Fine Woodworking's Google SketchUp® Guide For Woodworkers Traditional Cabinets (PDFDrive)

Guide Atfor
the time of publication,

Woodworkers
Trimble Navigation agreed to
acquire SketchUp from Google.
Traditional
Cabinets By Timothy S. Killen
Guide for
Woodworkers
Traditional
Cabinets
By Timothy S. Killen
Text © 2012 by Timothy S. Killen
Photography by Timothy S. Killen, © 2012 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
Drawings by Timothy S. Killen, © 2012 by The Taunton Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Lm
The Taunton Press, Inc., 63 South Main Street, P.O. Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506
e-mail: tp@taunton.com
Fine Woodworking® is a trademark of The Taunton Press, Inc., registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The following manufacturers/names appearing in Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers: Traditional Cabinets are trademarks
belonging to their respective owners: Apple Macintosh®, Brusso®, Google®, SketchUp®.
Editor: David Heim

Design: Michael Amaditz
Layout: Timothy S. Killen
Project Manager: Sarah Opdahl
Copy editor: Katy Scott
Indexer: Cathy Goddard
ISBN-13: 978-1-60085-767-6
ISBN-10: 1-60085-767-1
Contents
introduction
Before We Begin…................................................................................................................ 1
chapter one
Brushing Up on SketchUp..................................................................................................... 3
chapter two
Cabinet Types and Structures................................................................................................ 9
chapter three
A Wall-Mounted Cabinet.....................................................................................................21
chapter four
A Display Case in the Arts and Crafts Style.........................................................................66
chapter five
American Colonial Corner Cupboard.................................................................................101
chapter six
How to Adjust and Resize Components and Models.........................................................148
chapter seven
How to Assemble a Package of Shop Drawings................................................................175
Index.................................................................................................................................187
introduction
Before We Begin . . .
M
ore and more woodworkers SketchUp without having to spend time
around the world have adopt- drawing the same thing repeatedly. You
ed Google® SketchUp® as a new can easily generate conventional front, top,
tool for the workshop. You see and side views; exploded views, like the one
SketchUp used regularly in articles, books, shown in Figure 2; as well as full-size tem-
plans, and drawings. Blogs and websites plates and working drawings.
present tutorials on SketchUp, from basic
training to highly advanced techniques. What this book offers you
Woodworking clubs across the country This book builds on skills and techniques
and around the world now offer SketchUp covered in my first book, Google SketchUp
training seminars. Guide for Woodworkers. That was one of
It's no surprise that SketchUp has caught the first books to show how SketchUp can
on quickly. Woodworkers want to improve be tailored to the needs of cabinetmakers. It
their craft, acquire new skills, and tackle new covered basic SketchUp settings for efficient
and more challenging projects. SketchUp is woodworking tasks. It went on to show how
just the tool to help meet those objectives, to use SketchUp to create basic furniture
and it's free. parts and joints, then showed more sophis-
The application opens up new capabili- ticated features to create complex models.
ties in 3D that were once available mainly to It also showed how to assemble effective
professional designers and illustrators with packages of shop drawings.
esoteric, hard-to-use, expensive computer- This book focuses on mastering SketchUp
assisted design systems. No longer are you for a specific furniture form-cabinets. This
limited to two-dimensional shop drawings. is a broad, popular category that covers
Now, you can easily create a fully detailed 3D many styles, sizes, uses, and shapes.
model made up of all the individual parts. I will show you how to create three rep-
You can also add wood-grain textures, shad- resentative styles of cabinets, ranging from
ing, and other refinements to make your fairly simple to quite complex; together,
drawings very realistic. they embody most of the design and struc-
Working in SketchUp entails doing a com- tural considerations that go into any sturdy,
plete "build" on the computer before you atractive, well-made cabinet.
begin real construction in the shop. As in The SketchUp models will be worked thor-
real life, you asssemble the model a piece at oughly, down to the last detail. You won't
a time, shaping and connecting individual have to guess about joinery details, how
components, complete with joint details, doors are made, or how the back panel fits Figure 1. A 3D view of an 18th-century cabinet in SketchUp. Like the real cabinet, the
molding profiles, chamfers, and so on. You in place. The design detail will be compre- drawing is made from components for each board and strip of molding, complete with all the
can create multiple views and drawings in hensive and complete. joinery details.
1 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

introduction
Working through these three case studies • An Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet with
in SketchUp on your computer will help you leaded-glass doors.
to internalize these design and construction • An 18th-century period reproduction of
considerations, so that when you take on a corner cupboard.
a new project, you can apply the tools and In addition to explaining how to create
knowledge you learn here. precise joints and moldings, the book also
My hope is that this book will help you in shows how to design hinges, latches, and
these four ways: pulls. It also shows you how to develop a
• To develop a general knowledge of cabi- comprehensive package of shop drawings
net design and construction. and how to modify an existing SketchUp
• To become familiar with 3D design, design to create a new piece.
which will improve your woodworking. The book includes numerous computer-
• To show you how to customize existing screen illustrations and annotated photos,
SketchUp models. as well as videos showing key SketchUp
• To show you how to create detailed procedures. Each chapter is divided into
design documents, making the actual sub-sections, many introduced with a vid-
shop work more efficient. eo of the steps involved in that section. I
This book is not about how you do the recommend watching the video first, then
physical construction in the shop and what working through the step-by-step instruc-
power or hand tool techniques you should tions that follow.
use. There are plenty of other resources for Accompanying this book are actual
that. Instead, I'll detail the steps and tools SketchUp files, models, and components.
required to "build" the piece in SketchUp. You can use these resources to create your
own new cabinet designs, resizing, embel-
Contents of this book lishing, and shaping these already drawn
This book addresses the needs of profession- SketchUp components and assemblies to
als and hobbyists who are cabinetmakers, suit your own needs.
furniture designers, woodworking teachers I use the Pro Version of SketchUp, which
and students, and home craftsmen. sells for about $500. It has functions that I use
It begins with a review of the tools, fea- in my work and teaching. However, you can
tures, and procedures you need to know to be assured that the free version of SketchUp
use SketchUp for woodworking. From there, has all the features you need to produce the
it shows how to design and draw cabinets in most complex woodworking projects and
SketchUp and outlines the basic anatomy comprehensive shop drawings. Go to sketch-
and engineering of cabinets. up.google.com for the download.
The heart of the book are the plans and There are a handful of places in this book
detailed instructions for creating three where I will point out a feature available only
styles of cabinets: in SketchUp Pro. Otherwise, you will be able
• A Shaker-style wall cabinet with dove- to replicate the steps and actions I show in Figure 2. An exploded view of the 18th century cabinet. Exploded views are easily created in
tail and mortise-and-tenon joinery. this book using the free version. SketchUp without any redrawing. You simply reposition the original components you created.

chapter one
Brushing Up on SketchUp
T
his chapter summarizes some of the some alternative settings. You can change
most critical tools and features you the units of measure, the way dimensions
will need to know to model wood- are displayed, the size and typeface for text
working projects in SketchUp. It is and numbers, and other variables.
not meant to be a comprehensive resource Click on the Window tab in the menu bar,
for people who are new to SketchUp. If you then select Model Info. The Model Info dia-
feel you need more basic training before you log box displays a list of the properties you
begin drawing cabinets, read my first book, can modify in a panel at the left of the screen
Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers (Figure 4).
(Taunton Press, 2010). Or, tap into other After you make the modifications, save the
help and training resources recommended template as your default. Click on File in the
by Google (see http://sketchup.google.com/ SketchUp menu bar and choose Save as a
support/?hl=en). Template. Every time you open SketchUp,
you will be working in that template.
Set Up for Woodworking
Like many computer applications, SketchUp Modify the Style Settings These deter-
can be customized in many ways. After all, mine the background color in your draw- Figure 3. The SketchUp Welcome screen.
many different types of professionals use ings, the weight of the lines that form the
SketchUp, each with his or her own model- edges of objects in the drawings, and the
ing environment and processes. colors of the objects you draw. To get to the
Here's how I have customized SketchUp Style settings, click on the Window tab in
for my modeling. the menu bar and choose Styles to open a
new window.
Customize a Template SketchUp has built- I use different styles in my drawings: one
in templates for several specialties, such as for the normal view, another for X-Ray
architecture and engineering. You can see view, and a third for Back Edges view (this
them all when you first download the ap- shows hidden parts with dashed lines, as in
plication and view its Welcome screen. Click conventional mechanical drawings). I usu-
the button labeled Choose Templates and ally keep the drawing background on the
select Product Design and Woodworking. bright side-not entirely white, but with a
See Figure 3. (You can always get back to little gray. The profile of my Edges is set to
the Welcome screen by clicking on Help in 1. Otherwise, I mainly stick with the default
SketchUp's menu bar and then selecting values (Figure 5).
Welcome to SketchUp.)
This template makes a good starting Arrange the Toolbars and Dialog Boxes
point, but you will want to customize it with Toolbars are selected from the View tab on Figure 4. The Model Info dialog box.

chapter one
the menu bar. I recommend selecting these You can see a picture of my normal Sketch- switch tools when you want to shift your Multitasking with the mouse may take
toolbars from the list: Large Tool Set, Style, Up setup in the screen shown in Figure 9. view of the model. some practice, but it is one of the most im-
Layer, Standard, and Views (Figure 6). Efficient movement around the model is portant modeling skills you must master.
After selecting those toolbars, you should How to Move Around the Model one of the most important skills to develop
see a check mark in the list next to their There are three basic movements in Sketch- in SketchUp. Good modeling necessitates Become Familiar with Toolbars
names. You can unselect any other toolbars Up: zoom, orbit, and pan. While there are changing your point of view to ensure ac- You'll want to be familiar with the toolbars
that have a check mark in the list. tool icons in the Toolbar for each of these curate connections, placements, and move- in the SketchUp screen (Figure 8).
I also maintain a set of dialog boxes on functions, I strongly suggest that you avoid ments. This requires you to continually
the screen at all times. I keep them in a using them. Instead, do all the moving and orbit, zoom, and pan around the model. Standard Toolbar This is the first one on
"minimized clump" format. I like to have the zooming with a mouse that has a scroll This is another instance of SketchUp the left in the line of toolbars at the top of
Materials, Components, Styles, Layers, and wheel. The reason is simple: A mouse lets mimicking real shop work. You sometimes the screen. The icons identify functions that
Scenes dialog boxes in the clump, so I can you multitask. You can be drawing a line, stand across the room to take in the entire are common to many computer applica-
open them without having to work through moving a component, or copying it while piece you are building; other times, your tions.: Cut, Copy, Paste, Print, Undo, Redo,
drop-down menus. The boxes are all avail- simultaneously moving around the mod- nose may practically touch the wood so you and the like. The Apple Macintosh® version
able from the Window drop-down menu. el. You don't have to stop one activity and can work on a small detail. lacks the Standard Toolbar, but you can pick
the Undo/Redo Toolbar, which is very help-
ful. I probably use the Undo more than any
other function.
Views Toolbar The six icons represent

standard views in SketchUp. They let you
reorient the entire model with one mouse
Select Tool Eraser Tool click. Views are useful when creating top,
front, or side orthographic views of specific
Line Tool
components of the assembled model.
Circle Tool Arc Tool
Styles Toolbar The seven icons in this tool-
Push/Pull bar determine the appearance of the model.
Tool The default face style is the second from the
right: Shaded with Textures. I find it effective
for most of modeling. The only other two
styles I use are X-Ray and Back Edges.
Tape Measure
Tool
Layers Toolbar As you begin to learn
SketchUp, I think it is best to ignore the Lay-
ers tools. Although CAD programs typically
require the use of different layers, SketchUp
doesn't. However, I find that the Layers tool-
Figure 5. The Styles dialog box for the Back Figure 6. Selecting Toolbars from the View Figure 7. The basic drawing tools in the
bar helps when I add dimensions to a model.
Edges view. drop-down menu. Large Tool Set. I'll cover this in the last chapter.

chapter one
Large Tool Set This vertical array of icons
on the left edge of the screen includes all the
drawing, moving, measuring, and labeling
tools. Here you have the Line, Eraser, Push/
Pull, Select, Rectangle, Circle, Arc, and Tape Standard Toolbar Styles Toolbar
Views Toolbar Layers Toolbar
Measure. These are all the frequently used
drawing tools and the first ones that you "Minimized clump"
should learn to use (Figure 8). If you need of dialog boxes
help with any of them, review Chapter 4 of Large Tool Set
my previous book.
Two of those tools are especially useful for
woodworking models:
• The Push/Pull Tool transforms a plane
or face into a 3D object. It allows you
to make mortises and tenons and to
make or change the thickness, width,
or length of a piece of wood. The Push/
Pull Tool only works on flat faces and
will not move, reshape, or change a
curved surface.
• The Tape Measure is another unique
and frequently used tool. You can use it
to check dimensions. More important,
Figure 8. My SketchUp set-up, Toolbars, and clumped dialog boxes. The model on display is a close-up view of the crown molding assembly in
it lets you place temporary construction
the 18th-century cabinet. It is made up of more than 50 parts, including the small turned acorn pendants.
lines to show the location of holes, dove-
tails, joints, cuts, grooves, and so on. keep you properly oriented by highlight- the surest, most efficient way to ensure ac- drawing tools you can select the tool, begin
ing an axis color when you use one of the curacy is to rely on the Measurements Box, using it, and type a value that will appear
Mind the Axes drawing tools. For example, when you begin located in the lower right-hand corner of in the Measurements Box and generate the
When drawing cabinet components and as- drawing a line without regard to its axis, the the screen. As you use different drawing line, arc, or angle you want.
sembling models, you always need to keep line will appear black; when you get the line tools, the values shown in the box change For example, if you want a line that is ex-
in mind how SketchUp's axes are aligned. oriented along, say, the X axis, the line will to tell you exact line length, circle radius, arc actly 21/2 in. long, you select the Line Tool
When you first open SketchUp, all you see change to red. Success with SketchUp de- bulge, rectangle size, distance moved, angle and begin drawing. Type 21/2 and press En-
are blue, red, and green lines meeting at the pends greatly on your ability to draw lines, rotated, and protractor angle. The label to ter. SketchUp generates a line of that exact
origin point (Figure 9). The red axis follows arcs, and circles with respect to these axes. the left of the box changes to tell you what length. See Figure 10.
the X direction (left to right); the green axis, The sidebar on page 6 explains other ways value will be shown.
the Y direction ( from front to back); and the to stay on axis. SketchUp controls the Measurements Box Learn to Handle Components
blue axis, the Z direction (up and down). and decides what parameters are applicable One of SketchUp's most important features
As a rule, if you don't stay on axis, you will Learn to Draw Precisely for the specific tool or action you want to do. is the Make Component function. Wood-
not be able to create proper 3D shapes. Woodworking requires accuracy and preci- You cannot click to enter the box or force it workers create, move, connect, copy, and
Fortunately, SketchUp automatically helps sion in drawings and plans. In SketchUp, to change parameters. However, with most modify furniture or cabinet parts. Compo-

chapter one
nents are the SketchUp equivalent-legs, Use the Arrow Keys
stretchers, tops, drawer fronts, knobs, rails,
stiles, panels, slats, arms, seats, and so on.
to Stay on Axis
When you add a mortise to a leg in Sketch- It's important to use SketchUp's two
Up, you are editing a component called "leg," Blue axis techniques to help you stay on axis.
which is an integrated object, not a bunch I use both of them very frequently.
of individual edges, lines, and graphical enti- One relies on the arrow keys on
ties. You can touch the leg (using the Select Green axis
the computer keyboard.
Tool), and move, copy, and change it as if it
Tapping the appropriate key when
were a real piece of wood.
you begin to draw a line constrains
Components are essential for success in Red axis
The Origin the line to a particular axis. For ex-
SketchUp. Without them, all you have are
a bunch of lines and faces that interact and ample, if you want to draw a line on
interfere with one another. There is no other the red axis, click the mouse to begin
Measurements Box
way to work with the model: You must cre- the line, then tap the right arrow key.
ate pieces (components) that represent each No matter what direction you move
Figure 9. The axes. Figure 10. The Measurements Box.
part of the cabinet assembly. the mouse, the line will follow the
Components also add considerable speed, red axis. To constrain the line to the
efficiency, and accuracy to your modeling. green axis, tap the left arrow key. To
When you make a change in one copy of a constrain the line to the blue axis,
component, the same change instantly ap-
tap the up or down arrow keys.
pears in all copies of that component. For
The arrow keys also work with
example, when you draw dovetail tails for
the Move/Copy Tool. To constrain
the corner joint in one side of a cabinet, Move/
SketchUp instantly generates identical tails Copy movement of a component on the
Tool red axis, for example, tap the Right
in the other side component.
Arrow key. Use the other arrow
How to Make a Component It is best to keys to constrain movement on the
create components right away when you be- other axes.
gin a model, even before the "piece of wood" The other technique for con-
is entirely shaped with moldings, joints, or straining movement involves using
other embellishments. This will make your the shift key. Begin drawing a line
modeling more efficient and accurate. or moving a component along the
To make a component, draw a left-to-right
desired axis, then hold down the
selection box around all the edges and faces
shift key. This constrains the line or
that represent the lumber piece. The select-
movement on that axis.
ed items will change to blue. Right-click on
the selection and choose Make Component You will find these techniques
from the pop-up menu. This will open an- invaluable.
other dialog box, asking you to name the Figure 11. Moving a component. Figure 12. Editing a component.

chapter one
component. Enter a name. Be sure the box without affecting any other component. two identical sides that are mirror images of angled features. When you select this tool,
labeled Replace Selection with Component When you have finished editing, right- each other. It's extremely powerful and time- the cursor changes to a circular protractor
is checked. Click the button labeled Create. click on an area of the model away from the saving to draw only one side, then copy and shape. You click the tool on the component
box around the selected component. This flip it to create its mate, with all the joinery and move the mouse to lock on to one of the
How to Move a Component Use the will open a small pop-up box; choose Close properly oriented. If I edit either side com- reference axes. Click the mouse to begin the
Move/Copy Tool (Figure 11) to maneuver Component from the list. ponent, the copy is instantly updated with rotation. You can now type the angle value
components around in the model. Choose the changes, all properly oriented. and press Enter to place the guideline.
the Move/Copy Tool and move the cursor More Tools and Functions Figure 14 shows the process of flipping a
over the component. This automatically se- For comprehensive modeling and more copy of a component. Right-click on the cop- Follow Me Tool Moldings as well as bev-
lects the component. Figure 11 shows the complex woodworking projects, you'll need ied side and pick Flip Along from the pop-up eled and turned components are essential
screen when I hovered over the upper front to understand how to use additional tools menu. Another small menu appears, asking to furniture, particularly cabinets.
corner of the component. I find that it's best (Figure 13) and functions. Here are seven. for a selection of red, green, or blue axis. In To make those elements in SketchUp, you
to move a component by latching on to one this case, red is the proper choice. use the Follow Me Tool. This tool extrudes
of its corners, especially when you need to Flip Along This function is very effective in shapes along a defined path, even if it curves
connect two components corner to corner. furniture modeling because you continually Protractor Tool You use this tool to place or changes direction. (To add a molding pro-
have to flip, or mirror, components. Con- angled guidelines. This is handy when creat- file or bevel to the edge of a straight piece,
How to Copy a Component The Move/ sider a cabinet carcase, for example. It has ing miter joints, dovetails, wedges, and other the Push/Pull Tool will work fine. )
Copy Tool also allows you to copy a com-
ponent. Choose the tool and hover over the
component. Press the keyboard Ctrl key
(Option on Macs). A small plus sign will
appear next to the cursor, indicating that
you're making a copy.
Click on the component and begin to
move the mouse. You will see a copy of the
component move as well. Click the mouse
button to stop the movement.
Follow Me Tool
How to Edit a Component With any of the
drawing tools selected, you can right-click
Rotate Tool
on the component. Select Edit Component
from the pop-up menu. which will expose a Scale Tool
pop-up list (Figure 12).
When you open a component for editing, Protractor Tool
SketchUp places a dotted-line box around
the component. All other components are
paled out. This tells you that only the se-
lected component is ready to be edited. You
can then add joint details, chamfers or other
edge details, or alter the component's shape Figure 13. More drawing and moving tools. Figure 14. Using Flip Along to create the mirrored side component.

chapter one
To use the Follow Me Tool, first create the Tool to enlarge the component to 10 or 100
specific profile to be extruded or routed. times its actual size. Once you've complet-
Then make a path with the Line, Arc, or ed work on the component, rescale it to its
Circle Tools. You can also define a path by original size.
selecting individual edges in the blank piec- You might think the Scale Tool would
es to be shaped. Highlight the path with the make it easy to resize furniture assemblies.
Select Tool, select the Follow Me Tool, and Suppose, for example, that you have an ex-
click on the face of the profile shape. isting model of a cabinet, but you would
For turnings, the path is a circle. A half- like one that's three-quarter-size. Using the
profile shape is lined up on the circle's axis Scale Tool, you can create a three-quarter-
(Figure 15). size cabinet with just a few mouse-clicks.
But all dimensions are reduced by a factor of
Intersect In SketchUp you can connect one fourth. That almost always produces in-
different shapes and find their intersec- appropriate changes in lumber thicknesses
tions. As an example, consider the cabi- and joint sizes.
net door. The muntins connect in sockets I will cover more effective ways of scaling
within the beaded edge of the door stiles furniture parts in Chapter 6.
and rails, as shown in Figure 16. You use the
Intersect function to create all the angled The Rotate Tool You can use the Move/
faces in the muntin ends and their corre- Copy Tool nearly every time you need to ro-
sponding sockets. tate a component. But when you're working Figure 16. Muntin connections.
Figure 15. Turning with the Follow Me Tool.
You create faces with the Line Tool and with angled parts that are not to be rotated
place them where you want the 45-degree on SketchUp's axes, you need the Rotate
cuts (Figure 17) so they overlap part of the Tool. I also use the tool to accurately adjust
muntin. Next, you "explode" the compo- the orientation of an imported scanned im-
nents, meaning you undo them as separate age. These images are usually askew and re-
entities. quire slight nudges to align them with the
Next, right-click on the muntin and angled SketchUp axes.
face and select Intersect Faces With Selec-
tion from the pop-up menu. After the inter- Soften/Smooth Edges. Intersections and
sect, there will be waste faces and edges that Follow Me commands almost always pro-
you must delete with the Eraser Tool. You duce extraneous lines along curved surfaces.
will be left with a perfect fitting V-cut in the SketchUp's Soften/Smooth Edges func-
end of the muntin. You have to make it a tion will hide those lines. To use it, select
component again. the component, right-click, select Edit Com-
ponent from the pop-up menu, and select all
The Scale Tool Intersection and extrusions surfaces. (Or triple-click on the component.)
aren't always rendered well when you try to Right-click on the selected component
create small-scale furniture parts. In those and choose Soften/Smooth Edges from the
situations, you have to use SketchUp's Scale pop-up menu. Figure 17. Cutting the sockets in the stile using the Intersect function.

chapter two
Cabinet Types and Structures
T
he word cabinet means many things. and-tenon joints and dovetails. You won't
I suspect that most people equate find plywood, biscuit joints, pocket screws.
cabinets with the ones in the kitch- or other new-fangled materials and fasten-
en or bathroom. An office worker ers in these pieces.
may add filing cabinets to the list, but that's
about it. Those are certainly the most prev- Anatomy of a Traditional Cabinet
alent cabinets today, As the sidebar below Before you become immersed in the details
explains, however, cabinets include many of the three projects in the heart of this
types, sizes, and purposes. book, it will help to review some basics of
In the next chapters, I'll show in detail how cabinet construction and terminology.
to model three specific cabinets in Sketch- The piece I've chosen to represent the tra-
Up. These three cases are classics, covering ditional cabinet is a Colonial cupboard fea-
the period from the late 18th century to the tured in an article in the October 2001 issue
early 20th century and embodying three dif- of Fine Woodworking magazine. See Figure
ferent styles: Period, Shaker, and Arts and 2. The author, Mike Dunbar, reproduced a
Crafts. But despite their very different ap- late-18th-century original.
pearance, they have much in common. The I have used this piece, slightly modified,
lumber is solid wood fastened with mortise- in an adult-education class I teach (see the
Cabinet? Cupboard? What's in a Name?

