JonasMac

Dave
I have never found the rotate tool very intuitive unlike most of the other tools. I had always wondered why some objects seemed to be easier to rotate than others ( requiring less mouse clicks ).
From your rotation exercise above I am now clearer about the initial steps of selecting /encouraging the axis of rotation for objects with faces parallel to the red, green and blue axes.

My reading of the next step is that if you select a protractor( axis ) color as red ,green or blue after that you just need two mouse clicks to rotate an object ,one to be the centre of rotation and two to indicate the line of rotation .
With objects that are not square on with the red,green or where you want the axis of rotation of a "square on "object not to be in line with the red ,green or blue axis , the protractor turns black after which you need 3 clicks ,one to start the required axis , two to complete the axis line and three to indicate the line of rotation .
Is this your reading of how the tool works ?

Dave

I was able to remove the offending lines doing just as you suggested with the Eraser tool and my drawing looks like Tim's illustration- very satisfying - thanks

I should have realised that is why the right click is called the context menu but have learnt the hard way and I now understand more fully what "context menu " means .

I learned a lot from your earlier move tutorial and am now more confident in using this tool , but still struggle with the rotate tool as it is unlike the rotating tool in other drawing programs which I am familiar with . Perhaps you could devise a tutorial on rotating or point me in the direction of something already in existence .

Jonas Mac

Tim

I managed to complete the hinged elements but can't get rid of vertical lines between the straight section and the curves to the "tenons" ( best illustrated in steps 7 & 8). If I try to erase the lines I loose other geometry , can you think what I may be doing wrong?
Through doing the hinge I learned that the right click menu has different modes depending on what you select , I couldn't get Flip Along to register and realised in step 5 when in front view I had copied the front face of the fixed element only and missed the geometry behind . This was worth learning for me because I tend to move /copy elements in Standard Views ( top, front etc,) .

I don't know why the myth has arisen (which I see often repeated in other forums ) that you can be up and running in Sketch-Up in a couple of hours . You would soon get found out if you were asked to do a drawing such as the hinge above not to mention the table itself if you didn't understand the program which is deceptively simple.

I enjoy the forum .

JonasMac

I would like to say how much I enjoy this forum . Apart from marveling at the time you people contribute for the benefit of others , I find the images in the postings to the site very clear , the recorder head above being a good example . There is a very clear visual relationship between the drawing process and the actual objects being drawn , which I find very appealing .
I am not a woodworker , but an architect learning SketchUp . I know that specialist contractors like to have 3d views on working drawings as it ads to their understanding of the usual , plans ,sections & elevations, particularly if there are complex pieces of construction . This site has inspired me to carry on with learning SketchUp and get to the position where I can include 3D views on my construction drawings .

Thanks
Jonas Mac