If you’re a carpenter or contractor, you’ve probably heard of Fine Homebuilding. It’s one of leading magazines for residential construction professionals. I had a subscription for many years when I had my own construction company. The thing I loved about the magazine was each issue was packed with real tips on how to approach real carpentry challenges.
They go beyond the basic stuff you’d typically find in a DIY type magazine, and they teach you not only the best way to do something, but WHY it’s the best way to do it. Matt Jackson is the Sketchup guru over at Fine Homebuilding, where he publishes video tutorials and articles on how to use Sketchup to design and plan construction projects.
The Digital Jobsite Blog
Matt runs the Sketchup blog over at Fine Homebuilding, appropriately named “The Digital Jobsite Blog.” And with a tagline “Where the boards are straight, the weather’s great, and there really IS a board stretcher!” it describes the Sketchup workspace perfectly. (For those of you who are not carpenters, it’s the #1 all time favorite prank to pull on the “new kid” on the jobsite to tell them to go fetch the “board stretcher”. Which usually leads the poor lad on a wild goose chase asking everyone where the board stretcher is, until he realizes there’s no such thing!) Yes, I fell for that one on my first day too!
My favorite article is his demonstration on how to use Sketchup to layout a complicated tile project. When you are doing tile, it’s really important to look at the entire room before you start, to make sure the joints will land nicely and you won’t end up with a little sliver of tile against a wall or something. Doing this in the field can be tough, but Matt thought of a great way to do this right in Sketchup. You can also create a very accurate quantity takeoff for ordering materials, and calculate difficult radius walls too.
I had a chance to ask Matt a few questions about how he got started with Sketchup, and how he applies it to his work as a carpenter.
Matt Jackson AKA The Timber Tailor
“What do you primarily use Sketchup for, and what is “The Digital Jobsite?”
As a self-taught carpenter I’m always looking for new ways to do a better job. For all my working years I used pencil sketches on paper and scale drawings made with a framing square on sheets of plywood for project planning. While this was a workable solution I quickly realized the possibilities for improving and speeding up the process with the features and capabilities that SketchUp has to offer.
The Digital Jobsite, the blog I write for FineHomebuilding.com, is a follow up to the magazine article I wrote for Fine Homebuilding’s May 2010 (issue #210) to present some of the ways I use SketchUp to fellow Fine Homebuilders. The blog’s tagline “where the boards are straight, the weather’s great, and there really IS a board stretcher” is my way of acknowledging the contrast between the real-world job environment builders exist in and the perfect world of SketchUp.
My hope is that the blog helps readers make the best of both worlds.
What do you do when you’re not in Sketchup?
I live with my wife of 26 years in the beautiful Black Hills of western South Dakota. Most folks know this area only as the location of the Mt Rushmore National Memorial and don’t realize the mountain carving, although fascinating, is only one of many attractions in this rural part of the country. With thousands of acres of National Forest and wilderness literally just out my back door, when I’m not creating SketchUp models I’m often out biking, hiking or traveling with my wife.
I spend time during the summer months pursuing my greatest personal endeavor which is rock climbing the spectacular granite spires that make up a large portion of the Black Hills geology. Between the world-class rock climbing routes tempting me and my contracting work obligations it is a bit of a wonder I get any SketchUp work done at all.
How were you first introduced to Sketchup?
A friend who is a tech/software aficionado mentioned the program to me when it was first getting popular. I poked around with it in a 2D/carpenter frame of mind. That approach left me mostly frustrated but passively curious about how 3D modeling software might help make my work easier. After Fine Woodworking ran an article about using SketchUp for modeling woodworking projects I became determined to tackle the learning curve and make use of its features to improve my work and business. I became a student of Aidan Chopra’s video tutorials which helped me understand how to operate in a 3D drawing paradigm.
What is the most important concept people should understand when using Sketchup?
The old “measure twice, cut once” mindset has got to go. Building digitally is a different paradigm than real-world building. It was difficult for me to stop drawing like I build: one line, one board, one cut at a time. Once I began to internalize move/copy concepts and become more aware of how grouped geometry, components and layers inter-relate, the learning curve really started to flatten out.
How has Sketchup changed the way you approach a construction project?
SketchUp is now the first tool I rely on when starting a project. Since all of my work is custom design/build in nature I work through everything from general concept to the smallest details without the inaccuracies and inefficiencies of pencil and paper methods that were standard practice not so long ago.
I saved a few of the tracing paper/photograph designs from past projects as a reminder of just how much of an improvement 3D modelling is.
What do YOU use Layers for? 🙂
I find Layers most helpful when presenting design variations to my clients. For instance I put various cabinet configurations on different layers and then by clicking the layers on and off a client can select what features they want. And I just recently began to apply the join.me method of e-mail sharing for this process thanks to your tutorial and encouragement. This method is much more effective than having a bunch of paper sketches to choose from, especially when it comes to refining the selected design.
How can people find you online?
The best way to find me online is at The Digital Jobsite blog at finehomebuilding.com. There, blog posts contain more in-depth information on my growing list of screen capture tutorial videos which are posted individually on The Timber Tailor’s Digital Jobsite channel on YouTube. I welcome viewer feedback as it helps me learn what stumbling blocks they are facing as they learn to apply SketchUp to projects that are important to them.
Viewers can also find many of The Digital Jobsite tutorial models in the SketchUp Component Warehouse by searching Digital Jobsite or Timber Tailor. There is also a Classic Tools Collection where I’ve uploaded models of some carpentry tools I created with an absurd level of detail such as a Stanley framing square and an old folding ruler as well as the ubiquitous Swanson Speed square.
Learn more Sketchup tips from Matt Jackson
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/blog/digital-job-site – Matt Jackson’s Sketchup blog over at the Fine Homebuilding website.
https://www.youtube.com/user/thetimbertailor – Matt Jackson’s Youtube Channel
The Timber Tailor 3D warehouse models – Matt Jackson’s Sketchup models on the 3D warehouse