Both Webster's and the Oxford English Dictionary define a cabinet as a cupboard or
case with drawers, shelves, and the like for storing or displaying things.
So the definition of cabinet includes the word cupboard. The dictionaries say that
a cupboard is a piece of furniture with a door and shelves, or a cabinet with shelves,
used to store cups, plates, food, and such.
"Cabinetmaking and Millwork," by Dahl and Wilson, defines cabinet as "a chest or
a case, such as a set of drawers or a cupboard, fitted with shelves, drawers, or both,
used to store various articles."
In his "Furniture Treasury," Wallace Nutting says the word cabinet is "Strictly used for
a carcase having doors and drawers or divisions behind them. Cabinet is distinguished
from a chest, the latter having no drawers at the top, and from a cupboard in which the
matter of drawers is secondary, and from a chest of drawers which has no doors."
So it seems then: All cupboards are cabinets, but not all cabinets are cupboards. Figure 1. A large display cabinet with glass sides and top and sliding-glass front doors.
The Windsor chair is shown to illustrate the scale of the cabinet.

chapter two
sidebar on page 11). After covering the con-
struction of the Colonial cupboard in detail,
I'll show how some other cabinet designs
embody alternatives.
Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the
cupboard's main components or sub-assem-
blies. These parts, which you expect to see
in just about any cabinet, include:
• Carcase.
• Face frame.
• Plinth or bracket base.
• Cornice molding,
• Back panel.
• Frame-and-panel door.
Carcase The carcase or case (Figure 4) con-

sists of the sides, top, shelves, and bottom.
These parts are often dovetailed at the cor-
ners to create a very strong box. The dove-
Figure 2. Small Colonial cupboard. Figure 3. The main subassemblies of the Colonial cupboard.

chapter two
Cabinets in tails can be "through" (extending the full
the Classroom thickness of both boards, as shown in the
exploded view) or "half-blind," with relatively
In March 2007, I began teaching an short tails on the top fitting into sockets on
adult education course on building the inside face of the side.
classic furniture. This course was con- The choice of through or half-blind dove-
ducted in 10 three-hour sessions in a tails is a design consideration—whether
well-equipped workshop in Pleasant to have the joinery exposed or hidden. It is
Hill, California. done both ways in traditional work. In this
The challenge for me was select- cabinet, the cornice covers the joint on the
side, but the dovetails will be visible from
ing a piece that each student could
the top of the finished cabinet. (The base
reproduce within a 30-hour time frame,
covers the dovetails at the bottom.)
yet provide sufficient complexity in
The sides have dadoes to house the
construction. shelves. In some cases, the shelves may be
I settled on a small cabinet, a Colo- held in place with a dovetail instead of a da-
nial cupboard reproduced by Mike Dun- do or a combination of the two (see Figure
bar and described in the October 2001 19). The interlocking parts of a dovetail joint
issue of Fine Woodworking magazine. help prevent the carcase sides from bowing.
This piece offered a learning experi- The four pieces of the carcase are rabbeted
ence in a number of classic woodwork- on the back to house the back panel.
ing features including:
• Dovetail joints in the carcase. Face Frame This is an optional piece,
generally made with mortise-and-tenon
• Bracket base with molded edge.
construction, as shown in Figure 5. If the
• Shelf housed in a dado.
cabinet has no face frame, the door extends
• Cornice molding.
over the edges of the carcase sides rather
• Mortise-and-tenon joinery. than being inset into the face frame. In this
• Frame-and-panel door. cabinet, the paneled door is inset to the face
• Shiplapped back panel. frame. In the shop, the face frame needs to
I developed the design in SketchUp be built and installed on the carcase prior to
and provided the students a multi-page making the plinth and the cornice molding.
PDF file with instructions and views of These parts are fastened to the face frame
the cabinet and its components. I also with wood screws from inside the cabinet.
provided a PDF file containing the full-
size templates for carcase dovetails, Plinth or Bracket Base Typically, the
carcase sits in a plinth, sometimes called
crown molding, bracket base, and the
a bracket base. See Figure 6. The front and
corner block at the base. All students
sides of the base are shaped, cut to length,
completed the project successfully. Figure 4. The cupboard's carcase, exploded in SketchUp.
and connected with miter joints. This base

chapter two
Figure 6. The exploded plinth or bracket base, with side, front, and corner block components.
Figure 5. The exploded face frame. Shank holes are placed in the rails for fastening the
plinth and cornice molding with flat-head wood screws.
Figure 7. An exploded view of the cornice molding. It is not always necessay to draw an Figure 8. Shiplapped joints on the back-panel boards allow them to expand and contract with
element like this as separate components. seasonal changes in humidity.

chapter two
has corner blocks at the rear instead of a type of construction also accommodates
piece extending the full width. A full-width seasonal wood movement.
piece makes for a stronger assembly. On Whatever its design, the back panel typi-
blanket chests, the plinth pieces are often cally fits into rabbets on the back edges of
connected with dovetails. the carcase sides, top, and bottom.
On the cabinet shown here, I chose to use
wood screws to fasten the base to the case. Frame-and-Panel Door For cabinets in the
Nails were used by Dunbar. While histori- traditional style, there is just no alternative
cally accurate, this isn't always appropriate, to the frame-and-panel door. The panel
of course. Alternatives include a cleat glued floats within grooves in the stiles and rails,
and screwed to the base or a rabbet cut in allowing for seasonal wood movement. The
the top edge of the base. inner edges of the stiles and rails are often
profiled with a small bead. The beads are
Cornice Molding Figure 7 shows the ex- mitered (sometimes coped) at the corners.
ploded cornice molding with miter joints. The lower rail is always wider than the
In SketchUp, I normally do not break up the stiles or the upper rail. See Figure 9. If it were
cornice into the front and side components.. the same as the others, the door would ap-
Doing that merely takes time at the com- pear out of balance and top-heavy.
puter without saving any time in the shop. Tenons on the rails fit mortises cut all the
The cornice is fastened to the side and way through the width of the stiles. This is
face frame with flat-head wood screws done to achieve maximum glue area and ad-
driven from the inside of the case. You can ditional joint strength.
see the shank holes in Figure 4 and Figure 5. In addition, each mortise-and-tenon joint
The back half of the cornice should be free is strengthened with two pegs driven into
to move against the vertical grain of the car- holes through the rails and stiles.
case side. In these cases, I apply glue only This door is inset in the face frame, so
to the front half of the cornice side compo- flush-mounted H-hinges are used. Conven-
nents including the miter joint. That allows tional butt hinges, mortised into the face
enough flexibility for cornice movement. frame and stile, would also be appropriate.
Back Panel Figure 8 shows the exploded Additional Cabinet Varieties

back panel. It consists of multiple vertical Following the video on the next page, you
slats that overlap at the edges with ship- will find assembled and exploded views of
lapped joints. The multiple pieces expand a half-dozen other traditional cabinets: wall
with seasonal changes in humidity, but not cabinets, an entertainment center, a display
so much that their movement forces the case, and more. These alternatives can be
carcase sides to bow outward. helpful when you select and start a new
An alternative is to make the back like a cabinet design, helping you identify suit-
frame-and-panel door, but without the hing- able options for a traditional look, function, Figure 9. The traditional paneled door, with pinned tenons on the rails fitting through
es and latch. See Figure 3 in Chapter 3. This and construction. mortises on the stiles and a beveled panel housed in a groove in the frame.

chapter two
Video Tutorial: Cabinets in Close-Up
This brief video gives you a close look at some important construction details on each joinery details like drawer dovetails, a handmade door latch, and the bed bolts used to
of the cabinets shown later in the chapter. By zooming in close, pulling individual hold together a massive display cabinet.
components away from the assembly, and hiding others, you can clearly see important

chapter two
A Pine Wall Cupboard
Adapted from The Pine Furniture of
Early New England, by Russell Hawes
Kettell (Dover Publications, 1970).
The book includes a photo of this
cabinet but provides no dimensions.
When I reproduced the piece, first in
SketchUp and then in the shop, I had
to estimate sizes and make my own
choices for joinery and other details.
The cupboard has no plinth. The
sides have cutouts to form the feet at
the floor. The sides also have a setback
at the division between the open upper
shelves and the lower cabinet.
Figure 10. The assembled view of the pine Figure 11. Exploded view of the pine wall cupboard. All the joinery is straightforward: Dadoes and rabbets hold the shelves and face frame;
wall cupboard. mortise-and-tenon joints are used for the frame-and-panel door.

chapter two
Wall Cabinet
Adapted from an article by Garrett
Hack in the January 2010 issue of Fine
Woodworking magazine.
The author included two unique
features in this small cabinet, which
he designed as a toolholder. At the top
of the cabinet, just below the cornice
molding, he applied a decorative
multicolored band. He also connected
the top and bottom carcase pieces
with sliding dovetails.
One small dovetailed drawer is
hidden behind the paneled door. The
back is shiplapped.
Figure 12. The assembled view of the Figure 13. Exploded view of the wall cabinet, showing the sliding dovetail joints and other case joinery. You can also see the decorative band
wall cabinet. at the top of the piece.

chapter two
Post-and-Panel
Media Cabinet
I designed this cabinet to hold modern
entertainment electronics and provide
a resting place for a large-screen TV.
This design uses a post-and-panel
construction, which is quite different
from a carcase-type cabinet. Mortise-
and-tenon joints connect the four legs
and the heavy rails between them.
Traditional raised panels fit between
the rails on the sides. The same style
of panels is used in the two pairs of
doors in the front. I left the back of the
piece open to accommodate wiring for
the electronics and to allow for ventila-
tion for the components.
The solid wood doors block the sig-
nal from standard remote controls. So
you need an IR extender to operate the
gear in the cabinet.
Figure 14. The assembled view of the Figure 15. Exploded view of the post-and-panel entertainment cabinet, showing the beefy rails that connect the legs. A small bead on the
post-and-panel entertainment cabinet. outside corner of the legs helps lighten the appearance of the piece.

chapter two
Southern Huntboard
Adapted from an article by Carlyle
Lynch in the March 1983 issue of Fine
Woodworking magazine.
Sideboard and huntboard cabinets
have unique construction characteris-
tics. Mortise-and-tenon joints connect
the legs to the back and sides. A large
frame-and-panel assembly forms the
bottom of the cabinet.
A front top rail dovetails into the top
of the legs and the upper edge of the
sides. Partitions and front posts create
the drawer openings. Slots cut into the
inside face of the back hold the drawer
runners and partitions.
Drawer construction is also tradi-
tional, with half-blind dovetails at the
front and through dovetails at the rear.
Figure 16. Assembled view of the southern Figure 17. Exploded view of the southern huntboard. The cabinet is held together with numerous mortise-and-tenon joints, some quite
huntboard. complex, and the drawers are dovetailed. In addition, the drawers are fitted with a cockbead around the front perimeter.

chapter two
Pine Cupboard Chest
Adapted from Shop Drawings of Shaker
Furniture and Woodenware, Volume III,
by Ejner Handberg (Berkshire House
Publishers, 1977).
This is a tall cabinet with an upper
cupboard and a lower set of drawers.
The drawing in Handberg's book is not
complete or detailed, so I had to make
several assumptions about sizes, con-
figuration, and joinery. For example,
I've used traditional dovetail construc-
tion in the carcase, but I'm not sure
what was used in the original piece.
Note the drawer support frames,
shown in Figure 19. The frame compo-
nents are connected with mortise-and-
tenon joints. A half-dovetail joins the
frame to the carcase sides.
Figure 18. Assembled view of the pine Figure 19. Exploded SketchUp view of the pine cupboard chest. Note the unusually wide face frame around the door and the scroll shape cut
cupboard chest. into the front of the shelf in the top part of the cabinet.

chapter two
Display Cabinet
This is a tall display cabinet that I de-
signed for the county courthouse. Our
local woodworker's club built it and
maintains the display of crafts. Strong
rails at the top and bottom connect the
legs with mortise-and-tenon joints.
Each mortise-and-tenon joint is
fastened with a bed bolt (the square
recesses in the rails provide access
to the nut and washer). The bed bolts
allow the cabinet to be dismantled. An-
tique wardrobes were designed similar-
ly so they could be knocked down and
moved up or down narrow staircases.
The legs are grooved to accommo-
date the thick tempered glass sides.
The front has sliding-glass doors and
brackets fastened to the back support
two glass shelves.
Figure 20. Assembled view of the Figure 21. Exploded view of the display cabinet. It is held together with bed bolts, so it can easily be knocked down, moved, and reassembled.
display cabinet. Long before IKEA arrived, wardrobes and other large case pieces were designed to be knocked down and put together this way.

chapter three
A Wall-Mounted Cabinet
O
ur house always seems to lack stor-
age space. Whether it is in the bed-
rooms, garage, family room, kitchen,
home office, or shop, we often just
pile stuff wherever we can. There are never
enough bookshelves and cabinets, and nev-
er any floor space for new furniture. As a re-
sult, open walls become opportune spaces
for helping solve this problem. Not only do
wall-mounted cabinets free up floor space,
but they also keep things at a convenient
height for grownups while restricting access
for toddlers.
This chapter features a wall cabinet by
Chris Gochnour, described in the Winter
2000/2001 issue of Fine Woodworking mag-
azine. Chris designed this beautiful piece
to hold his collection of Fine Woodworking
magazines, but the cabinet's structure, size,
and appearance certainly make it more gen-
erally useful.
This is an excellent example of high-
quality cabinet design and construction,
one to emulate in your own designs. Goch-
nour's cabinet incorporates classic joinery:
mortises and tenons, through dovetails, and
wedged mortises and tenons. The doors
and back are frame-and-panel components
in solid wood. A French cleat provides an
especially strong connection to the wall.
Filling in gaps
The magazine article provides consider-
able detail and gives several dimensions. It
also includes an exploded isometric view
of the cabinet, showing the joinery and the Figure 1. The finished SketchUp model of the wall-mounted cabinet and Gochnour's original.

chapter three
arrangement of cabinet parts. Compared • Creating the back panel. Quantity Description Length(L) Width(W) Thickness(T)
with other published plans I have used, this • Adding the shelf and French cleat.
one is surprisingly accurate. Still, the article • Extruding the cove molding. Carcase
doesn't deliver all the information you need. • Building the doors.
2 Side 28 3/8" 10 7/8" 3/4"
If you were to go to the shop with only the • Making the handle and hinges.
1 Bottom 23 3/8" 11 7/8" 3/4"
magazine, you would find yourself trying
1 Top 23" 11 3/4" 3/4"
to calculate missing dimensions or even The sequence of modeling is very much
sketching some details. aligned with that used in the shop. This is 1 Shelf 21 7/8" 9 1/2" 3/4"
The article leaves many specifics about the very typical of the way I approach SketchUp 16 Tenon Wedge 3/4" 1/4" 1/8"
joinery for you to figure out. For example, a modeling of furniture-that is, it follows the 1 Upper Cleat 22 1/2" 3" 3/4"
few mortises are labeled with dimensions, procedure I would also use in actual shop 1 Lower Cleat 21 1/2" 3" 3/4"
but it is not clear where to cut them. The construction. 1 Cove Molding - Front 25 3/4" 13 1/8" 1 1/2"
French cleats are an integral part of the car- Because this is the first modeling exercise 2 Cove Molding - Side 13 1/8" 2 1/8" 1 1/2"
case structure, yet the article does not give in the book, I will show each step in Sketch-
their size or where to locate mortises for the Up, what tool to use, and when to click the Back Panel
cleat tenons. Perhaps most significantly, the mouse. I will assume you are beginning with 1 Back Center Rail 17 7/8" 2 3/4" 1/2"
article gives no sizes for the dovetails and SketchUp and would benefit from seeing 2 Back Panel Insert 17" 10 1/8" 1/2"
tenons on the upper and lower ends of the each step. As we move forward through the 2 Back Rail 17 7/8" 2 3/4" 1/2"
side pieces. book, I will skip steps and procedures as you 2 Back Stile 27 1/4" 2 3/4" 1/2"
Rather than deal with those issues in the advance in capability and skill.
shop, it is much better to sort them out first Each of these subsections will be intro-
Doors
in SketchUp. This will not guarantee a per- duced by one or more dimensioned detailed
2 Door Stile Inside 26 3/4" 1 3/4" 3/4"
fect job, but it will significantly cut down on drawings. These are useful references when
2 Door Stile Outside 26 3/4" 1 3/4" 3/4"
reworking and improvised changes or cor- doing the SketchUp modeling.
rections to the plan, thereby improving your Some sections also begin with a short vid- 2 Lower Door Panel 15 1/4" 8 3/8" 5/16"
efficiency in the shop. eo. I recommend reviewing the video first. 2 Upper Door Panel 6 3/4" 8 3/8" 5/16"
I'll show later in this book how to reuse It will move through the SketchUp process 2 Middle Door Rail 10" 1 1/2" 3/4"
and resize components from previous for that particular part of the construction. 2 Lower Door Rail 10" 2 1/4" 3/4"
SketchUp models to accommodate cus- After viewing the video, you will be better 2 Upper Door Rail 10" 1 3/4" 3/4"
tom changes. The more modeling you do prepared to go through the page-by-page
in SketchUp, the more powerful it becomes and step-by-step procedures. 2 Handle Dowel 3 1/8" 5/16" 5/16"
in providing parts, shapes, moldings, hard- Figures 1 through 4 show information on 4 Handle Post 1 1/8" 1/2" 1/4"
ware, and joints to be used later for new the overall assembly of the wall cabinet. You 4 Leaf Hinge 2" 1/2"
cabinet designs. may want to have copies of these handy be-
This chapter will be divided into eight sub- side your computer. Figure 2. Cutlist for the wall-mounted cabinet.
sections of SketchUp modeling: I've found that an iPad or similar tablet is
• Constructing the cabinet carcase. helpful in displaying the eBook next to the
• Adding dovetail joints in the top. computer running SketchUp. Otherwise,
• Making the wedged mortise-and-tenon you can print the chapters to have a ready
joints. reference on your desktop.

chapter three
Figure 3. An exploded view of the cabinet parts.

chapter three
Cabinet Design
Considerations
When you design a wall cabinet,
there are a few important consider-
ations to keep in mind:
A wall cabinet needs a reliable
and strong connection to the wall, so
the mounting solution needs to be in-
corporated into the cabinet design.
Excessive length can cause the
shelves to bow or deflect under
load. For 3/4-in.-thick shelving, I like
to keep the length below 30 in.
Spacing between shelves should
accommodate the tallest book,
magazine, or other item you expect
to put in the cabinet.
The depth of the cabinet should
be sufficient for the largest book or
whatever is planned.
Open shelving without doors is
an alternative, but this produces a
bookshelf, not a cabinet.
Figure 4. Front, side, and top orthographic dimensioned views.

chapter three
Section 1. Constructing the Carcase
The carcase is the natural starting point for the wall cabinet. It consists of four
pieces: the sides, top, and bottom or base. In SketchUp parlance, though, the
carcase consists of three components, or discrete elements: top, bottom, and
side. Because the two side pieces are identical, in SketchUp you draw one side
component and copy it.
At this stage you are only sizing the boards that form the carcase. You will add
the joinery in the next section.
There are two differences between constructing a model in SketchUp and con-
structing the actual piece in the shop. In SketchUp, you can show pieces overlap-
ping at their ends. This will make it easier to draw precise joints. And you draw
components in position instead of creating them in one place and moving them
into the model. This not only makes the modeling go faster, but it also helps en-
sure that the components in your model are properly sized.
Figure 5. An X-Ray view of the carcase parts overlapping at the lower end of the cabinet. Figure 6. An assembled view of the carcase overlapped at the corners without joinery.

chapter three
Video Tutorial: Building the Carcase
This video shows the steps you follow to create each of the three components in the
carcase. It also shows how to copy the side component, flip it so that it is oriented
properly in the model, and place it in exactly the right position.

chapter three
Constructing the Cabinet Carcase
Starting a SketchUp model is very much
like beginning the actual construction in
the shop. In this case, the starting point is
the cabinet side.
Step 1 As shown in Figure 7, arrange the

