At the 2012 JLC LIVE show, Gary Katz presented a seminar called High End Finish Carpentry: Advanced Techniques – Coffered Ceilings; Wainscoting; Solving Problems with SketchUp. A veteran Sketchup user himself, Gary has been using the program to help visualize his carpentry work for many years. During the show, Gary was kind enough to sit down and share a few words with me.
“I had always wanted to be a writer”
I have been going to the JLC show for many years now, and each year I usually find Gary doing a demonstration on how to build a beautiful crown molding detail in front of a crowd of carpenters and contractors. Naturally, my first question for him was, “So how did you get started doing carpentry?” His response,
“I had always wanted to be a writer when I was a kid, write novels and stuff, but you can’t really make a living doing that so I got into carpentry.
At the time, a girlfriend of mine knew an editor at Fine Woodworking and she said “You know, if you want to write something, why don’t you submit something to Fine Woodworking? I’ll give you the guy’s name.”
So I submitted my first article to Fine Woodworking on installing locks and they said “Wait a minute. We don’t publish stuff like that… but Fine Homebuilding will!” And that’s when I started my relationship with Fine Homebuilding. And that’s what started my career as a writer.”
Gary has over 30 years experience in the construction industry, specializing in finish carpentry. For over two decades, he has been contributing to The Journal of Light Construction, Fine Homebuilding, Fine Woodworking, Tools of the Trade, and other leading trade magazines. He is the author of The Doorhanger’s Handbook (Taunton), Trim made simple (Taunton), and Finish Carpentry: Efficient Techniques for Custom Interiors (JLC/Craftsman). He also publishes www.ThisisCarpentry.com, a free online magazine for carpenters and tradesman that shares tips and techniques from some of the best craftsmen in the industry.
These days, Gary is constantly on the road with the Katz Roadshow, doing demonstrations at trade shows and lumber yards all across the country.
“How did you get started doing trade shows?”
“After I wrote the book on door hanging, I got a phone call from Craig Savage, who wrote the very first trim carpentry book. He said “I’m working for this company called JLC, and we’re doing these shows where we actually build a house, live in front of a thousand people.
So would you think about coming and hanging the doors?” I said “What are you nuts?!” I’m going to have to bring all my tools and my workbench and everything?” And he replied “We’ll help you, if you’re willing to do it, let’s try it out and see how it works.” So we did it.
So for two years in a row we came and did the JLC show, and I hung a LOT of doors. Like every hour or so I’d hang a door. So I’d hang about 8 doors in two days.”
So would you think about coming and hanging the doors?” I said “What are you nuts?!” I’m going to have to bring all my tools and my workbench and everything?” And he replied “We’ll help you, if you’re willing to do it, let’s try it out and see how it works.” So we did it.Wow, that’s a lot of doors. I’m sure Gary could hang doors in his sleep by now. Eventually, the JLC show asked him if he’d mind doing some finish carpentry shows. As it turned out, they were a big hit. Nowadays, he mostly does the crown and the decorative ornamentation demonstrations.
As the shows gained momentum, he partnered with several leading manufacturers, including WindsorONE, Stabila, Typar, and Andersen Windows. I have actually been to one of the Katz roadshows at my local lumberyard. It was great, I highly recommend you attend one in your area. You’ll certainly learn something new, and have a chance to meet Gary too!
“So how were you first introduced to Sketchup?”
” I was introduced to Sketchup by a carpenter named Joe Wood. I owe him big time for doing that. He was the first person I met who knew anything about Sketchup. He introduced me to it and I was really hesitant, and he kept saying, “Gary, you have to try Sketchup, you have to.” Finally I did, and I was really clumsy and he said to stick with it.
At that time, there was no support, no tutorials, there was nothing. But there was a forum, and there were some guys on the forum who would help you. Since then, I’ve relied mostly on Todd Murdoch to mentor me–he corrects all the mistakes I make and always leads me out of corner in the right direction.
Then I heard about a Sketchup class someone was doing in the LA area, and I went to one of them. I was just going to go to the morning class, but I learned so much I stayed all day… And I learned about COMPONENTS! I didn’t know about components. But when he showed me, I went, WOW!
