your leg is two inches square and you want the tapers to start four inches down, copy the lines from the top by selecting them, then pick up the Move tool and hit the alt key to start the copy command. Click one time to start the action, move your cursor down on the blue axis, type 4 and hit enter. If you want 3/8" taper on two sides, orbit down so you can see the bottom of the leg, then select opposite edges one at a time and move them 3/8" on the appropriate horizontal axis. If you want 5/8" going the other way, move the perpendicular lines that distance toward the center of the leg.

Hope this helps,

Bob Lang

[adamulm]

Hey Grain Guy,

 

I've just been perusing the sketchup topics and noticed that the other posts didn't mention one of my favorite tools in Sketchup. Since you're having trouble pushing faces due to the orientation after you've pushed the first faces, I think this will help.

 

I've designed several non-woodworking product prototypes with Sketchup and often the geometry is much more complex than anything I've done in wood. Many of the conundrums I came across I had decided just couldn't be done until I found the "Intersect Faces -> With Model" tool.

After getting comfortable with it, it will make just about anything you can dream up possible and often easy.

 

If you use intersect faces you can draw your complex faces seperately and then intersect them so they meld into one cohesive object. It's not as complex as it sounds either.

 

Here's the tutorial video from Google:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax9HY06PB8M

 

Let me know if this helps or if you need further help.

 

Adam

 

Check out my website at AmericanCraftWoodworks.com

 

There are some downloadable examples of my sketchup files and project plans there.