SketchUp window so that the origin and the
three axes are visible. Select the Line Tool
and click the mouse near the origin. Begin
moving the mouse to generate a line moving
toward the top of the screen. The line should
be blue and you should see a box saying "on
blue axis," showing that you’ve locked on the
blue (vertical) axis. Type 283/8 for the height
of the side and press Enter. Begin moving
the mouse in the green direction. Type 107/8
(the width of the side) and press Enter again.
Move the Line Tool down the blue axis
again and watch for the inference to the
Figure 7. Use the Line Tool to draw a Figure 8. When the rectangle face appears, Figure 9. Name the component Case Side
opposite corner. You should see one black
rectangle for the cabinet side. make the shape a component. and press Enter or click the Create button.
dot where you began drawing the line and
another at the end of the line you are draw-
ing. If you don't get the inference, coax it by
touching the starting corner with the Line
Tool cursor, then move back to line up with
the blue axis and click the mouse. Close
the rectangle by drawing a line in the green
direction back to the starting point.
Step 2 If you have drawn the rectangle cor-

rectly, it will fill with a color, creating a face,
as shown in Figure 8. Double-click on the
face to select the entire rectangle. Right-
click on the selection and choose Make
Component from the pop-up menu.
A Create Component dialog box will ap-
pear, as shown in Figure 9. Type Case Side
to name the component. Press the Enter key Figure 10. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make Figure 11. Use the Tape Measure Tool to place a guideline 23 in. from the outer edge of the
or click the Create button. the case side 3⁄4 in. thick. case side component and parallel to it, to help you position the second case side.

chapter three
Step 3 Double-click on the case side com-
ponent; you will see a dotted box surround-
ing it, telling you that the component is open
for editing. Select the Push/Pull Tool, click
on the face, and begin moving the mouse to
the right to give the component thickness.
Type 3/4 and press Enter. See Figure 10.
Step 4 Now you will begin creating a mir-

ror image of the case side component and
placing it in position.
Select the Tape Measure Tool and click on
the outer edge of the case side component.
Move the tool from left to right, following
the red axis, as shown in Figure 11. Type 23
and press Enter. This places a temporary
guideline to help you position the right side
component.
Select the Move/Copy Tool, click on the
inside corner of the case side component, Figure 12. Make a copy of the case side component and move it along the red axis until the Figure 14. Create the bottom component
and tap the Ctrl Key (Option on the Mac). corner just touches the guideline. and give it a thickness of 3⁄4 in.
This generates a copy of the component.
Move the copy to the right along the red
axis. When the cursor reaches the guideline,
click the mouse to place the copy precisely
at that point. See Figure 12.
The right-side component must be
"flipped," or mirrored. Right-click the mouse
on the copy you just positioned. Choose Flip
Along from the pop-up menu. Another pop-
up menu will appear; click on Component's
Red. See Figure 13. Although these two steps
mirror the right-side component appropri-
ately, you will not notice any movement or
change in it now, because it has no joinery
or other features that would make the mir-
roring apparent.
Step 5 SketchUp models are made compo- Figure 13. Execute a Flip Along Component's Red command to mirror the right side compo- Figure 15. Extend the ends of the bottom
nent by component, much like the actual nent so that it is properly oriented in the model. 3
⁄16 in. beyond the outside face of the sides.

chapter three
construction work in the shop. Each new a boundary around the perimeter at the top
component should be created in the con- of the cabinet, as shown in Figure 17. When
text of the assembled model. That is, you the rectangular face appears, double-click
make new stuff to fit existing parts. This on it, then right click. Select Make Compo-
eliminates mistakes in measurements and nent and name it Top.
reduces rework. Open the top component for editing. Use
For the next component, the bottom, you the Push/Pull Tool to give it a thickness of
will create it in position, touching the case- 3/4 in. The top component should overlap
side components. the case-side components at the ends. See
Use the Orbit Tool to rotate the model Figure 18.
so you can see the bottom of the case-side The front edge of the top component ex-
components. Use the Line Tool to draw a tends 7/8 in. beyond the case-side compo-
boundary around the sides, corner to cor- nents. Use the Push/Pull Tool to lengthen
ner, creating a rectangular shape on the bot- the front of the top, using the same proce-
tom edges of the sides. Right-click on that dures you followed to extend the edges of
rectangle, select Make Component, and the bottom component. See Figure 19.
name it Bottom. This completes the initial construction of
Open the bottom component for editing, the four main components that make up the
then use the Push/Pull Tool to give it a thick- cabinet's carcase. You should have an initial
ness of 3/4 in., as shown in Figure 14. Note assembly of carcase components as shown Figure 16. Pull out the front of the bottom Figure 17. Draw around the perimeter at the
that the ends of the bottom component and dimensioned in Figure 6. component 1 in. beyond the sides. cabinet top to create the top component.
should overlap the case-side components.
Step 6 As you can see from Figure 6, the

bottom component extends past the side
components by 3/16 in. Open the bottom
component for editing and use the Push/
Pull Tool to lengthen each end of the bottom
by 3/16 in. Begin extending the component,
type 3/16, and press Enter.
In addition, the front edge of the bottom
component extends beyond the front edge
of the sides by 1 in. Again, use the Push/Pull
Tool to pull the edge out by that amount,
as shown in Figure 16. This completes the
creation of the cabinet's bottom component.
Step 7 The top component is created in the

same way. Orbit so you can see the top of the
side components. Use the Line Tool to draw Figure 18. Give the top component a thickness of 3/4 in. Figure 19. Pull out the front edge 7⁄8 in.

chapter three
Section 2. Adding Dovetail Joints at the Top
In this section, we'll begin the joinery by creating the dovetails at the top corners
of the carcase. In the shop, you would have to saw and chisel both sides and both
ends of the top to complete the joinery. In this instance, SketchUp is quicker: You
need to create only one set of dovetails. You then copy that set and paste it to the
other side, then erase the waste.
This section also introduces you to a handy feature of SketchUp: the ability
to divide a line into any number of equal segments. This helps with spacing and
alignment of the dovetail pins and tails; it's analogous to using dividers to deter-
mine the spacing of the joint segments. In this case we'll start with the tails and
use them to make the pins. That's how I usually cut dovetails in the shop.
Figure 20. The dovetails ready for assembly. Figure 21. The dimensions for the tails in the upper edge of the case side component. The
mortise and grooves will be cut in a later step.

chapter three
Video Tutorial:
Creating the Carcase Dovetail Joints
This video shows the steps needed to create the dovetail pins and tails in the top of
the carcase.

chapter three
Adding Dovetail Joints in the Top
To begin the dovetails, zoom in close to the
upper corner of the case.
Step 8 Use the Tape Measure Tool to cre-

ate a guideline 3/16 in. from the front edge
of the case-side component. Place another
guideline 3/16 in. from the back edge. These
guidelines mark the midpoint of the two
half-dovetails at the ends. See Figure 22.
With the Line Tool, draw a line between
the two guidelines, following the green axis.
Right-click on the line and choose Divide
from the pop-up menu. See Figure 23.
Move the cursor along the line and click
the mouse when reaching 6 segments. (A
small box next to the cursor will tell you how
many segments you are creating. Or, type 6
and press Enter.) See Figure 24. The divi- Figure 22. Draw guidelines 3⁄16 in. from the Figure 23. Draw a line between the two guidelines, then divide it into equal segments.
sions correspond to the number of tails in front and back edges of a side component.
the dovetail joint, with each division mark-
ing the centerline of the waste between tails.
Step 9 Use the Tape Measure Tool to place

additional guidelines parallel to the first pair
that you drew. Each new guideline falls on
a division point on the line. A small green
dot will appear when you have reached that
point. See Figure 25.
Place two additional pairs of guidelines
on each side of the ones you just drew. One
pair should be 1/8 in. from the centerline; the
other pair, 1/4 in. from the centerline. These
guidelines help you mark the waste between
the tails; obviously, the guidelines also size
the dovetail pins, which are 1/2 in. wide at
their thickest part and 1/4 in. at their thinnest.
Step 10 Open the case-side component Figure 24. Move the cursor along the line. Stop when you have divided it into six segments. Figure 25. Create a guideline at the end of
for editing. Use the Line Tool to create the A series of red dots will mark the divisions. the first line segment.

chapter three
shape of the waste between tails, using the
guidelines to locate the endpoints of the
sloped lines. See Figure 26.
Select the Push/Pull Tool and use it to re-
move the waste. Click on the back edge of
the side component to stop the push/pull
action, as shown in Figure 27.
Step 11 Switch to X-Ray from the Styles

toolbar so you can see the complete shape
of the waste. With the Select Tool, select the
entire waste shape-front and back faces
and the bottom, as shown in Figure 28.
Select the Move/Copy Tool and hover it
over the waste shape until you land on the
midpoint of the bottom. Tap the Ctrl key
(Option on Macs) to copy the shape and
move it along the green axis. Move the copy
until you reach the centerline of the next
waste shape. When reaching the proper Figure 26. Trace the shape of the waste be- Figure 27. Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove Figure 28. Select all the faces and edges of
place (a green dot will appear to alert you), tween the tails, using the guidelines. the waste between the tails. the waste area.
click the mouse to place the copy. See Figure
29. Be sure to place waste shapes at the front
and back of the side component for the half-
dovetails, as shown in Figure 29.
Step 12 When you have placed all the

waste shapes, delete the guidelines and the
divided line. Click once on the side compo-
nent to highlight it, then use the Move/Copy
Tool to copy it and move the copy away from
the model along the red axis. See Figure 30.
Clean up the half-dovetails at the ends.
Zoom in to one end so you can clearly see
the protruding angled edges and faces, as
shown in Figure 31. This extra protrusion
needs to be deleted, but before you do that,
draw a line on the front edge of the case side
component. This will ensure a clean dele- Figure 29. Place copies of the waste area at each centerline, centering each one on a guide- Figure 30. Copy the Side component and
tion of the extra edges and faces. Clean up line to space them evenly. move it away from the carcase.

chapter three
both half-dovetails. See Figure 32, Figure 33,
and Figure 34. Delete the copy of the side
component.
Step 13 Use the tails in the side component

to create the pins in the top component.
Open the top component for editing. Use the
Line Tool to trace over the lines that define
the pins, as shown in Figure 35.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove the
waste between the pins, as shown in Figure
36. Figure 37 shows the completed dovetails.
Copy the dovetails on this end of the top
component and place them on the other
end using the Move/Copy Tool. Select the
entire set of dovetails, copy and execute a
flip along component's red command, and
connect them to the other end of the top
component. Figure 31. Draw a line on the front edge of Figure 32. This shows the half-dovetail after Figure 33. Use the Eraser Tool to delete
the side to help erase waste cleanly. clean-up with the Eraser Tool. extra edges between the tails.
Figure 34. The completed dovetail sockets Figure 35. Open the top component and- Figure 36. Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove Figure 37. This shows the completed pins
in the carcase side. draw the lines that shape the pins. waste between the pins. and tails in the top and side components.

chapter three
Section 3. The Mortise-and-Tenon Joints
In this section we'll make the joints in the bottom of the cabinet carcase. Because
the bottom component extends past the sides, dovetails are not an option. In-
stead, the bottom is held in place with a wedged mortise-and-tenon joint, which is
also a strong joint.
We'll introduce you to another new SketchUp tool: the Protractor. Among many
other uses, the Protractor Tool helps make temporary angled guidelines.
In the shop, you'll want to avoid pounding in the wedges too forcefully. That's
because the wedges run parallel to the grain in the bottom, so there is a risk that
the wedges could split the bottom. Normally, you would want the wedges to run
across the grain of the mating piece, but that's not possible with this case design.
Figure 38. An X-Ray view of the mortise-and-tenon joints. Figure 39. The dimensions and spacing for the mortise-and-tenon joints.

chapter three
The Mortise-and-Tenon Joints
Instead of dovetail joints in all corners, this
carcase uses through mortises and wedged
tenons to connect the bottom and side
components. The tenons have a pair of saw
kerfs at each end to house the wedges. The
kerfs do not extend all the way to the tenon
shoulder, but end at a small hole drilled in
the tenon. The mortises have sloped ends,
allowing the tenons to expand as the wedges
are driven deeper into the saw kerf. Figure
38 shows the completed joint, and Figure 39
gives the necessary dimensions.
Step 14 Begin by making the tenons on one

case-side component. Open the side com-
ponent for editing and draw a line around
the side where it intersects with the bottom
component. See Figure 40. This defines the
shoulder location for the tenon. Figure 40. Begin the joinery by drawing a line around the side component where it intersects Figure 41. Pull a copy of the side away from
with the bottom. This establishes the tenon shoulder. the carcase assembly.
Create a copy of the case-side component
and pull it away from the carcase assembly,
as shown in Figure 41.
Step 15 Place parallel vertical guidelines on

the face of the case-side component to mark
the 1⅝-in. width of the tenons and the 1-in.
gap separating them. See Figure 42. Trace
over one set of guidelines to define the shape
of the first tenon and the waste next to it.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove the
waste on either side of the tenon, as shown
in Figure 43.
Step 16 Next, you will add the saw kerfs

and holes to the tenon, then copy it three
times along the width of the case-side com-
ponent. This ensures that all the tenons are
identical. The 1/16-in.-wide saw kerfs are Figure 42. Place vertical guidelines on the side to establish the width of the tenons and the Figure 43. Push out the waste to make one
3/16 in. from each end of the tenon. Use the space between them. Draw one tenon, tracing over the guidelines. tenon shape.

chapter three
Tape Measure Tool to create guidelines
locating the kerf, as shown in Figure 44.
Use the Circle Tool to draw the circle for
the a kerf-terminating hole. I made it 1/8 in.
in diameter and placed its center about
1/8 in. down from the tenon shoulder line. See
Figure 44. The exact size and position of the
circle aren't critical, as long as the circle is
wider than the saw kerf and does not touch
the tenon shoulder.
Use the Eraser Tool to remove the portion
of the circle that crosses the saw kerf, leav-
ing an elongated keyhole shape.
Step 17 With the Select Tool, double-click

inside the kerf shape to highlight it. Use the
Move/Copy tool to copy the shape and place
it at the other end of the tenon, on the guide-
line you drew previously. Then use the Push/ Figure 44. Shape the kerf and draw the Figure 45. Copy the kerf and place it at other end of the tenon, at the guideline. Use the
Pull Tool to remove waste from the shapes, circle near the tenon shoulder line. Push/Pull Tool to remove waste from the kerf shapes.
Step 18 Use the Select Tool to draw a selec-

tion box from left to right around the entire
tenon shape. See Figure 46.
Choose the Move/Copy Tool and tap the
Ctrl key (Option on Macs) to copy the ten-
on. Move the copy along the green axis and
place it at the appropriate guideline. Repeat
the copying two more times to place the re-
maining tenons. See Figure 47.
.
Step 19 Now, pare down the tenons to their
final thickness of 1/4 in. Use the Push/Pull
Tool to push the face of each tenon toward
the center of the case-side component by
1/4 in. Begin the Push/Pull movement on the
first tenon, type 1/4, and press Enter. Then
hover the Push/Pull tool over the face of the Figure 46. Select the entire first tenon for Figure 47. Place three copies of the tenon at the appropriate guidelines.
next tenon and double-click to repeat the copying.

chapter three
movement. Continue until you have thinned This creates a guideline 6 degrees from the
both sides of the tenons. See Figure 48. vertical, defining the slope on the sides of
Delete the copy of the side component. the mortises.
Draw another angled guideline, centered
Step 20 Just as you used the tails to draw on the opposite corner of the mortise; this
the dovetail pins, you will use the tenons to time, angle it to the left. See Figure 50.
lay out the mortise locations.
Zoom in close to the lower front corner of Step 22 Orbit so that you can see the bot-
the case assembly. Orbit the model so you tom face of the bottom component. You will
can see the bottom face of the bottom com- see the angled guidelines extending through
ponent. See Figure 49. You will see the out- the face. With the Tape Measure Tool,
lines of the tenons as they show up on the double-click on the edge of the mortise to
bottom face. Open the bottom component create an in-line guideline that intersects
for editing. Use the Line Tool to trace around the angled guidelines. See Figure 51.
the rectangular shapes of the tenons. After The rectangular opening in the bottom
creating the rectangles, use the Push/Pull surface will be longer than the shape at the
Tool to push the mortise shape through to top surface; the angled guidelines tell you
the top face of the bottom component. See how much to enlarge the shape.
Figure 49. Use the Line Tool to extend the rectangle Figure 48. Use the Push/Pull Tool on both faces of the tenons to thin them to their final
These mortises now match the shape of shape out to the intersection of the angled thickness of 1/4 in.
the tenons. You will modify the mortises to
give them a trapezoidal shape to accommo-
date the wedges.
Six degree guidelines
Step 21 Copy the bottom component
and move it away from the assembly. Orbit
around to see the component's top face, as
shown in Figure 50.
Choose the Protractor Tool and center it
on one corner of the tenon. Click on the cor-
ner to anchor the protractor at that point.
See Figure 50. The color of the protractor
should be red. This tells you its center is
aligned with the red axis.
When the Protractor Tool is anchored,
move the mouse toward the top of the
screen; you will see a blue dashed line, in-
dicating that you are moving along the
blue axis. Click again and begin moving the Figure 49. Trace around the perimeter of Figure 50. Use the Protractor Tool to draw a pair of angled guidelines at two corners of the
mouse to the right. Type 6 and press Enter. the tenons on the face of the bottom. mortise. The guidelines establish the slope of the mortise sides.

chapter three
guides and the in-line guide. Continue draw-
ing to enlarge the ends of the rectangle. See
Figure 52. Use SketchUp's inferences to tell
you when to change direction with the line.
Step 23 Switch to X-Ray view so you can

see into the center of the mortise. Draw
angled lines to connect the corners of the
mortise on the top face with the enlarged
opening on the bottom face. See Figure 53.
Use the Eraser Tool to remove the extrane-
ous lines, as shown in Figure 54.
Step 24 With the model still in X-Ray view,

copy the finished mortise over to the other
mortise locations. Use the Eraser Tool to
remove extraneous lines.
Step 25 Return to normal view. Draw a se-

lection box from left to right around all the Figure 51. A view of the bottom face with Figure 52. Draw a rectangle from the inter- Figure 53. Draw angled lines for the slope
mortises. Use the Move/Copy tool to copy angled guidelines protruding. sections of the guidelines. of the mortise.
and move them to the opposite end of the
bottom component. Execute a flip along red
direction command, then connect the copy
to the rest of the component. To remove
waste from the faces of the mortises, draw
a line partway along one edge of the mortise,
then delete the face inside the shape.
Step 26 Finally, create the tenon wedge, fol-

lowing the dimensions shown in Figure 56.
Draw a rectangular face 1/8 in. by 3/4 in. Select
the Protractor Tool, click it on the lower left
hand corner, then make a 6 degree guideline.
Draw a line along the guideline to establish
the taper on the wedge. Use the Eraser Tool
to remove extraneous lines. Then, with the
Push/Pull Tool, make the wedge 1/4 in. thick.
Use the Move/Copy Tool to position the Figure 54. Use the Eraser Tool to remove Figure 55. Copy the finished mortise to the Figure 56. The tenon wedge. Each tenon
wedge in the tenon's saw kerf. extra lines. remaining three locations. requires two of these.

chapter three
Status Report
Figure 58 shows the construction status for the wall cabinet now that you have
completed the strong carcase joinery. It's too soon for glue-up in actual construc-
tion, because several more grooves, joints, and parts must still be created. The
back panel and hanging cleat need to be installed prior to glue-up. The interior
parts will be installed during glue-up.
The pieces of the carcase have a common grain direction, which contributes
to the structure's stability and strength because the pieces move consistently
with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. That helps the corner joints
remain strong.
Figure 57. Wedges inserted partway into two of the four mortises. Figure 58. An exploded view of the construction so far, showing the completed corner joints.

chapter three
Section 4. Creating the Back Panel
In this section we'll make the back panel. In my experience, the back panel is one
of the last pieces made in the shop. It is usually installed in an open rabbet on the
back of the carcase. But in this piece, the back panel will be recessed and held in
a groove within the carcase. This creates room for the French cleat.
Many of the techniques covered in this section also apply to the construction
of the door. Both assemblies use mortise-and-tenon joinery for the frame, with a
floating panel or panels in the center.
Figure 59. The upper corner of the back panel disassembled. Figure 60. The assembled back panel.

chapter three
Video Tutorial: Creating the Back Panel
This video shows one common method for creating the frame and insert for the back make this part of the cabinet. Both methods work well. Together, they show how there
panel assembly. It ensures that the parts of the back panel are the proper size and is often more than one way to accomplish something in SketchUp.
oriented correctly. The text on the next few pages presents a slightly different way to

chapter three
Creating the Back Panel
The back is often one of the last pieces to fit
in place. On this cabinet, though, the French
cleat will fit into sockets in the sides of the
carcase. That means the back must be made
and installed along with the cleat when you
glue up the carcase.
The back panel rests in a groove cut in the
sides, top, and bottom of the carcase.
This back panel is made in a traditional
manner, with horizontal rails, vertical
stiles, and two floating solid-wood panels.
Mortise-and-tenon joints connect the rails
and stiles. The floating panels are 1/2 in.
thick, rabbeted around their edges to fit
within a groove in the frame pieces.
A cabinet's back panel must be very stable,
without growing and shrinking with chang-
es in weather and indoor environment. In
this cabinet, the groove holding the float-
ing panels gives them room to shrink and
expand without affecting the overall size of
the back panel.
Step 27 Begin by drawing a rectangular

shape that is 1/2 in. by 23/4 in. for the back
rail, as shown in Figure 62. Use the Push/Pull
Tool to make the piece 163/8 in. long, which is
the space between the stiles. Make the piece
a component. You will add the tenons in the
next step.
Step 28 The tenons in the back rail have a

3/8-in. x 3/8-in. haunch that fills the groove in
the stiles. Using the Tape Measure Tool, set
guidelines for the tenon thickness of 1/4 in.,
the height of the haunch, and the width of
the tenon, as shown in Figure 63. Trace over
those guidelines with the Line Tool and use Figure 61. An exploded view of the back panel. Figure 62. Dimensions for the back rail
the Push/Pull Tool to create the 3/8-in.-long tenon. The rectangle is the rail's shape.