He took a column and he made a radius path, and he did a series of columns on that path, and I just went –gasp- That was it. So then immediately I started doing our mantle pieces and our built-ins for our jobsites using Sketchup. “
“Before using Sketchup, did you have any experience with any other type of drawing program?”
” I couldn’t draw….at all. I couldn’t draw three dimensional stuff at all… period. So I’d do little sketches of things, and I would make a lot of mistakes, on the jobsite and in my shop. Before Sketchup, I’d have to create a mock-up of everything. I’d figure out what I need to build and I’d actually create a smaller version of it to see how all the pieces fit together. For instance I’d build a door, and it may only be 6″ high, but it would be 36″ wide and it would allow me to figure out where to put the pivot point and stuff like that.
And then Sketchup came around and it enabled me to not just put the pivot in the right place, but install the trim too, before I even started the job. It’s great. The thing that has changed me the most is realizing how important it is to do the prep work before you go out into your shop. Before I leave my desk I’ll create an entire assembly in Sketchup, check the dimensions, and make sure everything is going to work.
I’ll actually walk through each step of building the project in Sketchup, and it allows me to catch things in my design that usually are only discovered in the field. I can fix it in the model, before ever having to pick up my tool belt.
“What would you say to people who think Sketchup isn’t capable of being used as a professional construction design software?”
Back in the early 80’s, Hitachi came out with the first sliding compound miter saw, and it had a very low fence, meaning you could only cut material that was about 1 1/2″ high. So if you needed to cut baseboard and crown molding, you had to cut it on the flat. In order to cut a compound miter, you’d have to be a math whiz to figure out which angles to position the saw at.
A few years later they came out with saws that were bigger, and you could cut the molding in place without having to calculate the compound miter. It was twice as fast… three times as fast, it was so much easier, any idiot could do it. But to this day, I still run into guys who cut on the flat and they’ll say “Oh, it’s so much better and faster,” even though it’s not.
And that’s because they worked so hard to figure it out that they feel like their system’s the best, when it’s not. And that’s what I say to architects. They work so hard to figure out those crazy CAD programs that won’t do anything close to what Sketchup can do, and the learning curve for those programs is like climbing Mount Everest. With Sketchup, you start with a simple 2D drawing, and you’re in 3D instantly. And who needs more than that?”
Gary went on to say that he has even used Sketchup to draw his new shop!— Along with Todd Murdock‘s help. By exporting his Sketchup models to Layout, he was able to produce 13×19 drawings of his house, and have them printed out. He also admitted that many of the architects he knows personally are now starting to use Sketchup on a more regular basis.
To the right, you can see the perspective view of the workshop, and a framing and foundation detail. This was done using Sketchup Pro and Layout. You basically create the entire model in Sketchup. Then, you create scenes for the different “views” you want to create a 2D page from. In Layout, you can import these scenes and add notations, dimensions, and more to create a finished set of plans.
So as we wrapped up the interview, I wanted to get some words of advice for those people who may have tried Sketchup at one time, but gave up on it because they got frustrated. Gary says to start with the basics, and be patient. Once you learn the fundamentals, the rest will come easy.
“What’s your advice for people just starting out with Sketchup?”
“A lot of the guys I teach are very intimidated by the learning curve involved with picking up a program like this. They are afraid to invest the time. But you need to convince them that they need to invest the time. And then you have to make it a learning experience that doesn’t hurt.
Take your time with the basic concepts until they really click in your head. Then move on to the next thing. If you overwhelm yourself with trying to learn all the different tools at once, your going to get frustrated. So just take your time, and slowly build on each concept until using each tool comes naturally to you. In time, you won’t even have to think about your next move, it’ll just come automatically.”
We chatted for a few minutes before Gary had to go prepare for his next demonstration. I had a great time talking with him. I’m hoping next year I’ll be able to attend his next Sketchup seminar.
If you are a carpenter and would like to learn some great tips and techniques from some of the best in the industry, head over to THISisCarpentry.com. It’s a really great site, it features a lot of great unique ideas that will help you become a better carpenter. Check out this post by Todd Murdock called Circular-Based Arches – Part 1: One-Centered and Two-Centered Arches. He uses Sketchup in a lot of his illustrations. Very nice work, and an excellent article!