chapter three
haunch and 3/4-in.-long tenon. See Figure 64.
Copy the tenon to the other end of the back
rail. Be sure to do a flip along command to
orient the tenon properly. To complete the
back rail, use the Push/Pull Tool to create
the groove along one edge.
Step 29 To make the vertical stile, draw a

rectangle 23/4 in. wide by 271/4 in. long. Use
the Push/Pull Tool to give it a thickness of
1/2 in. Make the stile a component.
Orbit and zoom so that you have a good
view of the end of the stile. With the Tape
Measure Tool, place guidelines to define the
size of the groove: 1/4 in. wide and 3/8-in. deep.
See Figure 65. Use the Line Tool to trace over
the shape of the groove and push out the
groove with the Push/Pull Tool.
Figure 63. Trace lines over the guidelines to Figure 64. Pull out the lengths of the haunch Figure 65. Create a stile component and
Step 30 To create the mortise in the stile, size the haunch and tenon in the rail. and the tenon. Also push out the groove. place guidelines for a groove in it.
connect the back rail to the stile, as shown
in Figure 66. Open the stile for editing, turn
on X-Ray view, and trace over the short
horizontal lines created by the long part of
the tenon as it intersects the bottom of the
groove in the stile. You may need to orbit
and zoom very close to see the lines clearly.
With the Push/Pull Tool, push out the mor-
tise and stop it at the end of the tenon. See
Figure 67.
Step 31 Copy the back rail, flip it along the

blue axis, and connect it to the lower end of
the Stile. Repeat the procedure in Step 30 to
make the mortise.
Step 32 Make the middle rail from another

copy of the back rail component. When you Figure 66. Edit the stile and draw lines on Figure 67. Use the Push/Pull Tool to ceate Figure 68. Make the middle rail from a
make the copy, right-click on it and choose the groove to outline the tenon. the mortise in the stile. copy of the back rail. Push out the haunch to
Explode from the pop-up menu; right-click make a second groove.

chapter three
again and make it a new component named
back center rail.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to push out the
haunch, creating a groove on the top edge.
See Figure 68.
Attach the middle rail at the midpoint of
the stile and create the mortise there, fol-
lowing the procedure from step 30.
Copy the stile, execute a flip along com-
mand, and move it to the opposite end of
the rails. This completes the construction
of the back panel frame.
Step 33 To complete the back, construct

the two floating panels. Figure 69 shows a
panel's finished dimensions. The panels,
which are not glued in place, are slightly
smaller than the space between the rails
and stiles. This traditional type of construc-
tion gives the panel room to expand with the
seasons. The rabbet around the edge of the Figure 69. The key dimensions for the back Figure 70. Draw a rectangle around the open perimeter for the back panel insert.
panel insert.
panel is wide enough to leave a gap between
the shoulders and the rails and stiles.
Step 34 Begin drawing the panel in place

between the stiles and rails. This is the fast-
est way to ensure that it is properly sized
and positioned.
With the stiles and rails connected, draw
a rectangle around the perimeter of the
opening, as shown in Figure 70. Make the
rectangle a component named back panel
insert. Make a copy of the component and
move it to fit in the other opening between
the stiles and rails.
Open either one of the back panel compo-
nents for editing, click on the face, and select
the Offset Tool. Click the tool on an edge of
the panel, begin moving the cursor toward
the center of the panel, type 1/16, and press Figure 71. Make an offset of 1⁄16 in. Figure 72. Create the surrounding tongue.

chapter three
Enter. This generates lines parallel to the
original edges, which you will use in the next
step to make the panel slightly smaller to
allow for seasonal expansion. See Figure 71.
Step 35 Create another copy of the back

panel component and move it away from
the assembly. Working on this copy, use the
Eraser Tool to delete the original boundary
of the rectangle, then use the Push/Pull Tool
to give the panel a thickness of 1/2 in. This
will also change the original panel.
Still working on the copy, use the Tape
Measure Tool to place guidelines defining
the 1/4-in.-thick tongue around the perimeter
of the panel. (By drawing a tongue on all four
sides of the panel, you create the rabbet in
the face of the panel.) See Figure 72.
Draw lines over the guidelines and use
the Push/Pull Tool to make the tongue Figure 73. Close-up of a corner, showing the Figure 74. Position the back panel at the rear of the carcase assembly.
3/8 in. long. Erase extraneous lines on the 1
⁄16-in. gap between panel and frame.
face of the tongues. Delete the final copy
of the panel. You can inspect the spacing of
the gaps by zooming in closely and choos-
ing Back Edges from the Styles toolbar. See
3/4-in. inset
Figure 73.
Step 36 Move the assembled back panel

close to its location in the back of the car-
case. It is larger than the opening in the car-
case because it fits in a 3/16-in.-deep groove.
To position the back panel assembly prop-
erly, place guidelines 3/16 in. from the inside
edges of the carcase opening at the rear. See
Figure 74. With the Move/Copy Tool, grab
one corner of the back panel and connect
it to the intersection of the two guidelines.
To accommodate the French cleat, the
back panel is recessed 3/4 in. into the back of
the carcase. With the Move/Copy Tool, click Figure 75. Recessing the back panel into the rear of the carcase.

chapter three
on one corner of the back panel and begin
moving it along the green axis. You should
see it begin to move into the carcase. It is
helpful to tap the left arrow key to restrain
movement along the green axis. Type 11/4 in.
and press Enter. This will recess the back
panel properly. See Figure 75.
Step 37 Zoom in to a view of the lower back

corner, as shown in Figure 76. This view will
help to create the grooves in the top, side,
and bottom components. Open the bottom
component for editing. With the Line Tool,
draw a line at the intersection of the back
panel with the top face of the bottom. Do
the same for one of the sides, as shown in
Figure 77.
Figure 76. Draw line at the intersection of the Figure 77. Draw a line at the intersection of Figure 78. On a copy of case bottom, create
Make a copy of the bottom component back panel with the top face of the bottom. the back panel with the face of the side. the 1⁄2-in.-wide rectangle for the groove.
and move it away from the carcase. Double-
click the Tape Measure Tool on the line just
placed. This creates a parallel guideline 1/2 in.
from the first line; the groove needs to be
this wide to accommodate the back panel.
Step 38 With the Line Tool, create the

rectangular face of the groove, as shown
in Figure 78. Take the groove all the way to
the openings of the mortises. Then use the
Push/Pull Tool to make the groove 3/16 in.
deep. See Figure 79.
Repeat Steps 37 and 38 for the top and side
components to finish the grooves for the
back panel. (Remember that you only need
to work on one side component; changes
will appear in both.) The groove in the side
needs to be stopped at the top end but can
extend out the bottom end of the compo-
nent. The groove in the top component can
be extended out the ends. Figure 79. Use the Push/Pull Tool to create the 3⁄16-in.-deep groove in the carcase bottom. Figure 80. Create similar grooves in the
The groove runs from one mortise to the other. other carcase components.

chapter three
Section 5. Adding a Shelf and French Cleat
In this section we'll insert the shelf and French cleat. Because both components
fit within the carcase, they must be completed at this point. In the shop, they
would be cut and sized prior to glue-up.
Figure 81. Rear view of the cabinet, showing the French cleat in place. Figure 82. End view showing the two halves of the French cleat, with measurements.

chapter three
Adding a Shelf and French Cleat
Now that the back panel is in place, you can
place the shelf and its related dado in the
side component. The shelf is positioned at
the midpoint of the sides, creating spaces
just over 13 in. high. That's ample clearance
for the largest of Fine Woodworking maga-
zines (what the original case was meant to
hold) or many other items. Both the shelf
and French cleat are drawn in position in
the carcase.
Step 38 With the Tape Measure Tool, place

a guideline at the midpoint of the side com-
ponent. As you move the cursor up the edge
of the component, following the blue axis, a
red dot will appear when you have hit the
midpoint. See Figure 83. Place additional
guidelines to mark the width of the dado
and its ends. At the rear, it ends flush with Figure 83. Place a guideline at the midpoint Figure 84. Add guidelines to define the size Figure 85. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make
the back panel; at the front, it stops 1/8 in. of the side component. and location of the dado in the side. the dado 3⁄16 in. deep.
from the edge of the side component. See
Figure 84. Draw lines over the guidelines,
then use the Push/Pull Tool to make the
dado 3/16 in. deep, as shown in Figure 85.
Step 39 Draw a rectangle from corner to

corner at the bottom of the dadoes and
use the Push/Pull Tool to give the shelf its
proper thickness. See Figure 86. Make the
shelf a component.
Step 40 The final part of the carcase as-

sembly is the French cleat. Figure 82 shows
the end view shapes of the cleat. The upper
half has 1/2-in.-long tenons on the ends that
fit into mortises in the carcase sides.
Orbit around to the rear of the carcase. In
the upper corner, draw a rectangle 3 in. wide
and 3/4 in. thick, the overall size of the upper Figure 86. Draw a rectangle within the dadoes, then give it thickness to create the shelf.

chapter three
cleat. Use the Push/Pull Tool to extend the
rectangle to the opposite corner. Figure 87
shows the beginning of the push/pull move-
ment. Make the shape a component named
upper cleat.
Step 41 Make a copy of the upper cleat

component and pull it away from the car-
case. Working on the copy, place guide-
lines to define the shape and position of
the tenon and the bevel. Take the mea-
surements from Figure 82. Use the Line
Tool to draw over these guides, as shown
in Figure 88. Use the Push/Pull Tool to
make the tenon 1/2 in. long and to create
the bevel. See Figure 89. To finish the up-
per cleat component, copy the tenon to the
other end, remembering to execute a flip
along command. Then erase the copy of the
component. Figure 87. Draw a rectangle and pull out the Figure 88. Draw guides and lines to define Figure 89. Use the Push/Pull Tool to create
length of the upper cleat. the size and location of the tenon and bevel. the tenon and the bevel.
Step 42 Use the upper cleat to create the
lower cleat. Copy the upper cleat. Right-click
on the copy and choose Explode from the
pop-up menu. Use the Select Tool to draw a
box from left to right around the exploded
copy. Make it a component named lower
cleat. I did a flip along command twice to
orient the lower cleat properly, first along
the blue axis, then along the green axis. Use
the Push/Pull Tool and the Eraser Tool to
delete the tenons.
Step 43 Zoom close to an upper corner

at the back of the carcase. Choose X-Ray
from the Styles toolbar and open the side
component for editing. Use the Line Tool to
trace over the boundary of the tenon, then
use the Push/Pull Tool to create the depth Figure 90. Copy the upper cleat to create Figure 91. Trace over the end of the tenon Figure 92. A view of the inside face of the
of the mortise. See Figure 91. the lower cleat. to create the mortise in the side component. side component, with groove and mortise.

chapter three
Status Report
Figures 93 and 94 show everything that you have created for the model so far. At
this stage, the carcase could be assembled and glued. However, it would be better
to make the slots for the door hinges in the top and bottom before permanently
assembling the carcase.
Creating properly sized and positioned hinge slots requires detailed infor-
mation about the actual hinges to be used. I recommend ordering the hinges
well before starting construction in the shop. That way, you can take all the
measurements you need to render the slots in the SketchUp model directly
from the hinges.
Both in SketchUp and in the shop, it's useful to complete the doors before cut-
ting the hinge slots in the carcase. So, before making this cabinet in the shop, I
would hold off on gluing up the carcase until I have finished the doors and have
the hardware in hand. Gochnour recommends the same strategy.
Gochnour's Fine Woodworking article does not say what he used for door
latches, but I suspect that he used bullet catches. But, of course, you can choose
from dozens of ready-made latches or even design your own. Again, I would want
the latch hardware on hand before gluing up the carcase.
Figure 93. A rear view of the exploded carcase. Figure 94. An exploded view showing the components created so far.

chapter three
Section 6. Extruding the Cove Molding
In this section you'll create the cove molding. This requires another very helpful
tool in SketchUp—the Follow Me Tool. As explained in Chapter 1, you use this tool
when making turnings or creating shapes that move along a path. In this case,
the path is the perimeter of the carcase top.
Creating the cove shape will also introduce you to the Arc Tool. It makes easy
work of drawing segments of a circle.
Figure 95. The cove molding is fastened to the finished carcase with wood screws driven Figure 96. The profile for the cove molding at the top of the cabinet, with all its
down from the top. necessary dimensions.

chapter three
Video Tutorial: Extruding the Cove Molding
This video shows how to use the Follow Me Tool to extrude the cove molding around
the carcase top. Once the molding is created, it will be mitered at the corners.

chapter three
Extruding the Cove Molding
All you need to create the cove molding is a
profile shape and a path. The dimensioned
profile shape is shown in Figure 96. Use it to
create a flat profile.
Step 44 Begin by making a rectangular face

21/8 in. wide by 11/2 in. high. Draw it on the
red-blue axis to make it easy to place in the
rest of the model.
Use the Tape Measure Tool to place guide-
lines marking the rabbet and chamfer on
the back and the ends of the cove, follow-
ing the dimensions in Figure 96. Choose the
Arc Tool and click on the endpoints of the
arc, as shown in Figure 97. Move the cursor
diagonally from top to bottom to display the
arc. Type 5/16 and press Enter.
You always want to be sure an arc is on
the proper plane, not hanging somewhere
out in 3D space. Be sure the small window Figure 97. Place an arc with a 5⁄16-in. bulge. Figure 98. The final shaped profile for the cove molding.
next to the Arc Tool cursor reads "on face"
as you create the arc.
Step 45 Use the Line Tool to trace out the

rest of the profile shape. Delete the guide-
lines and waste areas, leaving a shape like
the one shown in Figure 98. Make it a com-
ponent called cove molding.
Position the profile on the upper rear cor-
ner of the carcase, as shown in Figure 99.
Then draw a path for the Follow Me Tool
to use when extruding the molding. In this
case, the path follows the upper edge of the
sides and the front edge. Use the Line Tool
to create this path exactly above the carcase.
Placing vertical guidelines at the corners
will simplify the task of drawing the path.
See Figure 99. Figure 99. Position the profile on the back edge of the carcase Top. With the Line Tool, draw a Figure 100. Select the path, then choose
With the Select Tool, highlight the three path for the Follow Me Tool. the Follow Me Tool.

chapter three
segments of the path, then choose the Fol-
low Me Tool and move the cursor over the
profile. Right-click the mouse and choose
Edit Component from the pop-up menu.
Click the mouse on the profile. Immediate-
ly, the full length of the cove molding will
appear along the top of the carcase. Figure
101 shows the fully extruded cove molding.
In the shop, the molding would consist of
three individual pieces mitered at the cor-
ners. I don't see any advantage to dividing
the molding in SketchUp. Typically, I just
add lines at the corners to correctly indicate
the joint. However, those lines create a face,
which you can see in Figure 102. If you wish,
you can take advantage of that to separate
the molding.
Step 46 The cove molding is fastened to

the carcase with wood screws driven from Figure 102. Create a face at the miter joints.
the top of the molding into the carcase top. I
also glue the front molding piece to the car-
case, but glue only the first couple of inches
of the side molding pieces. It's good shop
practice to use oversized shank holes in the
cove molding to accommodate any seasonal
movement of the carcase top.
I typically show all wood screw shank
holes in my SketchUp models, which helps
in the shop. See Figure 103.
To draw countersunk holes, open the cove
molding for editing and use the Circle Tool
to draw a circle for the shank hole. Use the
Offset Tool to make a second circle outside
the first. Use the Push/Pull Tool to push the
shank hole through the molding. Then, click
on the rim of the shank hole with the Move/
Copy Tool and push the rim down slightly,
along the blue axis. Stop when the counter-
sink shape looks about right. Figure 101. The completed carcase with the cove molding in place. Figure 103. Place screw shank holes.

chapter three
Section 7. Building the Paneled Doors
In this section you'll create the paneled doors. This will be done in much the same
way as you constructed the back panel. There are a few differences. The doors
have a thin, flat floating panel, unlike the thicker rabbeted panels on the back.
The doors also have a mitered rabbet along the inside edge of the rails and stiles.
In the shop, you would use a chisel to pare away the waste and make the mitered
joint. In SketchUp, you will use the Protractor Tool and the Eraser Tool.
Figure 104. The upper corner of the door, disassembled. Figure 105. The assembled door, with its key dimensions.

chapter three
Building the Paneled Doors
Gochnour has chosen a very traditional type
of door construction—stiles, rails, floating
panels, mortise-and-tenon joints, and a mi-
tered rabbet on the inside edge next to the
panels.
The doors fit between the carcase top and
bottom with a 1/16-in. gap at either end. The
dimension shown in Figure 105 will leave
that gap if the carcase is made to the exact
designed value. However, it is far better to
size the doors according to the actual di-
mension of the carcase.
Traditional doors like these are often made
with through tenons, which are pinned for
added strength. As you can see, the doors on
this cabinet use simpler short tenons. How-
ever, you can easily modify the plan.
Step 47 Begin by drawing a rectangle on

the red-blue axes the overall size of one
door: 111/2 by 263/4 in. Place guidelines to
outline the sizes of the stiles and rails. Add
guidelines to mark the rabbet on the inside
edges of the frame pieces. See Figure 108.
Trace over the guidelines with the Line Tool.
Step 48 With the Select Tool, draw a left-

to-right selection box around the top rail,
which highlights it in blue. Right-click on the
selection and choose make component from
the pop-up menu. Name the component up-
per door rail. See Figures 109 and 110. Be
sure to check the box that says, "Replace Se-
lection with Component." Follow the same
procedure to create the remaining rails.
Step 49 Make a copy of the upper door rail

component and move it away from the as- Figure 106. An exploded view of the door, showing the position of the pull and a cutout for Figure 107. Dimensions for the door stile.
sembly. Use the Push/Pull Tool to give it a the hinge at the ends of the outer stile.

chapter three
thickness of 3/4 in. Also, draw a horizontal
line 1/4 in. from the lower edge of the front
face, then use the Push/Pull Tool to create
the 1/8-in.-deep rabbet. See Figure 111.
Step 50 Zoom in to one end of the rail

and place guidelines for the position of the
groove and the tenon. Use the Push/Pull
Figure 109. Select the top rail and right- Figure 110. Make a component called Figure 111. On a copy of the upper door rail,
click on the selection. upper door rail. give it thickness and the rabbet.
Figure 108. Draw a rectangle the size of the Figure 112. Pull out the tenon and push out Figure 113. Use the Protractor Tool to create Figure 114. Draw a line over the guideline.
door and outline the pieces. the groove. a 45-degree guideline.

chapter three
Tool to create a tenon 3/4 in. long and to push
out the groove. See Figure 112.
Step 51 Traditional paneled doors have a

small bead shape on the inner border of the
stiles and rails. In this case, Gochnour has
used a flat rabbeted shape that is mitered
at the corners.
As shown in Figure 113, use the Protrac-
tor Tool to place a 45-degree guideline at
the end of the rabbet. The cursor should
be green, indicating that the protractor will
rotate around the green axis. Click at the
corner of the rabbet to anchor the Protrac-
tor Tool, begin moving the mouse clockwise,
type 45, and press Enter. Figure 115. Push out the waste with the Figure 116. Repeat the process to make a Figure 117. Move a copy of the tenon to the
Trace a line over the guideline, then push Push/Pull Tool. miter on the back side of the rail. opposite end, then flip along the red axis.
Figure 118. Completed joinery on the upper Figure 119. Draw the stile shape and give it Figure 120. Measurements for the joinery at the upper end of the door stile.
door rail. a thickness of 3⁄4 in.

chapter three
out the waste, as shown in Figures 114 and
115. This makes the miter on the front half
of the corner. Repeat the procedure to make
a miter on the rear of the rail. See Figure 116.
Step 52 Copy the tenon and miters to the

other end of the rail. Draw a selection box
from left to right around the tenon end of
the rail. Be sure that the miter joint falls
within the box. With the Move/Copy Tool,
tap the Ctrl key (Option on Macs) to copy
the selection and move it beyond the other
end of the rail. See Figure 117.
To mirror the copied joinery, right-click on
the selection and choose flip along and then
red direction from the pop-up menus. Use
the Move/Copy Tool to connect the selec-
tion to the end of the rail. Use the Eraser
Tool to delete any waste edges and faces.
The lower face of the tenon will need to be Figure 121. The lower joinery of the door stile. Figure 122. Create the rabbet and the
re-created by drawing a line over one of the groove in the stile.
tenon edges. Figure 118 shows the com-
pleted joinery.
Step 53 Follow the procedures in steps 48

through 52 to create the middle and lower
door rails. In this instance, it's faster to draw
each rail separately rather than to draw one,
copy and modify it, and then make it a new
component.
Step 54 The two stiles are identical in size

and shape. One has sockets for the door
handle; the other, a channel for the hinge.
You will add those details later.
Be sure the stile resembles the one in Fig-
ure 107, with 1/4-in.-deep notches for the rails
and a width of 13/4 in. between notches.
As you did to make the rails, make one Figure 123. Trace over the tenon end, then Figure 124. Draw around the perimeter and Figure 125. Rear view of the door panel
stile face a component. Copy the compo- push out the mortise. make the rectangle a component. with 1⁄16-in.-deep rabbet.

chapter three
nent, move it away from the model, and give the perimeter of the door panel, on the ex-
it a thickness of 3/4 in. See Figure 119. terior face, create a 1/16-in. rabbet 1/4 in. wide.
Again as you did with the rails, make the See Figure 125.
1/8-in.-deep rabbet in the front face of the
stile. Use the Tape Measure Tool to place Step 57 Use the upper door panel to create
guidelines defining the grooves for the float- the lower one. See Figure 126. Copy the up-
ing panels. With the Push/Pull Tool, push per panel and position it accurately within
the groove through. You will have to do this the lower door opening. Explode this com-
once for the upper panel groove and again ponent and make it a new one named lower
for the lower panel. See Figure 122. Also cre- door panel.
ate the miter joints at the ends of the rab- Open the new component for editing and
bets, using the procedure from step 51. place a guideline 3/16 in. above the lower
edge, as shown in Figure 127. Draw a se-
Step 55 Connect the rails to the stile, us- lection box around the bottom edge of the
ing the Move/Copy Tool. Use the tenons in panel. Select the Move/Copy Tool and click
the rails to make the mortises in the stile. it on the intersection of the guideline and
Turn on X-Ray from the Styles toolbar and the stile. See Figure 128. Pull the length of
open the stile component for editing. Zoom the panel downward. Click the Move/Copy
in close to the upper joint. Use the Line Tool Tool on the corner of the lower miter joint
to trace over the shape of the tenon, then of the stile, as shown in Figure 129. Figure 127. Place a guideline 3⁄16 in. above Figure 128. Use the Move/Copy Tool to
use the Push/Pull Tool to drive the mortise This completes the door components. the bottom edge of the panel. stretch the panel length.
the length of the tenon. See Figure 123. Re-
peat this procedure with the other two rails.
Copy the completed stile component, ex-
ecute a flip along command, and connect it
to the other end of the rails.
Step 56 To create the upper floating panel,

draw a rectangle around the inside opening
of the door frame, between the upper and
center rails. Right-click on the rectangle and
choose make component from the pop-up
menu. See Figure 124. Make a copy and
move it away from the door frame. Open the
copy and use the Push/Pull Tool to make the
panel 5/16 in. thick.
Still working on the copy, use the Push/
Pull Tool to extend each side by 3/16 in., so
the panel will seat in the frame's groove but
leave space for seasonal expansion. Around Figure 126. Copy and move the upper panel. Figure 129. Stop stretching when the Move/Copy Tool icon snaps to the bottom corner.

chapter three
Section 8. The Door Handle and Hinges
These are the final pieces needed to complete the wall cabinet. The handle is
Gochnour's original handmade design. It has square tenons that fit into sockets
in the door stile. The hinges are contemporary knife hinges, which require careful
layout and positioning.
Making the handle will introduce you to another use for the Follow Me Tool:
Extruding a profile around a circular path to create a turning.
Figure 130. The door handles installed on the cabinet. Figure 131. The measurements for the door handle.

chapter three
The Door Handle and Hinges Draw the circular path, centered on one of
The wooden door handle has only two those extended lines. Be sure the cursor for
unique components, the dowel and the the Circle Tool is blue.
post. Figure 131 gives dimensions for the Select the path, then the Follow Me Tool.
assembled handle. Right-click the tool on the dowel profile and
choose edit component from the pop-up
Step 58 Make the dowel first. Draw a rect- menu. Click on the profile face, as shown in
angle on the red-blue axes that is 31/8 in. high Figure 133. The dowel is "turned" instantly,
and 5/32 in. wide (one-half the widest diam- as shown in Figure 134. If the turning looks
eter of the dowel). The ends of the dowel are blue, triple-click on it and choose reverse
1/4 in. in diameter. Place guidelines to show faces from the menu.
this reduction in diameter, which extends
7/16 in. from the ends. Extend the lines at the Step 59 To make the post, begin by draw-
center of the turning past the profile. Make ing a rectangle 1/2 in. wide and 11/8 in. tall
the profile a component. See Figure 132. on the red-green axes. Make it a component
called post. Place guidelines to help with the
layout of the shape, as shown in Figure 135.
Use the Circle Tool to draw a 1/2-in.-diameter Figure 135. Lay out the shape of the post.
circle to shape the top of the post. Use the
Eraser Tool to remove waste. I like to add
Figure 132. Draw the dowel profile ready for Figure 133. Create and select the circular Figure 134. The resulting turning of the Figure 136. Erase waste and create a guide-
a follow me command. path. Then choose the Follow Me Tool. dowel. point at the center of the circle.

chapter three
guide points showing the centers of circles,
which helps when connecting components.
To create the guide point, right-click on the
outer edge of the circle and choose point at
center from the menu. See Figure 136.
Use that center to draw second circle, 1/4 in.
in diameter, which will make a hole for the
dowel. See Figure 137.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to make the post
1/4 in. thick (Figure 138). Draw a line at the
end of the tenon on each face, then use the
Push/Pull Tool to move each tenon face in
1/32 in., making the end 3/16 in. square.
Use the Move/Copy Tool to grab the post
at the center of the hole and move it to one
end of the dowel. When it is flush with the
end of the dowel, move it down 3/16 in. until
it touches the shoulder of the dowel. Copy
Figure 137. Create a 1⁄4-in.-diameter hole to Figure 140. Grab a corner of the post tenon
the post and move it down the handle to hold the dowel. and connect it to a corresponding socket.
the opposite end. Select all those elements
and make the assembly a component called
door handle.
Step 60 The door handle is placed on the

inside stile and requires two 3/16-in.-square
sockets, 3/8 in. deep, in the stile. The mid-
point of the handle aligns with the midpoint
of the lower door panel.
Explode the inside stile in the door assem-
bly and make it a new component named
door stile inside. Lay out and create the
slots, as shown in Figure 139.
I think the best way to position the door
handle in the stile is to turn on the X-Ray
style and grab one of the inside corners of
the post tenon with the Move/Copy Tool, as
shown in Figure 140. Begin moving the han-
dle toward the stile and tap the Left arrow
key. This constrains the movement along Figure 138. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make Figure 139. The inside door stile with the Figure 141. The handles in place on the
the green axis. Continue moving the handle the post 1⁄4 in. thick. two sockets for the door handle. assembled door.

chapter three
until the Move/Copy Tool latches onto the
corresponding corner of the stile's slot.
Step 61 Tinish the cabinet by installing

the hinges. Gochnour chose brass knife
hinges that attach to the ends of the door
stiles. This hardware is the only feature of
the cabinet that is not traditional. I think
you could substitute traditional butt hinges
without harming the cabinet's appearance.
In the shop, butt hinges allow you to glue up
the carcase earlier in the construction pro-
cess. The mortises for knife hinges are best
cut when the carcase is dry-fit, not glued up.
Gochnour did not specify a manufacturer
or catalog number for the hinge. For this
model, I chose a Brusso™ hinge, catalog num-
ber ST-80. I found Brusso's detail drawing at
its website and built a model of it, as shown Figure 142. The SketchUp model of the Brusso ST-80 knife hinge. Figure 143. Cut channels for the hinges in
in Figure 141. the stile ends, the top, and the bottom.
Before building this cabinet, I recommend
buying the hinge hardware so you can in-
corporate its precise dimensions into your
SketchUp model.
Once you have hinges on hand, you can
cut the channels in the stile ends (shown
in Figure 143) and in the carcase top and
bottom. Gochnour recommends leaving a
1/16-in. gap between the door and the edge
of the case. You can see the gap in Figures
144 and 145.
Note that the end of the hinge extends be-
yond the edge of the door. This will require
a corresponding slot in the bottom edge of
the cove molding. See Figure 144.
With the Rotate Tool, you can rotate the
door on the hinge axis. I've shown an X-Ray
and top-down view in Figure 146.
This completes the modeling of the wall Figure 144. The hinge installation at the top. Figure 145. The hinge installation at the Figure 146. Top X-Ray view of rotated door
cabinet. bottom. and hinge.

chapter four
A Display Case in the Arts and Crafts Style
I
can remember a box of Craftsman maga-
zines in my father's workshop. He was
a weekend woodworker who occasion-
ally built furniture based on drawings in
the magazine. Craftsman was the creation
of Gustav Stickley, the leading champion of
the Arts and Crafts movement in the U.S.
He published Craftsman from 1901 to 1916,
but the style he promoted remains influen-
tial. A perfect example is this display case. It
was designed and built by Michael Pekovich
and featured in the March/April 2010 issue
of Fine Woodworking magazine.
In my own woodworking, I have to admit
to taking a different direction, outfitting our
house in 18th century and Shaker pieces.
Nevertheless, I am awestruck by the beauty
and utility of Arts and Crafts furniture.
There are great examples of Arts and
Crafts style in the western U.S., where we
live. The San Francisco area has numer-
ous homes and buildings by famous Arts
and Crafts architects, including Greene &
Greene, Bernard Maybeck, and Frank Lloyd
Wright.
In Yosemite National Park, we don't miss
a chance to walk through the Ahwahnee
Hotel, closely inspecting its beautiful furni-
ture. In the summer of 2011, we visited Old
Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. It
holds a fantastic display of Arts and Crafts
furnishings.
Pekovich says he builds a large project like
this by starting from the outside and work-
ing his way in. That is exactly how we will
tackle the project in SketchUp. Figure 1. The finished display cabinet model in SketchUp.

chapter four
Quantity Description Length(L) Width(W) Thickness(T)
Carcase
1 Top 48 3/8" 12 7/8" 7/8"
2 Side 38 1/2" 13" 1"
1 Apron 47 1/2" 2 3/8" 7/8"
1 Rear Apron 47 1/4" 3 3/8" 7/8"
7 Back Slat 32 3/4" 5 1/2" 3/8"
2 Back Slat End 32 3/4" 5 5/8" 3/8"
1 Shelf 19 3/4" 12 1/4" 3/4"
4 Side Shelf 12 3/8" 11" 3/4"
1 Back Splash 47 1/2" 2 1/2" 7/8"
1 Bottom 48 3/8" 12 3/8" 7/8"
2 Vertical Divider 26 1/2" 12 1/4" 3/4"
1 Horizontal Divider 47 1/2" 12 5/16" 3/4"
Door
Came (Lead) 1/4"
2 Door Rail 10 1/8" 2 1/2" 7/8"
2 Door Rail Bottom 10 1/8" 4" 7/8"
2 Door Stile 26" 2 1/2" 7/8"
2 Door Stile (Hinged) 26" 2 1/2" 7/8"
2 Door Stop 1 1/8" 7/8" 7/8"
4 Glass Stop Long 20 1/4" 3/8" 3/8"
4 Glass Stop Short 7 1/8" 3/8" 3/8"
2 Hinge Strip 26" 7/8" 1/4"
4 Zinc Rail 7 3/8" 1/4" 1/4"
4 Zinc Stile 20 1/4" 1/4" 1/4"
Drawer
1 Drawer Back Center 15" 3 7/8" 5/8"
2 Drawer Back SIde 14 3/4" 3 7/8" 5/8"
1 Drawer Bottom Center 14 1/4" 11 11/16" 3/8"
2 Drawer Bottom Side 14" 11 11/16" 3/8"
2 Drawer Divider 5" 12 1/4" 3/4"
1 Drawer Front Center 15" 4 1/2" 7/8"
2 Drawer Front Side 14 3/4" 4 1/2" 7/8"
6 Drawer Side 11 15/16" 4 1/2" 5/8"
Figure 1a. The cutlist for the Arts and Crafts display case. Figure 1b. The original display case, by Michael Pekovich.

chapter four
Figure 2. Shelves and dividers are inset Figure 3. Standard orthographic views in SketchUp's Back Edges style. The right door is hidden in the front view to show the shelf details.
from the front and back of the case.

chapter four
Figure 4. An exploded view of the display case.

chapter four
Video Tutorial: Creating the Case Side
We'll begin the SketchUp build with a video showing how to create the side component. from the original plan. To do that, you scan the image, import it into SketchUp, and
To render the curved top and the cutout at the base properly, it's best to work directly scale it to full size. Then you use SketchUp's basic drawing tools to trace the image.

chapter four
Create the Case Side Choose Yes. The image will now be full size
The magazine article shows the case side in SketchUp.
in both perspective and in flat template-
like drawings. The flat drawing is the one Step 3 You are ready to begin tracing over
to import into SketchUp because it gives the scanned image. Begin by using the Line
the dimensions for the joinery. (Members Tool to draw the bottom edge of the side, fol-
of FineWoodworking.com can access the lowing the scanned image. Extend the line
article as a PDF file, extract the appropriate past the sides of the image; that helps locate
page, and use it as the basis for the image intersecting lines. Be sure the line follows
import.) If you don't have the magazine, you the red axis. Draw the right vertical edge,
can use Figures 2 or 3. following the blue axis.
To make it easier to see the tracing lines, I
Step 1 Scan the image or save the PDF to sometimes create a special style. In the Edge
create a .jpg or .png file. Crop it close to the settings, I change the color of the edge to red
drawing to remove most of the background. and set the edge profile to 3. See Figure 7.
Open SketchUp. Click on File, and choose Place a guideline parallel to the line for the Figure 5. Import the scanned image of the case side. Choose the option Use as Image from
Import from the menu. Figure 5 shows the back edge and 13 in. from it. Place another the list under the Preview window.
dialog box that will appear. It gives you three
options for importing images; choose Use as
Image, click on the thumbnail of the image
you scanned, then click on Open. Be sure
the image is aligned with SketchUp's red and
blue axes. If it needs adjustment, use the Ro-
tate Tool to position the image properly.
Step 2 Use the Tape Measure Tool to make

the imported image full size. Select the tool
and tap the Ctrl key (Option on Macs). Click
the mouse on the lower right-hand corner
of the side. Drag the Tape Measure Tool to
the top of the side along the right edge. Be
sure you stay on the blue axis. Click on the
upper right-hand corner of the image. You
will see the measured length of the side
in the Measurement Box. Don't worry if it
is very different from the proper length.
Type the proper length of the right edge—
381/2 in.—and press Enter.
Figure 6 shows the dialog box that will ap- Figure 6. Use the Tape Measure Tool to resize the imported image to make it full size. When Figure 7. Using the Arc Tool to trace the
pear asking if you want to re-size the model. the dialog box shown here appears, click Yes to change the image size. curve on the upper edge.

chapter four
guideline 381/2 in. from the bottom edge.
These guides provide accurate boundaries
for the other edges, forming the side.
Step 4 Use the Arc Tool to create the

rounded shape on the upper edge, as shown
in Figure 7.
SketchUp provides two aids to help ensure
that the arcs are in the proper plane. First,
the color of the path that you make with the
tool changes to cyan when the arc is tangent
to the end of the previous arc or edge. Sec-
ond, you will see a small box reading "Tan-
gent at Vertex" next to the cursor. The box
signals that the arc is aligned properly.
When tracing shapes like this, I connect
multiple arcs to complete the curve. In this
case, I draw one straight line about 5 in. long,
then draw three connected arc segments,
following the edge of the imported image as
closely as possible. You can also use a bezier
plug-in to draw curves, but I find it just as
easy to use the Arc Tool.
Follow the same procedure to create the
cutout shape in the bottom end of the side.
See Figure 8.
To ensure that the cutout is symmetrical,
I only trace half of the shape. I copy the half-
shape, execute a flip along command to mir-
ror it, and connect it in place to create the
entire cutout.
Step 5 Using the dimensions given in Fig-

ures 9, 11, and 13, place guidelines on the
traced-over face of the side to locate the
mortises and rabbet for the back panel
assembly. Then use the Line Tool to draw
rectangles at all those locations. Figure 8
shows the completed traced-over shape of Figure 8. The finished traced-over shape of Figure 9. Follow these dimensions to position the mortises and rabbet in your tracing of the
the side. When placing lines for the mortise the side, with joint locations. side component.

chapter four
locations, it is helpful to change to an X-Ray
style to see the underlying scanned image.
Step 6 Select the traced-over shape, copy it,

and move the copy to one side. It was drawn
on the red-blue plane, so you need to rotate
it 90 degrees to align it with the green-blue
plane. This orients the side properly for the
rest of the build. See Figure 10.
Based on dimensions and notes in Figures
11 and 13, use the Push/Pull Tool to give
depth to the side and all its joinery. Make it
a component. See Figure 12.
The joinery is now complete on the side

component. You may find that it needs
some touch-up and cleanup, however. The
surfaces inside the mortises will probably
Figure 10. Copy the traced-over shape and Figure 11. Dimensions of mortise locations in the upper section of the side.
rotate it to align with the green-blue plane.

chapter four
appear in blue and should be reversed to
white (click to highlight the face, then
choose Edit>Face>Reverse Faces). Also,
since I used several arc segments for the bot-
tom and top shapes, there will be extra lines
across these edges that need to be softened
and smoothed. Check the opposite (outside)
face of the side. There may be extra lines
that should be removed. Change to X-Ray
view and check that there are no extra lines
inside the component.
This completes the creation of the side
component.
Figure 12. Use the Push/Pull Tool to give the Figure 13. Dimensions of the mortise location on the lower section of the side.
side component a thickness of 1 in.

chapter four
Video Tutorial: Creating the Carcase Top
This video shows how to create the cabinet's top component, which connects the two component to make accurately sized stub tenons and through tenons that connect the
sides. Among other things, the video will show how to use the mortises in the side top to the carcase sides.

chapter four
Figure 14. Copy the side and move it along

the red axis. Then do a flip along command.
Figure 15. Draw a rectangle between the Figure 16. Dimensions for the top and bottom components.
sides to begin shaping the top.

chapter four
Create the Carcase Top and Bottom
This carcase is quite a bit more complicated
than the wall cabinet covered in Chapter 3.
It has many more internal parts, and they
are not all aligned with the front edge of the
sides. Instead, these components are inset
at various depths, as shown in Figure 2.
Step 7 Place a guideline 48 in. from the

outside edge of the side component along
the red axis. Copy the side and place it on
the guideline so that the overall outside-to-
outside measurement is 48 in. Then execute
a flip along red axis command to orient the
second side properly. See Figure 14.
Step 8 Create the top and bottom com-

ponents in position between the two sides. Figure 17. Detail dimensions for the through tenons on the ends of the top and bottom components.
Begin with the top. Draw a rectangle at the
ends of the topmost mortises in the sides,
as shown in Figure 15. Make the rectangle
a component.
You could create the top and bottom
components separately, using the dimen-
sions shown in Figures 16 and 17. However,
I prefer to create model components in po-
sition, shaping them in relation to the parts
they join and using, say, a mortise to shape
a perfectly fitting tenon.
The top is inset from the front edge of the
case by 1/8 in. Open the top component for
editing. Use the Push/Pull Tool to pull the
rectangle face out to the front edge, then
push it back 1/8 in. Orbit to the back of the
carcase, click on the top component with
the Push/Pull Tool, and extend the top to
the rear. End the move by clicking the mouse
on the back edge of a side. See Figure 18.
Because you used the mortise to begin Figure 18. Rear view showing the top pulled Figure 19. Create a rabbet in the back edge Figure 20. Trace over the boundary of the
creating the top, its thickness so far is only to its full width. of the top component. mortise and push it to make the tenon.

chapter four
5/8 in. To make it the proper 7/8-in. thickness,
use the Push/Pull Tool to pull the top and
bottom faces up and down by 1/8 in.
Orbit to the rear, as shown in Figure 18.
Trace the two edges of the rabbet on the
top, then use the Push/Pull Tool to make
the rabbet the full length of the back edge.
See Figure 19.
Turn on X-Ray, trace the boundary of
the rabbet that holds the stub tenon, and
use the Push/Pull Tool to push that shape
to fill the shallow part of the mortise. See
Figure 20.
With the top component still open for
editing, trace over the edges of the through
mortises. Use the Push/Pull Tool to pull out
the tenons until they are flush with the out-
Figure 21. Extend the through tenon 3⁄16 in. Figure 22. Copy the tenon joinery to the opposite end of the top component.
side edge of the side. Continue pulling until
beyond the outside edge of the side.
the tenons extend beyond the outer edge of
the side by 3/16 in. See Figure 21.
Copy the top component and move it
away from the assembly. Draw a selection
box from left to right over the end of the
top, which will highlight the tenons. Copy
the selection and move it along the red axis
past the opposite end of the top. Execute a
flip along command and connect the copied
tenons to the end of the top. See Figure 22.
Step 9 Use the top component to make the

bottom. The end joinery is identical on both
pieces, but the bottom is a different width
and has sliding dovetails for the vertical di-
viders. You'll cut those dovetails in step 13.
Copy the top and move it down along the
blue axis to the location of the bottom mor-
tises in the sides. Explode the component
and re-make it as the bottom component.
Remove the rabbet and a leftover line on Figure 23. Remove the lip of the rabbet on the bottom component. Figure 24. Move a copy of the top down to
the back edge, as shown in Figure 23. create the horizontal divider.

chapter four
Step 10 Use the top component to make
the horizontal divider. Make another copy of
the top and move it down. I used a corner
of the tenon as the reference for the move
and tapped the down arrow key to constrain
the move to the blue axis. It may be easier
to position the copy properly if you switch
to X-Ray, as shown in Figure 24. Explode the
component and re-make it as the horizontal
divider component.
The horizontal divider is inset 3/16 in. from
the case front, so use the Push/Pull Tool to
push the front edge in another 1/16 in. (it
was already inset 1/8-in.). The dimensions of
this component are shown in Figure 25, but
you probably won't need them. Instead, use
the existing assembly to trim the size of the
Figure 25. Dimensions of the horizontal divider. Use them to check your work if necessary.
component.
Remove the rabbet so that the horizontal
divider's back edge is flush with the bottom
of the rabbet in the sides.
Next, change the thickness of this com-
ponent from 7/8 in. to 3/4 in. Use the Push/
Pull Tool to remove 1/16 in. from the top and
bottom faces.
The horizontal divider does not have
through tenons. In X-Ray view, use the
Push/Pull Tool to shorten the tenons to the
depth of the side mortises. See Figure 26. Do
the same for the tenons on the opposite end
of the component.
Step 11 Now that the horizontal parts

are installed, you can create the vertical
dividers. Figures 27 and 30 give their over-
all dimensions. Figure 28 shows the detail
dimensions of the sliding dovetail joint on
the edge of the dividers. I've drawn the dove-
tail to match the 1/2-in. by 14-degree router Figure 26. Shorten the tenons on the divider Figure 27. Dimensions of the drawer divider. In the shop, orient this piece so its grain is
bit that Pekovich used. Of course, you can to match the depth of the mortises. vertical. That way, it will move consistently with the other components in the carcase.

chapter four
modify the drawing as needed to match the
router bit you plan to use.
For the drawer divider, begin by creating a
rectangular face 121/4 in. wide and 5 in. long,
on the blue-green plane away from the car-
case. Make the face 3/4 in. thick, as shown in
Figure 27, and make it a component.
Using the Tape Measure and Protractor
Tools, place guidelines to define the shape
of the dovetail on the top and bottom edges
of the drawer divider. See Figures 28 and 29.
Trace over the outline of the dovetail shape,
then remove the waste with the Push/Pull
Tool, as shown in Figure 29. Draw a line at
the base of the dovetail shape on the front
edge, then push back the dovetail shape un-
til it is 1 in. from the front edge.
Step 12 Follow the procedures in Step 11

to create the vertical divider. Use the dimen-
sions given in Figure 30. The sliding dove- Figure 28. Divider dovetail details.
tails are identical to those on the drawer
divider. You can add the shelf pin holes as
shown in Figure 30; they are 5/16 in. in diam-
eter and 1/2 in. deep. I think it is helpful in the
shop to have the centers of holes shown on
the drawings. To do that, right-click on the
circle and choose Point at Center from the
pop-up menu.
Step 13 Place the dividers into the carcase

assembly. I think that is easier to do from the
rear of the carcase, since the back edges of
the dividers are flush with the back edge of
the horizontal divider and the bottom. The
dividers should be inset 1/4 in. from the front
edge of the case. Place guidelines from the
inside face of the side to help position the
dividers. Figure 31 shows the distance from Figure 29. Place guidelines, trace the shape Figure 30. Dimensions of the vertical divider, in X-Ray view to show locations for the shelf-pin
the side to the dividers. of the dovetail, then remove the waste. holes on both sides of the component.

chapter four
Copy the dividers, move them to the back
side of the carcase, and do a flip along com-
ponent's red command. This orients the
shelf-support holes properly. See Figure 32.
Create the sliding dovetail grooves in the
top, horizontal divider, and base. Open the
top component for editing and trace over
the shape of the dovetail on the back edge
of the top. Place a guideline 1 in. back from
the front edge of the divider. Use the Push/
Pull Tool to push out the sliding dovetail,
stopping it on the guideline.
Repeat for the remaining dovetails in the
other horizontal pieces. The horizontal di-
vider has dovetail grooves on its top and
bottom faces.
Step 14 Aside from the removable shelves,

there are four more pieces required to com-
plete the carcase: the front and rear apron,
the backsplash, and the back. The front Figure 31. Positioning the dividers in the Figure 32. Copy the dividers and flip them along the red axis. Use the dovetail shape on the
apron and backsplash are similar, connect- carcase assembly. dividers to create the matching grooves in the horizontal pieces.
ed to the carcase sides with mortise-and-
tenon joints.
To make the rear apron, draw a rectangle
between the sides and below the bottom,
as shown in Figure 33. Make the rectangle
a component.
Using the dimensions shown in Figure 36,
place guidelines and shape the cutout on
the rear apron. See Figure 34. After deleting
the waste, use the Push/Pull Tool to pull the
thickness to be flush with the back edge of
the side. See Figure 35. You will see gaps at
the ends equal to the depth of the rabbet in
the sides. Draw a line on the apron along the
edge of the side. Then pull out the ends flush
with the bottom face of the rabbets.
The rear apron is 7/8 in. thick. Orbit around Figure 33. Draw a rectangle in the lower Figure 34. Shape the cutout in the lower Figure 35. Make the apron 1⁄2 in. thick and
so you can see the inside face of the apron. back opening and make it a component. edge of the rear apron. flush with the back edge of the carcase.

chapter four
Highlight the face, then use the Push/Pull
Tool to pull the face out 3/8 in. See Figure 37.
Step 15 Add the front apron next. It is sized

to be 1 in. off the floor and inset 11/16 in. from
the front edge of the side. You can see it in
position in Figure 1.
Begin by drawing a guideline 11/16 in. from
the front edge of the side and another 1 in.
off the floor. Draw a 7/8-in.-thick rectangle
for the end shape of the apron. Make the
rectangle a component and pull it to length,
ending at the opposite side. See Figure 38.
Make the apron a component.
Use the mortises in the side components
to shape the tenons in the front apron.
Switch to X-Ray view and open the apron
for editing. Orbit around so you are looking
through the side. Use the Line Tool to trace
over the end of the mortise in the side. This
creates the end of the tenon. Use the Push/
Pull Tool to lengthen the end until it touches
the apron.
You can use the same procedure to create
the tenon on the other end of the Apron. Or,
make a copy of the tenon, move to the op-
posite end of the apron, execute a flip along
command, and connect it to the apron.
Step 16 Construct the backsplash much

the way you did the front apron and con-
nect it to the sides with mortise-and-tenon
joints. The back of the backsplash is flush
with the back edge of the side. The top edge
of the backsplash rises above the top of the
sides by 3/8 in., and the upper corners are
rounded. See Figure 36 for dimensions.
Draw a rectangle for the back face of the
backsplash and make it a component. Use Figure 36. Dimensions and joinery details for the front and rear apron and the backsplash. Use the dimensions as a check. In most instances,
the Circle or Arc Tool to round over the you can draw these components in position and use mating pieces to size the joinery.

chapter four
upper corners, then make the component kovich uses pins that are 5/16 in. in diameter
7/8 in. thick. Create the tenons as you did on and 1-in. long. The flat-bottomed grooves, 1/4
the front apron, following the procedures in in. deep and 5/16 in. wide, are easy to make
Step 15. with the Push/Pull Tool. In the shop, it's
critical to cut these grooves precisely, so
Step 17 The removable shelves are shown, that they mate properly with the pins in the
with dimensions, in Figure 40. They are easy sides and vertical dividers. The dimensions
to make in SketchUp because they are sim- given for the pin holes and shelf grooves are
ple rectangular parts. They have grooves in shown center-to-center to help you fit pin
the ends for the supporting shelf pins. Pe- to groove correctly.
How to Make Lines More Visible

When you open a component for editing, SketchUp automatically grays out all other
components in the view. There are times, however, when you want to see those
grayed-out edges to make it easier to add elements accurately. For example, when
shaping a tenon, it is advantageous to use the corresponding mortise as a template.
But that can be frustrating if you can't see the boundaries of the mortise.
SketchUp provides a way to adjust the amount of graying out. Click on the Win-
dow tab and select Model Info from the pop-up menu. In the left-hand panel of the Figure 37. Draw a line on the corner inter- Figure 38. Draw a rectangle for the end
Model Info dialog box (see image below), click on Components. This opens a dialog section before pulling out the rear apron. shape of the apron, then pull it to length.
box with two slider bars at the top. You can adjust the sliders all the way to the
Darker setting. This will eliminate the graying out and help you see whatever edges
you need to see.
Figure 39. Draw lines around the base of the mortise, then push the tenon until it touches
the edge of the apron.

chapter four
Step 18 The through tenons on the top
and bottom components are pinned into the
sides front and back. Pekovich uses pins that
are 5/16 in. in diameter and 2 in. long.
As shown in Figure 40, place guidelines to
locate the center of the tenon pin. Draw a
circle that is 5/16 in. in diameter (or with a
radius of 5/32 in.) Then use the Push/Pull Tool
to push in the hole to the mortise opening.
Repeat this for the other seven pin locations.
Typically, I don't add a pin hole to tenons
in a SketchUp model. That extra hole doesn't
help me in the shop because I drill the hole
for the pin with the joinery clamped. All I
need is the center for the hole on the outside
edges of the sides.
Step 19 The through tenons have a 1/8-in.

chamfer on their protruding ends. There are
several ways to add that detail, including us-
ing the Follow Me Tool. But I think there is
an easier way, as shown in the four steps of
Figure 42. Use the Push/Pull Tool to push
back the tenon length by 1/8 in., leaving a Figure 40. A view looking up to the bottom faces of the shelves, with overall dimensions and sizes for the grooves that hold support pins.
1/16-in. protrusion. Use the Offset Tool to
create a rectangular border 1/8 in. from the
edge. Now, with the Line Tool, connect the
A C
corners of the offset and the outer corners.
Finally, use the Move/Copy Tool to pull out
the inner rectangle by 1/8 in.
Step 20 The back panel is the last compo-

nent needed for the carcase. In this case the B D
panel consists of shiplapped boards, mul-
tiple pieces with overlapping joints along
their length. This type of construction ac-
commodates expansion and contraction of
the panel with weather changes.
Designing a shiplapped back panel is a Figure 41. Draw a circle for the tenon pin Figure 42. Step A: Push in the front face 1⁄8 in. Step B: Use the Offset Tool to draw a second
somewhat iterative process. The critical location. Then push in to the tenon. shape 1⁄8 in. from the edge. Step C: Add lines at the corners. Step D: Pull out inner shape 1⁄8 in.

chapter four
parameters are the width of the slats, the specifies equal widths for all slats except the
amount of overlap in the joint, and the ex- two at either end. They can be trimmed as
pansion gap between the slats. These factors needed to fill the space. Figure 43 gives the
determine the number of slats needed to fill necessary dimensions.
the open space in the back of the carcase. Figure 45 shows the lap joint on the ends
The slats do not have to be the same of the slats (the two end slats have a lap joint
width. I often use whatever I have on hand on only one edge). The edge that fits flush in
in the shop, so the number of slats and their the case rabbet has no lap joint.
widths may not follow the initial design. Create two slat components in SketchUp,
It's more important to have an established one for the seven middle slats and another
design for the shiplap joint, including the for the end slats. These parts are quickly
expansion gap. You can then mill stock, or- created with the Line Tool and the Push/
ganizing the pieces as you go, until you have Pull Tool. See Figures 44 and 45. When you
filled the required space. place the slats in the carcase, note that they
In this cabinet, the back panel is a visual are inset 1/8 in. into the rabbet in the top and
part of the middle open section. Pekovich side components.
Back Slat Math

Figure 43. The overall dimensions for the back panel. Most pieces are 51/2 in. wide. The two
Figure 45 shows the detail of a shiplap joint. The rabbet for the lap is 3⁄8 in. long
end pieces are wider, to fill the space in the carcase.
and half the depth of the slat. I typically use an air gap of 1⁄16 in., so the slats over-
lap by 5⁄16 in. at each end. This means that the effective width of the slat is 5⁄16 in.
less than its actual width. Suppose I decide to make slats with an actual width of
51⁄2 in., based on the material I have on hand in the shop. Here's how I determine
the number of slats needed. Reduce the actual width by 5⁄16 in. (the overlap in
one end joint) to get an effective width of 53⁄16 in. The opening in the cabinet is
471⁄4 in. wide. Divide 53⁄16 into 471⁄4 to determne the approximate number of back
slats. The result is 9.1 slats. Rounding down, that means making 9 slats at 51⁄2 in.
wide, with the end slats wider to take up the slack. There is no air gap at the out-
side ends of the end slats. They butt up against the rabbet in the sides. Figure 44. The shiplap joint. The air gap between boards is 1⁄16 in., the overlap, 5⁄16 in.
For more precision in determining the number of slats required, you can use
the following formula. (I'll admit that it was fun deriving this formula, but I see no
reason to ever use it.) The amount of air gap is not a factor.
n=(L–lap)/(W–lap) where n is the number of slats
L is the opening width in the back of the carcase
W is the desired width of all slats
lap is the overlapping distance in the shiplap joint
Figure 45. As this top view shows, the end slats have a tongue on only one edge, while the
others have tongues on both edges.

chapter four
Status Report
This case looks deceptively simple.
In reality however, it is a complex
carcase.
First, it contains more parts
than you would expect, and they
have different thicknesses. Many
of these parts are connected with
sophisticated joinery, such as sliding
dovetails or pinned through tenons.
And then there are the stub tenons.
Nothing simple here.
Also, the positioning of parts
inside the cabinet is not intuitive.
In most cabinets I've built, internal
parts are located flush with the front
edge. Each part has a unique inset
from the front edge of the cabinet.
You would expect removable
shelves to be a piece of cake. But in
this case, they are held in place with
hidden support pins requiring accu-
rately spaced holes and grooves.
I'm getting a feel for the weight
of this piece. There is quite a bit
of lumber here and it is heavy oak.
Even without contents, this will
take some effort to move around
the house.
Figure 46. A simple look, but in truth, a sophisticated construction.

chapter four
Creating the Cabinet Door structure is a soldered frame of zinc U-chan-
Doors this size usually have rails and stiles nel. This package of glass and metal rests in
made from 3/4-in.-thick material. In this case, a rabbet in the back of the door frame. Stops
however, the door frame is 7/8 in. thick to ac- overlay the glass frame and are fastened to
commodate the leaded glass assembly that the rabbet. See Figure 49.
sits in a rabbet in the back of the door frame. Structurally, the doors are a conventional
Pekovich explains how to make the leaded stile-and-rail design, assembled with mor-
glass assembly in companion article to the tise-and-tenon joints.
one about making the case. There is one more unusual aspect to the
Figure 47 shows two of the metal frame door construction, however. The door is in-
pieces that capture the glass panes. Lead set from the front of the carcase, so a 1/4-in.-
pieces known as "came" have an H-shaped thick hinge strip must be attached to the
cross-section so they can hold the individual sides of the carcase. See Figure 50. Before
glass pieces in a ladder-type structure. I've you begin modeling the door, create the
named it the lead came frame. Around this hinge strips and place them in the carcase,
Figure 47. An exploded view of the door frame and the leaded-glass assembly. Figure 48. Measurements for the assembled door frame and the position of the pull.

chapter four
inset 1/4 in. from the front. This will make it
easier to create the doors in place. The doors
will inset another 1/16 in. from the front edge
of the strips.
Step 21 First, create a reference rectangle

representing the overall height and width
of the door. You could skip this step and
start modeling the rails and stiles. After
all, Figures 54 and 59 give the dimensions
for those components. However, beginning
with the reference rectangle is a very direct
way to create accurately sized components
in position, without having to spend time
measuring and checking dimensions. In ad-
dition, the components are created with the
correct axis orientation, which helps when
you perform flip along commands.
Draw a rectangle inside the carcase, trac-
ing over the door opening from the hinge
strip to the vertical divider. Make the rectan- Figure 49. A rear view of the door assembly showing the leaded glass assembly and the Figure 50. Hinge strips added to the
gle a component, copy it, and pull the copy glass stop pulled away from the rabbet. carcase make it possible to hang the doors.
away from the carcase. Draw guidelines for
the width of the stiles and rails, and trace
over these guidelines with the Line Tool. See
Figure 51. Now you can delete the face in the
middle of the rectangle.
Draw a selection box from left to right
around the vertical rectangle representing
one of the stiles. Right-click on the selection
and make it a component. Do the same for
the upper and lower rails.
Open the Component dialog box. Click
on the door stile component and move it
near the door assembly. Check it closely to
remove any unnecessary lines. With the
Push/Pull Tool, give it a thickness of 7/8 in.
Step 22 The joinery on the stile consists of Figure 51. Trace the sizes of the rails and Figure 52. A rear view of the door assembly Figure 53. An X-Ray view from the front
a full-length rabbet on the back inside edge stiles on the reference rectangle. after creating the door stile. after copying and flipping the door stile.

chapter four
and a mortise at each end. For the rabbet,
draw a rectangle 3/8 in. wide by 5/8 in. deep
on the back inside corner on the end of the
stile. See Figure 55. Create the rabbet with
the Push/Pull Tool.
The mortises, 3/8 in. thick, have a 1/2-in.
shoulder from the stile ends. Using guide-
lines for reference, draw rectangles on the
back of the rabbet corresponding to the size
of the mortises. See Figures 55 and 56. The
top mortise is 15/8 in. long; the bottom mor-
tise, 31/8 in. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make
the mortises 11/8 in. deep.
Figure 52 shows a rear view of the door
assembly after completing the door stile
component. Copy the stile and move it to
the opposite end of the reference rectangle.
Execute a flip along component's red com- Figure 55. Detailed dimensions for the Figure 56. Detailed dimensions for the
mand to orient the joinery properly. See rabbet and top mortise on the door stile. bottom mortise on the door stile.
Figure 53.
Later, when you install the hinges, you will
have to explode the left-hand stile and make
it a new component, so that the hinge mor-
tises won't appear in all four stiles.
Step 23 Although Figure 59 gives the di-

mensions for the rails, you don't need to
look at them. You'll create them in position
between the stiles, without measuring.
Click on the upper rail component in the
reference rectangle to open it for editing.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to give it a thickness
of 7/8 in. See Figure 57.
Orbit around to the back side of the door
assembly. You'll see a gap between the rail
and the rabbet in the back of the stile. Before
closing up this gap, draw a line on the end
of the rail where it intersects the stile. See
Figure 58. With the Push/Pull Tool, pull out Figure 54. The overall dimensions for the Figure 57. Open the upper rail component Figure 58. Draw a line at the corner inter-
the ends of the rail to close up that gap. door stile. and give it a thickness of 7⁄8 in. section with the inside edge of the stile.

chapter four
To create the rabbet on the back inside
edge of the rail, place a guideline 3/8 in. up
from the lower edge. Draw a line over the
guideline and use the Push/Pull Tool to
create the 5/8-in.-deep rabbet. See Figure 61.
There will be a small, square leftover face
in the corner. Delete it at both ends of the
rabbet, as shown in Figure 62.
Use the mortises in the stiles to create the
tenons on the rail. Turn on X-Ray and orbit
for a good view of a mortise. See Figure 63.
(If you have trouble seeing the mortise in
the stile, review the sidebar on page 83.) Be
sure the upper rail is open for editing and
use the Line Tool to trace over the boundary
of the mortise. Then orbit around for a view
looking back to the rail through the stile. See
Figure 64. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make
the tenon the length of the mortise.
This completes the modeling of the upper
door rail. Repeat to make the lower door rail.
Step 24 With the door structure complete,

you can now create the eight-light leaded-
glass assembly. It consists of glass panes
held together with lead pieces and soldered
together in a zinc frame.
You could rough-in the metal pieces
with a few lines, but I find it quite helpful
to develop all the details for features like
this in SketchUp, particularly for work pro-
cesses that I haven't tackled before. Work-
ing through the design in SketchUp is very
educational. The time I spend making the
model is paid back with new knowledge that
I can apply in the actual construction.
Begin making the metal parts as you
would with any other hardware, by gather-
ing accurate information about dimensions. Figure 59. Detailed dimensions for the upper and lower door rails, which you can use if necessary to check your work. This view is from the
Pekovich told me that he bought leading rear of the rails, showing the rabbet for the leaded-glass assembly.

chapter four
supplies from Cascade Lead Products Ltd.
(www.delphiglass.com). Specifically, he used
1/4-in. flat H wide channel lead came and
1/4-in. adjustable U zinc came strip. The web-
site provides dimensions that I used to draw
cross-sections for the came and zinc strips.
See Figures 65 and 66. They don't precisely
match the actual shapes, but they are good
enough for modeling.
Begin by modeling cross sections for
whatever metal pieces you will use.
Draw a rectangle around the perimeter of
the rabbet on the back of the door frame. See
Figure 67. Make the rectangle a component,
copy it, and move the copy away from the
door frame.
Using the cross-section shape for the zinc
U channel shown in Figure 66, create a frame Figure 60. Pull the ends of the rabbet to fill Figure 61. Create the rabbet in the inside Figure 62. Draw a vertical line before eras-
around the perimeter of the rectangle. Place up the gap and rabbet of the stile. back edge of the rail. ing a small leftover waste face.
the channel shape on one corner of the rect-
angle, as shown in Figure 68. Explode the
rectangle, select the boundary, and use the
Follow Me Tool to extrude the frame. Make
the frame a component.
Next, build up the lead came pieces that
hold the glass within the zinc frame. This
will require dividing the space into eight
equal parts for the glass panes. The verti-
cal came is centered on the top and bottom
frame rails. To place the horizontal came
pieces, you must first divide the vertical
space into three equal parts.
Draw horizontal guidelines through the
midpoint of the top and bottom frame
pieces. Then draw a line on the blue axis
between the two guidelines. See Figure 69.
Right-click on the line and choose divide
from the pop-up menu. Create four equal
segments, and place a horizontal guideline Figure 63. Trace over the mortise boundary Figure 64. Orbit to an end view and use Figure 65. Cross-sectional dimensions of
at each division point. with the Line Tool. the Push/Pull Tool to pull out the tenon. the flat H wide channel lead came.

chapter four
Place a lead came shape on the inside edge
and midpoint of the top rail. Use the Push/
Pull Tool to pull its length down to the in-
side edge of the bottom rail. See Figure 70.
Make this piece a component. Place another
came shape on the inside edge of the zinc
stile with its midpoint at the segment guide-
line. Pull its full length to the inside edge of
the opposite stile. See Figure 71. Make this
piece a component and copy it to the other
two segment guideline locations.
You can make the glass inserts. These are
rectangles 33/4 in. wide, 415/16 in. long, and
1/8 in. thick. I chose to use a standard mate-
rial in SketchUp called Translucent_Glass_
Gray with a very low Opacity at 15. This
material and the settings are available in
the Materials dialog box.
The glass frame can now be placed into
the rabbet in the back of the door frame.
Figure 66. Cross-sectional dimensions of Figure 67. Draw a rectangle within the back Figure 68. Use the Follow Me Tool to create
Create the glass stop, which is a wood frame, rabbet of the door frame. the zinc frame.
the U zinc came.
3/8 in. square in cross-section. You can make
it as one rectangular component or as a pair
of horizontal and vertical components. The
stop is placed over the glass frame and fills
the remaining space in the rabbet.
Step 25 The last steps in completing the

door involve placing the handle, hinges, and
catch. Hardware is often an afterthought in
woodworking and neglected in the design
work. However, the selection of hardware
not only affects the style and look of the
furniture, but it also impacts the design of
the door and carcase parts. So I recommend
choosing and buying the hardware early in
the design phase. This way, these compo-
nents can be built in SketchUp and incor-
porated into the furniture model. Figure 69. Draw a line and divide it into Figure 70. Place the H came shape on the Figure 71. Create horizontal zinc H came
I try to keep the modeling of hardware four equal segments. zinc frame and pull it to its full length. pieces.

chapter four
simple. I just want to show basic features
and sizes that impact design. But, of course,
you can create realistic models with details
like the hammered surface on the pulls.
For the door pulls, begin by importing the
image of the hardware from the website
Arts-N-Craftshardware.com. It is the Stick-
ley large O-drawer pull, and is 13/4 in. wide
and 4 in. high. See Figure 72.
I sometimes do the hardware modeling
in a separate SketchUp file so I can easily
scale the size of the imported image without
affecting the scale of other graphics in the
file. After making the image full size, use the
Line and Arc Tools to trace over the basic
shapes of the ring and bolt heads, as shown
in Figure 73.
For a simple, quick model, use the Push/
Pull Tool to pull out the thickness of the
plate, bolt, and ring, producing an element Figure 74. Crude and simple shaping with
Figure 72. Import the scanned picture from Figure 73. Trace over the shapes with the
like the one shown in Figure 74. Do the the hardware website (as an image). Line and Circle Tools. the Push/Pull Tool.
same for the drawer pull, the Stickley large-
O drawer pull.
The hinges are created similarly, but I tend
to model them more precisely and accurate-
ly. I sometimes show the hinge in models
with the door open and closed, so I like to
be able to rotate the two halves around the
pin center. Figure 76 shows the hinge model.
You can see an image of the specific hinges
Pekovich used at www.horton-brasses.com.
It is part number 409B and measures 11/2 in.
by 21/2 in. Figure 54 shows the location of the
hinge recess in the door stile. The depth of
the recess is half the thickness of the hinge
knuckle, or 3/32 in.
The last hardware item is the door stop
block shown in Figure 77. It holds a rare-
earth magnet that attracts a steel screw in Figure 75. A realistic model of the door pull. Figure 76. The model of the hinge. It is Figure 77. The door stop is a simple, shop-
the stile. The hammered finish is a texture. 11⁄2 in. wide when opened. made magnetic catch.

chapter four
The door stop Status Report

The doors are complete and can be
installed in the carcase. Just as the
carcase modeling was surprisingly
complex, so too were the doors.
They seemed straightforward at first,
but the leaded glass window en-
tailed researching some new materi-
als. The Internet proved a big help
in finding basic information as well
as drawings and dimensions for the
leaded-glass material. The varying
inset amounts for the door and the
hinge strip also added to the time
needed to complete this stage of
the model.
The next section covers construc-
tion of the drawers. These are the
final components needed for this
cabinet.
Figure 78. The door can be rotated on the axis of the hinge pin.

chapter four
Video Tutorial: Creating the Cabinet's Drawers
This video shows how to make the major drawer components as well as the half-blind and resize the drawer as needed, so you can quickly create the other two while ensur-
and through dovetail joints at the corners. The accompanying text explains how to copy ing that all the drawers have identical height and depth.

chapter four
Creating the Cabinet's Drawers
At first glance, the three drawers in this cabi-
net appear to be the same size. However the
center drawer is 1/4 in. wider than the ones
on the ends. That means only the drawer
sides are identical for all three drawers. The
front, back, and bottom pieces are all larger
for the center drawer.
The drawers employ several traditional
design elements: half-blind dovetails at the
front and through dovetails at the back; a
groove in the sides and front for the drawer
bottom; a drawer back flush with the top
face of the bottom; and dovetail pins that
are skinny compared to the tails.
The front of the drawer is inset 5/16 in. from
the case front, and the back butts up against
the carcase back panel.
Drawer parts are often thinner than the
carcase pieces. For drawers this size, you
Figure 79. An exploded view of the drawer. Figure 80. The necessary dimensions for
might expect a 3/4-in.-thick drawer front and the front half-blind dovetails.
1/2-in.-thick sides and back. Here, however,
the front is 7/8 in. thick; the sides, 5/8 in.
Step 26 Begin the drawer construction

with the front. Place a guideline 5/16 in. from
the front edge of the carcase for the inset.
Draw a rectangle from corner to corner in
the drawer opening space, as shown in Fig-
ure 83. I find it helpful to use the arrow keys
to constrain the line on an axis. In this case,
the lines follow the blue and red axes, which
means a tap of the up or down arrow key
for blue, and a tap of the right arrow for red.
Make the rectangle a component and give it
a thickness of 7/8 in.
For a better view, right-click on the car-
case top and choose hide from the pop-up
menu. Draw the drawer side, as shown in Figure 81. The necessary dimensions for Figure 82. The overall dimensions for the Figure 83. Draw a rectangle within the
Figure 84, and make it a component. the through dovetails at the rear. drawer side. drawer opening to begin making the front.

chapter four
Copy the front and side components and
move them away from the carcase assembly.
Increase the length of the side by 5/8 in. so
that it overlaps the drawer front. This will
make it easy to draw the half-blind dovetails.
See Figure 85.
Step 27 Draw a vertical line on the face of

the side, right-click on the line, and choose
divide from the pop-up menu. Divide the
line into four equal segments, as shown in
Figure 86. The endpoints of these segments
define the centerlines of the dovetails.
Place guidelines at each of the endpoints
on the divided line. Then place guidelines
1/16 in. from the top and bottom edge of the
side. These last two guidelines will enlarge
the half dovetails slightly. This will help pre-
vent the real half dovetails from becoming
too thin when you hand-plane the top and Figure 86. Draw a line and divide it into four
Figure 84. Hide the carcase top and draw Figure 85. Extend the front edge of the side
bottom edges for a perfect fit in the carcase. one drawer side in place. by 5⁄8 in. so that it overlaps the front. equal segments to position the dovetails.
Use the Tape Measure Tool to place guide-
lines for the dovetail shape, following the
dimensions given in Figure 80. The widest
part of the dovetail is 5/16 in., so guidelines
can be placed 5/32 in. from the centerline of
the dovetail shape. The throat of the dove-
tail is 1/8 in. wide, so place guidelines 1/16 in.
from the centerline.
Use the Line Tool to create the angled lines
for the dovetail shape, as shown in Figure 87.
Then push out the shape to the back face of
the side. See Figure 88. Use the Select Tool to
draw a left-to-right selection box around the
entire dovetail shape (it helps to use X-Ray
view to be sure you select the entire shape).
With the Move/Copy Tool, grab the copy
of the dovetail shape at the midpoint and
move it up to the guideline location at the Figure 87. Place guidelines to help draw the Figure 88. Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove Figure 89. Copy the dovetail shape to the
top edge. See Figure 89. Continue to copy the dovetail shape. the waste from the dovetail shape. other centerline locations.

chapter four
shape to the other three locations, using the
segment guidelines as the centerline loca-
tions of the dovetails.
Copy the side and move it away from the
front. Draw a line to "cut" the top and bot-
tom dovetail shapes flush with the top and
bottom edge of the side. See Figure 90. Use
the Eraser Tool to remove the waste, then
delete this copy of the side.
Open the front component for editing.
Trace over the dovetail shapes on the side
to make the pins on the front. See Figure
91. Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove the
waste material between the pins, as shown
in Figure 92.
Select the entire dovetail joint on the left
end of the front and copy this joinery to the
right end of the front. Execute a flip along
command to orient the copy properly. See Figure 90. Draw a line at the intersection of Figure 91. Trace over the shape of the dove- Figure 92. Use the Push/Pull Tool to push
Figure 93. the dovetail and the top edge of the side. tails on the side on the front component. out the waste material.
Step 28 Orbit around for a rear view of the

front and side. Draw guidelines to show the
location of the 1/4-in. x 1/4-in. groove for the
drawer bottom. The groove is inset 3/8 in.
from the bottom edge. Draw lines over the
guidelines and push out the groove in the
front and side, as shown in Figure 94.
Step 29 Copy the side, execute a flip along

command, and position it on the other end
of the drawer front. Draw the drawer back
in position, spanning the rear of the drawer
sides. See Figure 95. Be sure to draw the back
so that it overlaps the sides at the dovetail
location.
Step 30 Create the dovetail joints in the

rear corners of the drawer. Even though Figure 93. Copy the dovetail joinery and Figure 94. Create a groove on the inside Figure 95. Copy the side, then create the
these are through dovetails, not half-blinds, move it to the other end of the drawer front. faces of the drawer front and side. drawer back.

chapter four
the procedures are the same as you followed
for the front. Draw a dovetail shape on the
side, following the dimensions in Figure 81,
and copy it. Then use those shapes to mark
the waste between the tails on the back. Fig-
ures 96 and 97 show stages of this process.
Step 31 The drawer bottom is a solid piece

of wood 3/8 in. thick. The dimensions are
shown in Figure 98. In the shop, the drawer
bottom is not glued but rather fastened
with a screw driven through an oversized
hole into the bottom edge of the back. With
guidelines and the Push/Pull Tool, create
the rabbet on the front and side edges. The
back edge does not require a rabbet.
This completes the making of the drawers
for the two ends of the cabinet. Figure 96. Create the dovetail joints on the Figure 97. As with the front dovetails, draw one shape and copy it as needed.
rear of the drawer.
Step 32 You can repeat the previous steps
to draw the center drawer, but I think that is
needlessly time-consuming and risks intro-
ducing errors to the plan. It's best to create
the center drawer by using the components
you made for the side drawers. The front,
back, and bottom must be lengthened by
1/4 in., a simple procedure.
Make a copy of the side drawer assembly.
Explode the drawer front, right-click on the
exploded graphics, and choose make com-
ponent from the pop-up menu. Give it a new
name. Do the same for the back and bottom
components.
Open the center-drawer front component
for editing and draw a left-to-right selection
box around all the dovetail joinery at one
end, as shown in Figure 99. Use the Move/
Copy Tool to move the selected end of the
drawer front. Constrain the move to the red Figure 98. The dimensions and shaping of the drawer bottom. Figure 99. Select the dovetail joinery and
axis by tapping the right arrow key. Type extend the length of the front by 1⁄4 in.

chapter four
1/4 and press enter to make the lengthening
precise.
Draw a left-to-right selection box around
the joinery on one end of the back, as shown
in Figure 100. I've shown the actual selection
box I used. It's much bigger than necessary,
but ensures that I select all the important
faces and edges of the dovetails. Use the
Move/Copy Tool to extend the length by
1/4 in. as you did the drawer front.
Move the side 1/4 in., as shown in Figure
101, so the dovetails mate properly.
Then follow the same select-and-move
procedure to lengthen the drawer bottom,
Figure 103 shows the drawer complete
and assembled.
To place the drawer pull, which is centered
in the face of the front, I typically use the Figure 100. Draw a select box around the Figure 101. Move the side 1⁄4 in. to fit the Figure 102. Extend the length of the bottom
midpoints of its edges to align the com- joinery in the back. new lengths of the front and back. by 1⁄4 in.
ponent. I use the arrow keys to constrain
movement along an axis.
Another way to center an object like the
drawer pull involves shifting the axis loca-
tion on the pull component. Figure 104
shows the component's axes centered at the
middle of the pull's back face. This is not the
axes' default location, which is always on the
corner.
To shift the axes, right-click on the pull
and choose change axes from the menu.
Place the axes at the center of the back face.
When you select the pull from the Compo-
nent dialog box, the Move/Copy Tool will
automatically be connected to the axes' new
location. This allows you to align the pull
with the edge midpoints on the face of the
drawer front.
This completes the modeling of the Arts Figure 103. The finished and assembled drawer with the pull in place. Figure 104. The drawer pull with axes at the
and Crafts display case. center of the back face.

chapter five
American Colonial Corner Cupboard
W
ith this project we move back- detail. A prime example is his drawing for
ward in time to the 18th centu- this cupboard, shown on the next page. I
ry and the year 1745, when the particularly value his perspective drawings
original version of this corner of complicated joinery, such as the details
cupboard was constructed in Virginia from for the cupboard doors shown below.
walnut and yellow pine. It is now part of the Seeing his drawings motivated me to
furniture collection at New York's Metropoli- improve my own drawing abilities. And his
tan Museum of Art. The cupboard is one of 3D-like views continually prodded me to
many projects in Construction of American look for ways to do something similar. But
Furniture Treasures by Lester Margon. until I found SketchUp, I struggled to make
Our home is filled with museum pieces anything other than flat two-dimensional
based on projects in this book, which has representations.
been a principal resource for my woodwork- This corner cupboard is big, providing lots
ing. Margon produced several great furni- of storage. Because it resides in a corner, it
ture books, but this one is special because makes very efficient use of space. Its size
it provides ample details, dimensions, and and complexity can be intimidating at first,
notes that help me understand how to con- but it begins to make sense once you break
struct these complex pieces. it down into subassemblies and parts. Figure
Margon's drawings are masterpieces. He 3 shows the top-level breakdown: The cup-
was able to communicate a phenomenal board consists of two stacked cabinets that
amount of information in a one-page draw- are very much alike except for their height
ing, cleverly overlaying different views and and doors.
Figure 1. Lester Margon's plans often include helpful supplementary perspective sketches of Figure 2. The American colonial corner Figure 3. The cupboard consists of two
joinery and other details. cupboard, built in 1745. stacked assemblies.

chapter five
Lester Margon, 1892-1980
A designer of interiors and furniture, Margon studied at Cooper Union, Columbia
University, and Mechanics Institute of New York. After working as a draftsman
for some years with interior designers in New York, Margon began an association
with the Stickley Brothers and with Home Craftsman magazine. He drew plans for
furniture and supervised the work in the Stickley factory.
Margon spent much of his career working in museums in the United States
and Europe, capturing the design of special furniture pieces. Some pieces were
destroyed in World War II bombing raids, so Margon's measured drawings remain
the only authentic record of their design.
In 1949 Margon published his first book, Construction of American Furniture
Treasures. Dover Publications issued a corrected edition in 1975. He went on to
produce four other books of museum drawings of furniture:
• World Furniture Treasures, Reinhold, 1954.
• Masterpieces of American Furniture, Architectural Book Publishing, 1965.
• Masterpieces of European Furniture, Architectural Book Publishing, 1968.
• More American Furniture Treasures, 1620-1840: An Anthology, Architec-
tural Book Publishing, 1971.
In an article in Fine Woodworking magazine, issue No. 5, he explained his
approach to working with museum pieces and how he begins his drawings:
"Making a measured drawing is not quite as simple a procedure as one might
expect. Some previous experience in drafting is essential. A knowledge of the use
of drafting materials is taken for granted, such as the T-square, triangles, curve,
dividers, and the compass, and certainly the ability to use the scale rule.
"Generally, front and side views are required, a seat and top plan, and auxiliary
views to show any special aspects of the design. Individual bits of carving can
be noted separately. Put down all sizes carefully and check them before leaving.
Make notes about all significant features of the design.
"This has been the beginning. When you get back to the drawing board, secure
sheets of white illustration board, 20 by 30 inches, with a smooth surface. To the
scale of three inches to the foot, roughly lay out the entire project."
I marvel at the beauty and effectiveness of his drafting work. His one-quarter
scale makes it easy to make accurate drawings of details as small as a quarter-
inch. His drawings are works of art, yet efficient in the way they communicate
an abundance of technical information. I wonder what he would think about the
Figure 4. Margon's principal drawing combines multiple views, plus details and dimensions.
drafting done in SketchUp.

chapter five
Quantity Description Length(L) Width(W) Thickness(T) Quantity Description Length(L) Width(W) Thickness(T)
Carcase Carcase
2 Back 33 5/8" 19 3/32" 3/4" 4 Shelf 34 11/16" 16 5/16" 5/8"
1 Back Post 33 5/8" 10 1/4" 3/4"
1 U. Upper Rail 25" 5 3/4" 13/16"
2 Bottom/Top 35 1/32" 17 1/16" 1"
2 Upper Back 52 7/8" 19 3/32" 3/4"
1 Left Stile 33 5/8" 2 3/4" 13/16"
1 Lower Rail 25" 2 1/4" 13/16"
1 Upper Back Post 52 7/8" 10 1/4" 3/4"
1 Lower Shelf 34 11/16" 16 9/16" 5/8" 1 Upper Bottom 37 1/4" 18 5/8" 1"
1 Right Stile 33 5/8" 2 1/4" 13/16" 1 Upper Top 36 5/8" 18 3/16" 3/4"
4 Spline 33 5/8" 3/4" 1/4" 1 Upper Right Stile 52 7/8" 2 1/4" 13/16"
1 Upper Rail 25" 2 7/8" 13/16" 1 Upper Left Stile 52 7/8" 2 3/4" 13/16"
2 Corner Post 33 5/8" 7 1/4" 13/16" 2 Upper Corner Post 52 7/8" 7 1/4" 13/16"
Door 1 Upper Lower Rail 25" 2 5/8" 13/16"
1 Door Lock 2" 1 1/8" Door
1 Door Lower Rail 21" 1 7/8" 13/16"
1 Upper Door Bottom Rail 21 1/8" 1 23/32" 13/16"
1 Door Mullion 20 3/8" 1 3/4" 13/16"
1 Lower Door Stile 24 1/2" 1 7/8" 13/16"
1 Upper Door Left Stile 44 1/2" 1 23/32" 13/16"
1 Lower Door Stile Left 24 1/2" 1 7/8" 13/16" 1 Door Lock 2" 1 1/8"
2 Door Panel 21 7/16" 9 1/8" 11/16" 3 H Hinge 4" 1 1/2"
3 H Hinge 4" 1 1/2" 4 Horizontal Muntin 20 3/8" 13/16" 13/16"
1 Door Upper Rail 21" 4 1/2" 13/16" 2 Vertical Muntin 40 3/32" 13/16" 13/16"
Applied Moldings 1 Upper Door Right Stile 44 1/2" 1 23/32" 13/16"
2 Facing 8 1/2" 4" 3/4" 1 Upper Door Top Rail 21 1/8" 4" 13/16"
2 Facing 2 2 13/16" 4" 3/4" Applied Moldings
2 Facing 3 1 1/2" 4" 3/4"
2 Upper Pilaster 53 7/8" 4 3/4" 3/4"
2 Facing 4 5 1/2" 4" 3/4"
6 Pilaster Molding 5/8" 3/8"
2 Facing Glue Block 5 15/16" 13/16" 3/4"
1 Foot Molding 1" 1/2" 2 Upper Pilaster Molding 1" 1/2"
1 Lower Section Crown Molding 2 1/4" 1 3/4" 1 Upper Crown Bottom 2 1/2" 1/2"
2 Pilaster 33 5/8" 4 3/4" 3/4" 1 Upper Crown Top 2" 1 3/4"
8 Pilaster Molding 5/8" 3/8" 1 Upper Base Molding 2 3/8" 1 3/8"
Figure 5. The cutlist for the lower cabinet. Figure 6. The cuitlist for the upper cabinet.

chapter five
Construct the lower carcase
In the last chapter, you started from the
outside and worked your way in to con-
struct the Arts and Crafts cabinet. It's just
the opposite with this piece. You will start
with the inside structure of the carcase and
work your way out.
Figures 7 and 8 show the basic structure,
without the pilasters, moldings, and doors.
This is the assembly you would build first,
whether in SketchUp or in the shop.
In my design work, I prefer not to have
dimensions to the level of 32nds; 16ths are
usually precise enough. I've made an excep-
tion here, showing the back dimension at
193/32 in., as shown in Figure 7. In order to
keep the size of other components consis-
tent with Margon's drawing—while main-
taining the 90-degree angle at the back—I
had to deviate from his dimensions. (He
shows two widths for the back, a frequent
problem with published plans.) After test-
Figure 7. The lower carcase assembly. Figure 8. An exploded view of the lower carcase.
ing various options and making several
measurements on my scanned drawing, I
held the front at 27 in., the corner post at
71/4 in., and the back post at 101/4 in. I also
had to modify the dimension at the back
and the depth of the cabinet to make the
geometry work.
Step 1 Based on dimensions shown in Fig-

ure 9, use the Line, Tape Measure, and Pro-
tractor Tools to lay out a half-shape of the
carcase. Make parallel guidelines to show
the thicknesses of the carcase components.
Use the Line Tool to trace over the guide-
lines and the miter joints. Work on the red-
green axes, as shown in Figure 10. Create
the rabbeted joint at the corner of the back Figure 9. A top view showing the critical dimensions for the cupboard's basic shape. Figure 10. Create a half-shape of the
and corner post components. See Figure 11. cabinet, then lay out the components.

chapter five
Step 2 Use selection boxes to make the
components. Draw a left-to-right selection
box around the shape of the back post, as Rabbet joint
shown in Figure 12. Make it a component.
Copy the component off to the side and
make the spline socket, following the di-
mensions shown in Figure 13. Splines con-
nect the edges of the carcase pieces along
their full height. The splines themselves are
1/4 in. thick and 3/4 in. wide.
Next, make the back post component its
full width. Copy the component and move
it to the right. Flip it along the red axis and
connect it to the original. Explode both cop-
ies and select them. Right-click on the selec-
tion and make it a component again. Erase
extraneous lines. Pull the back post up to its
33 5/8-in. height. See Figure 14.
Step 3 Create the back component and

make its spline socket where it meets the Figure 11. Create the rabbet joint at the Figure 12. Select the back post shape and Figure 13. Working with a copy of the back
back post. See Figure 15. corner of the back and the front post. make it a component. post, create the spline socket.
Make the corner post and create its spline
joint. Pull the corner post to its full height,
There is one more splined piece to make:
the front stile. For its width, place a line
21/4 in. from the front edge of the center post,
as shown in Figure 17. Draw a left-to-right
selection box around the shape, make it a
component, and pull it up to its full height.
Create the spline socket in the stile where it
joins the corner post.
Step 4 To make the spline, draw lines

around the rectangular shape of the spline
socket on the corner post and back com-
ponents. See Figure 18. Double-click on
the face, right-click, and make the shape a Figure 14. Make the back post component Figure 15. Make the back. Create the spline Figure 16. Pull the corner post up to its full
component. Make the spline 335/8 in. long. its full width and height. socket to match the one in the back post. height.

chapter five
Copy it to the back joint location, as shown
in Figure 19, and rotate it to fit. Connect one
of the corners of the spline to a correspond-
ing corner of the spline socket. Select the
spline and choose the Rotate Tool. Click the
tool on the corner connection, then click
again on the edge of the spline to begin the
rotation. Swing the spline around until the
corners connect and the spline is aligned
properly. Click again to stop the rotation.
Step 5 Select the splines, the back, the

front post, and the front stile. Copy those
components and flip them along the red
direction. Join the copies where the back
and back post meet. Be sure that there is
27 in. between the outside edges of the cor-
ner posts and that all the splines fit their
sockets properly.
Step 6 Based on the dimensions shown in Figure 17. Create the front stile component Figure 18. Create the spline and make it the Figure 19. Rotate a copy of the spline and
Figures 23, 24, and 25, place guidelines on in the front carcase frame. same height as the other components. position it in the joint at the rear of the case.
the assembled carcase for the location and
size of the two frame rails. Draw lines to
create the faces of the rails and make them
components. See Figure 20. Make the rails
13/16 in. thick. Copy one rail and move it away
from the assembly.
Make a tenon 3/8 in. thick and 11/4 in. long
on one end of the rail. Copy and flip the ten-
on to the other end of the rail. Repeat those
steps to create the tenons on the other rail.
Delete the copied components.
Switch to X-Ray style for better visibility
and use the rail tenons to make the mortis-
es in the front stiles. See Figure 21. Only the
left stile has a rabbet on one edge. Before you
create that, explode the left stile and make
it a separate component. Figure 20. Create the front frame rails in Figure 21. Use the rail tenons to make the Figure 22. Make the rabbet on the inside
To make the rabbet, begin by opening position in the carcase assembly. mortises in the front stiles. edge of the left stile.

chapter five
Figure 23. An exploded view of the carcase front frame.
Figure 24. Dimensioned details of the lower joint in the carcase frame.
Figure 25. Dimensioned details of the upper joint in the carcase frame. Only the left-hand Figure 26. Make 1⁄4-in.-dia. holes 1⁄4 in. deep in both the back and corner post components.
stile has a rabbet on the inside edge. The holes are spaced 2 in. apart, beginning 137⁄8 in. from floor level.

chapter five
the left-hand stile component for editing.
Draw a 3/8-in. by 1/2-in. rectangle, then use
the Push/Pull Tool to extend the rectangle
until it meets the top of the bottom rail. See
Figure 22.
Step 7 There are several evenly spaced

shelf-support holes on the back and the
corner post. Follow the dimensions in Fig-
ure 26 to place guidelines for the centers of
the holes, then use the Circle and Push/Pull
Tools to create 1/4-in.-dia. holes 1/4 in. deep to
accommodate the shelf-pin hardware.
Step 8 The carcase bottom and top are

identical pieces. Create one within the as-
sembly and copy it. I chose to draw the bot-
tom in position, but you could just as easily
draw the top and copy it instead. Figure 27. Create the bottom component. Figure 28. Copy the bottom to the top of the finished carcase.
Place a guideline 4 in. off the floor to locate
its bottom edge. Use the Line Tool to trace
over the guideline and continue around the
carcase parts to complete the face. See Fig-
Status Report
ure 27. Double-click on the face and make The drawing of the basic lower carcase
it a component. Use the Push/Pull Tool to structure is now complete. This would
make the component 1 in. thick. Make a probably be an early milestone in the
copy and move it up until it is flush with shop as well.
the top of the case. The case uses several joint styles,
Margon specifies #8 x 11/2-in. flat-head
one being a beveled spline joint. It is not
wood screws to fasten the top and bottom
used very often in carcase construction,
components in place. I've shown spaced
but it is common in small boxes.
screw holes that are 3/16 in. in diameter on
the respective carcase parts, 41/2 in. from the A secondary wood such as yellow
floor and 1/2 in. from the top edge. Molding pine or poplar should be used for the
covers the screw heads. backs and back post.
This completes the building of the lower In the next steps, we'll apply the
carcase structure. molding embellishments, the pilasters,
The next steps require more detailed di- a decorative foot, and the arched door
mensional information, which you will find to this structure.
in the illustrations on the next two pages. Figure 29. Finished joints include mortise and tenon, beveled spline, and rabbet.

chapter five
Figure 30. The front, side, and top orthographic views of the lower cabinet, showing positions for the molding, hardware, and other embellishments.

chapter five
Figure 31. An exploded view of the lower cabinet, showing the door, the moldings, and the facings that cover the carcase skeleton at the base.

chapter five
Video Tutorial: Making Fluted Pilasters
There are several ways to create flutes in SketchUp. In this video, I'll show the easiest increase the size of the component by a factor of 10. Then you position guidelines to
way I've found that does not require the use of the Intersection function or a separate denote the edges of the flutes. Finally, you use the Circle, Line, and Follow Me tools to
plug-in. After you create the rectangular pilaster component, you use the Scale Tool to extrude the flutes into the face of the pilaster.

chapter five
Apply the fluted pilasters
The pilaster is a feature in classical architec-
ture: a shallow rectangular pillar that gives
the appearance of a supporting column. It
can have a plain or fluted surface. Pilasters
often flank a door frame or window open-
ing, and they are used in traditional furni-
ture design.
In this case, the pilasters are decorative,
fluted, and divided with horizontal strips of
molding. This piece begins as a simple plank
of wood. Vertical 1/4-in.-wide (or diameter)
flutes are carved into the front face and the
edges. The moldings are mitered, then glued
Figure 34. Divide the top edge into five
and nailed in place. equal segments.
Step 9 It's easiest if you draw the pilaster

away from the rest of the model, working on
axis. Once you have completed the pilaster,
you can move and rotate it to connect it to
the carcase.
Using the dimensions in Figure 32, make
the center section of the pilaster: a piece
3/4 in. thick, 43/4 in. wide, and 14 in. long.
Make the piece a component. This is only
the portion with the flutes. You will create
it first, then use the Push/Pull Tool to make
the pilaster its full length.
Divide the top edge into five equal seg-
ments, as shown in Figure 34. (Dividing a
line is explained on page 32.) Draw vertical
lines at the ends of the line segments. These
form the centerlines of the four flutes on the
front face. Draw another vertical line down
the center of the edge. See Figure 35.
Close out of the edit-component mode,
then click once on the component to high-
light it. Choose the Scale Tool, which gen-
erates small squares at the corners and Figure 32. Key dimensions for the Figure 33. Make the middle section of the Figure 35. Draw vertical lines at the end of
midpoints of the shape. Hover the cursor lower pilaster. pilaster, where the flutes are carved. the line segments and down the edge.

chapter five
near the square at a bottom corner, then
move to a square at the opposite corner of
the opposite end. Be sure the label next to
the cursor reads, "Uniform scale about op-
posite point." That ensures that the compo-
nent will grow in proportion and not simply
be stretched. Begin moving the cursor to
enlarge the shape, then type 10 and press
Enter. This scales up the size of the pilaster
by a factor of 10. See Figure 36. Scaling up
allows SketchUp to render the small curves
of the flutes smoothly.
Step 10 As shown in Figure 37, place a

guideline 11/4 in. from the top edge of the
pilaster. Place a similar guideline up from
the bottom edge of the pilaster. This dimen- Figure 38. Place a path, then use the Follow
Me Tool to generate the flute.
sion of 11/4 in. is ten times the normal size of
a flute with a 1/8-in. radius. The guidelines
locate the center of the circles that make
the end shapes of the flute. After drawing
the circle, draw a temporary horizontal line
along the diameter, then delete the bottom
half of the circle and the diameter line. Re-
peat these steps at the bottom end.
As shown in Figure 37, draw vertical lines
Figure 36. Scale the piece up by a factor of 10 before drawing the flutes.
to connect the ends of the half-circles to
finish the flute shape. Keep the vertical line
down the center of the shape.
Draw a circular path for the Follow Me
Tool on the top edge of the pilaster, as shown
in Figure 38. Select the path, choose the Fol-
low Me Tool, and click on the half-shape of
the flute. Figure 39 shows the result. Click on
the protruding shape of the flute and tap the
Delete key. This removes part of the flute so
that it is flush with the face of the pilaster.
You may need to delete the centerline and
redraw a vertical line, then delete a face in Figure 37. Draw the semicircular flute shapes at each end of the pilaster. Figure 39. The results of the Follow Me
order to make the flute appear completely. extrusion on the flute shape.

chapter five
Reverse the face on the flute if necessary. convert this page of the PDF into a .jpg or
Delete the Follow Me path, too. .png file. Import the picture as an image, Topmost
square it up to align with the axes, and scale upper-pilaster
molding
Step 11 Use the Select Tool to select the to full size. (Scaling an image is covered on
entire flute, as shown in Figure 40. When do- page 71.) The molding profiles are drawn on
ing this, orbit around so that the pilaster is a grid of 1/4-in. squares, which will help you
oriented more or less vertically. Otherwise, size the image in SketchUp.
you may select parts of the pilaster you don't With the Line and Arc Tools, trace over
want. Check your selection by changing the the pilaster molding profile, as shown in Fig-
view to X-Ray. ure 44. Make the shape a component. Place
Place copies of the flute on the remaining guidelines on the pilaster for the locations
centerlines. Use the very tip of the flute as of the bottom edge of the moldings. Figure
the grab point. As shown in Figure 41, rotate 32 shows those locations.
the end flute 90 degrees to place it properly. Place the molding profile on the first Pilaster
molding
When you have placed all the flutes, high- guideline, as shown in Figure 45. Draw a Figure 41. Copy the flute to the other four
light the entire pilaster shape and use the path for the Follow Me Tool that turns the locations. Rotate the end flute 90 degrees.
Scale Tool to reduce it to one-tenth its size
(type 0.1 and press Enter once you begin
scaling), which brings it back to its proper
dimensions.
Step 12 As shown in Figure 32, the bottom

of the flutes is located 111/2 in. from the bot-
tom edge of the pilaster. Place a guideline
at that distance below the end of the flutes.
See Figure 42. Use the Push/Pull Tool to ex-
tend the end of the pilaster until it meets
the guideline. Erase extraneous lines that
appear on the face.
The total height of the pilaster is 335/8 in.
Place another guideline that distance from
the bottom edge. Use the Push/Pull Tool
again to bring the top edge of the pilaster
to its final length.
Step 13 Four small molding strips adorn

the face and one edge of the pilaster. Mar-
gon's book includes a drawing of all the
molding profiles for the corner cupboard. Figure 40. Select the entire length of the Figure 42. Extend the bottom edge 111⁄2 in. Figure 43. The scanned image of molding
See Figure 43. You can scan that image or flute in order to copy it. to create the bottom of the pilaster. profiles from Margon's book.

chapter five
corner across the front edge. Select the path
and choose the Follow Me Tool. Right-click
The path for
on the molding profile, open the compo- Follow Me
nent for editing, and click the mouse on the
profile. This generates the molding shown
in Figure 46. Copy the molding three times
and move the copies to the other guidelines.
See Figure 47.
Step 14 Use the Move/Copy Tool to grab

the pilaster at its top back corner and con-
nect it to the front corner of the stile, as
shown in Figure 48. Choose the Rotate Tool
and click at the corner where the pilaster
meets the carcase. Click on the back edge of
the pilaster to begin the rotation. Rotate the
pilaster toward the carcase and click on the
front edge of the corner post to end the rota- Figure 44. Trace over the scanned image of Figure 45. Place the molding shape at the Figure 46. The results of the Follow Me. Re-
the pilaster molding. guideline on the pilaster and draw a path. verse the faces to get the proper color.
tion. See Figure 49. Move the pilaster along
the corner post until the back edges of the
two components are flush.
Copy the pilaster, execute a flip along
command, and move it to the other side
of the carcase. You'll see that the pilaster is
not positioned properly, the result of rotat-
ing the original. Use the Rotate and Move/
Copy Tools to maneuver the copy into its
proper position. See Figure 50.
Create the front facing

The front facing at the foot of the lower
cabinet consists of the five parts shown in
Figure 51. I added a glue block behind the
facing, even though Margon's plan does not
show one. I think it is necessary to properly
support the facing. Step 16 shows where to
place the block.
Step 15 Import an image of the scroll-cut Figure 47. Copy the molding to the other Figure 48. Connect the pilaster to the car- Figure 49. Rotate the pilaster and move it
shaped facing, as shown in Figure 52, to three locations on the pilaster. case at their corners. to the rear corner.

chapter five
create it. (Use Figures 4 or 52.) The shape
is 4 in. high, and 81/2 in. long. Before giving
the shape thickness, copy it, move it to the
carcase assembly, and make it a component.
Place the shaped facing where the front stile
and corner post meet, as shown in Figure 53.
Make the facing shape 3/4 in. thick.
To create the miter joint on the end of the
shaped facing, use the Protractor Tool to
place a guideline for the angle of this joint,
which is half of 45, or 22.5 degrees. See Fig-
ure 54. Draw a line over the angled guideline
and push out the waste, as shown in Figure
55. Shift the facing to the left to position the
miter joint at the corner of the carcase.
Figure 50. Copy the pilaster and position it Figure 51. The parts of the facing at the foot of the lower carcase.
on the other side of the carcase.
Figure 52. Trace over the scanned image of

Figure 53. Place the facing shape on the Figure 54. Create the angle for the miter Figure 55. Remove waste to make the miter
the facing shape.
carcase front stile and pull out its thickness. joint on the end. joint; move the facing to the carcase corner.

chapter five
Step 16 To create the remaining facing
No lines at these
pieces, I recommend using the Follow Me miter joints
Tool. This requires a path across the carcase
4 in. off the floor. Place guidelines, then trace
over them with the Line Tool to create the
path. See Figure 56.
Draw a 4-in. by 3/4-in. rectangle at the back
end of the pilaster and make it a component.
Select the path, choose the Follow Me Tool,
Gap here at the
right-click on the rectangle, pick Edit Com- miter joint
ponent, and click on the face of the rect-
angle. The results are shown in Figure 57.
In the shop, this component is actually
three separate pieces mitered at the ends.
Draw the miter joints on the top and bot-
tom edges of the component, as shown in
Figure 58.
The Follow Me extrusion stopped short Figure 56. Create a path for the Follow Me Figure 57. The results of the extrusion. Note the gap at the miter joint with the shaped
Tool and the rectangular face to extrude. facing. Also note that there are no miter joint lines at the corners of the pilaster.
of closing the gap at the miter connection
to the shaped facing. To close that gap and
create the miter, select the front edge of the
facing, then choose the Move/Copy Tool,
click on the front edge and move it over to
touch the edge of the shaped facing. See Fig-
ure 58. Reverse colors if necessary to change
the faces to white.
Move a copy of the facing component for-
ward to check that these procedures worked
properly. See Figure 59. You could convert
this single component into three separate
components, but that's probably not neces-
sary to make them in the shop.
Create the facing glue block, using the di-
mensions in Figure 51. Position it as shown
in Figure 60.
Finally, copy all the facing parts and move
them to the opposite side of the carcase,
flip them along the red direction, and move
them into position on the front face of the Figure 58. Use the Move/Copy Tool to close Figure 59. Pull a copy of the facing pieces forward for inspection. Check that your procedures
carcase. the miter gap. have worked properly. Reverse faces if necessary.

chapter five
Step 17 This cabinet has a small shoe
molding running along the top of the facing.
Figure 61 shows the molding profile. Create
it either by importing an image or (since it
is relatively simple) drawing it from scratch.
Extrude the molding with the Follow Me
Tool, as you did to make the pilaster mold-
ings. As shown in Figure 62, draw lines over
the front top edge of the facing pieces to cre-
ate the path for the Follow Me Tool. These
lines will not be part of the facing compo-
nents; you will delete them later. The path
Figure 60. Create the facing glue block and position it behind the shaped facing. Figure 61. The shoe molding profile.
goes from end to end, so continue them all
the way across the front and over the facing
on the opposite side.
Select the path, choose the Follow Me
Tool, right-click on the molding profile, se-
lect Edit Component, then click on the face
of the profile. See Figure 63. The results are
shown in Figure 64. Reverse the molding
color if necessary. Delete the lines for the
Follow Me path.
You could split the assembly into separate
SketchUp components, but I don't find that
helpful in the shop.
This completes the front facing. Figure 62. Create a path for the Follow Me Figure 63. Position the molding profile, select the path, and extrude the molding.
Tool along the front edge of the facing.
Create the lower shelf
The lower cabinet holds one adjustable
shelf, which rests on pins inserted into the
holes in the carcase. There is a 1/8-in. gap
between the edge of the shelf and the inside
face of the carcase. The front edge of the
shelf is inset 3/8 in. from the inside surface
of the front stiles.
Step 18 Use the bottom/top component

to create the lower shelf. Make a copy of the
component, right-click on it, and choose Figure 64. The results of the Follow Me extrusion. The shoe molding is a single component. In the shop it will be individual mitered pieces. The
Explode from the pop-up menu. Right-click blue color needs to be reversed in the model.

chapter five
again, choose Make Component, and give it choose Edit Component, and click on the
a new name. The shelf is 5/8 in. thick, so use profile face. See Figure 69.
the Push/Pull Tool to reduce the thickness. This completes the construction of the
lower carcase. You will create the paneled
Step 19 Next, trim the shelf to create the doors in the next section.
gap between its edge and the carcase. Use
the Offset Tool to create a 1/8-in. border
around the entire top face of the shelf, as
shown in Figure 65. Use the Push/Pull Tool
to remove the material within that border.
Step 20 To make the inset at the front edge

Figure 65. Create a 1⁄8-in. inset for the shelf by using the Offset Tool.
of the shelf, place a guideline 1/4 in. from the
front. Trace over it with the Line Tool, and
use the Push/Pull Tool to remove the waste.
See Figure 66.
Extrude the cornice molding

Margon's drawing of the cornice molding
for the lower cabinet is shown in the lower
left-hand corner of Figure 43. Trace over
the shape as you did for other moldings,
producing a shape like the one shown in
Figure 67. The upper cabinet section has a
complementary molding around its base, Figure 66. Remove another 1⁄4-in. slice from Figure 67. Trace the profile shape for the Figure 68. Connect the profile to the back
which sits inside the notch on the lower- the front edge of the shelf. crown molding. edge of the pilaster.
cabinet crown molding.
Step 21 Connect the molding profile to the

back top edge of the pilaster, as shown in
Figure 68. Create a path for the Follow Me
Tool by drawing a line along the front top
edge of the carcase, running from the back
edge of one pilaster to the back edge of the
other. Be sure you have no components
open for editing when you draw this path.
It will be deleted later in the process.
Step 22 Select the path, choose the Follow

Me Tool, right-click on the molding profile, Figure 69. The results of the Follow Me. The crown molding is a single component. In the shop, this will be assembled from individual pieces.

chapter five
Status Report
The lower cabinet section now has all of its applied decoration and molding. Since
the last status report, we've added fluted pilasters, the lower facing, shoe molding, an
interior shelf, and crown molding.
You've also made use of a variety of SketchUp tools. In addition to the normal
Select, Line, Circle, and Push/Pull Tools, this section has required the use of the Scale,
Offset, Protractor, and Follow Me Tools.
Figure 70 shows the current status of the cabinet. You'll build the door assembly
next, which will complete the work on the lower cabinet.
Figure 70. The current status of the lower cabinet. The door is the last assembly required to Figure 71. Dimensions for the lower cabinet door assembly.
complete this portion of the corner cabinet.

chapter five
Create the lower-cabinet door
The doors for the corner cupboard are prob-
ably the most difficult SketchUp assemblies
in this book. The lower-cabinet door is argu-
ably the simpler of the two.
Building it in the shop is also a challenge.
Whether in SketchUp or the shop, it is not
easy to make the fingernail molding on the
stiles and rails with their coped joints. The
arched tops of the door panels add to the
difficulty.
However, working through the door as-
sembly step by step in SketchUp will make
it much easier in the shop. You'll see the de-
tails of the joinery, how the parts fit together,
and what shapes and sizes to use. The bev-
eled arches require intricate hand-tool work,
but SketchUp makes that easier by gener-
ating full-size templates, perspective views,
and critical dimensions.
The door panels float within grooves in the
frame to allow for seasonal expansion and
contraction of the solid wood. They need to
fit snugly into a groove that is deep enough
to accommodate the seasonal changes.
Margon provides helpful detailed design
information on the doors. Figure 1 of this
chapter shows one of his illustrations for
this door and the upper door. His dimen-
sions are comprehensive and consistent.
Step 23 The first steps in creating this door

are very much like those shown for the wall
cabinet in Chapter 3.
Begin by drawing a rectangle within the
carcase door opening. I use this as a tem-
plate for making the stiles and rails. Copy
the rectangular shape and move it to the
side. Draw guidelines to indicate the width
of the rails and stiles, and trace over them Figure 72. An exploded view of the lower cabinet door. Figure 73. Dimensions for the left door stile.

chapter five
with the Line Tool. Select the rail and stile and shaping the mortise-and-tenon joints.
shapes one by one from this outline and See Figure 79. The 3/8-in.-deep molding and
make them components. See Figure 75. groove on the inner edges of the compo-
nents will be appended in a later step.
Step 24 Using the dimensions given in Fig-
ures 76, 77, and 78, edit each of these door Step 25 Create the arched cutouts in the
components by making them 13/16 in. thick upper rail. Figure 80 shows the radius as
Figure 76. The door stile's lower joint

details and dimensions.
Figure 77. The door stile's upper joint

details and dimensions.
Figure 75. Make a rectangular shape the size of the door opening and use it as a template to Figure 78. The door mullion's joint details. Figure 79. The door frame components,
begin shaping the rails and stiles. with their joinery.

chapter five
31/8 in., but that is from the lower edge of
the rail that includes the 3/8-in.-deep beaded-
grooved shape. So, to compensate, place a
guideline 3/8 in. below the bottom edge of the
rail, as shown in Figure 81. Draw the circle,
delete part of it that extends below the edge
of the rail, then use the Push/Pull Tool to
push out the arch. Repeat for the other arch.
Step 26 Figure 82 shows a cross-section

of the door stile with the fingernail mold-
ing and the groove for the panel. The mold-
ing and groove are the same for all the door
parts and need to be added to each one.
Create a shape for the molding and
groove, as shown in Figure 83. This is a flat
profile with no thickness. Make the shape a
component.
Orbit for a view of the upper corner of the
door stile where it meets the top rail. Open Figure 80. Dimensions for the arched door upper rail. Figure 81. Create the arched cutout in the
the stile for editing, open the Component door upper rail.
Dialog Box, scroll through the components
in the model, and click on the molding and
groove shape you just created. This gener-
ates a copy of the component, which you
can drag into the model and place in the cor-
ner where the stile and rail meet, as shown
in Figure 84.
By opening the stile for editing, the mold-
ing-and-groove shape is now part of the
component: within the component defi-
nition, in SketchUp parlance. Explode the
shape by right-clicking on it and choosing
Explode from the pop-up menu. Use the
Push/Pull Tool to extend the shape down
the full length of the inside edge of the stile.
Stop the movement at the top edge of the
lower rail. See Figure 85. Repeat this proce-
dure to add the beaded groove to both sides Figure 82. A cross-section of the door stile. The dimensions at the upper left are for a rabbet Figure 83. The molding-and-groove shape
of the mullion. that is cut only in the left-hand stile. for the inside edge of the door parts.

chapter five
The top edge of the lower rail also needs
the molding and groove. But because the
molding and groove on the stile cover the
corner of the rail, you will need to work on a
copy of the rail to place the shape. Make the
copy and move it away from the door assem-
bly. Place the molding-and-groove shape as
you did before. This time, though, you will
need to rotate it 90 degrees. See Figure 86.
I do the rotation with the Move/Copy Tool,
but you can use the Rotate Tool instead.
You may find that there are extra lines on
surfaces and faces that need to be cleaned
up after applying the shape. See Figure 87. Molding-and-groove
Delete the copy of the lower rail. component
Step 27 Adding the molding and groove

Figure 84. Move a molding-and-groove Figure 85. Explode the molding-and-groove Figure 86. Add the same shape to a copy
to the arched top rail requires a different
component into position in the corner. component and extend it. of the lower rail.
procedure, using the Follow Me Tool. Make
a copy of the top rail and move it away from
the door assembly. Open the rail for editing
and place the molding-and-groove compo-
nent on the lower edge, as shown in Figure
88. You will need to rotate the component
90 degrees. Explode the molding-and-groove
shape as you did before.
Now use the Select Tool while holding
down the Shift key to select the entire Follow
Me path—the lower edge of both arches and
the straight line segments on either side of
Delete these
them. Choose the Follow Me Tool and click extra lines
on the square shape in the molding-and-
groove profile. Select the Follow Me path
again and click on the fingernail-molding
shape in the profile. Figure 89 shows the re-
sults of the Follow Me action.
Step 28 The ends of the mullions have to

be trimmed for a proper fit. Now, the ends Figure 87. Do some clean-up after adding Figure 88. Use the Follow Me Tool to add the Figure 89. The molding is there, but corners
of the mullion collide with the molding and the molding-and-groove shape. molding and groove to the top rail. must be coped to fit properly.

chapter five
groove shape on the rails. The rails also need
to be trimmed to avoid this conflict.
Orbit for a view of the back side of the
door assembly. You will remove a section of
molding on the rail where the flat portion of
the mullion meets it. Open the lower rail for
editing and trace lines over the 1-in. by 3/8-in.
rectangle where the mullion intersects the
rail. See Figure 90. Select the Push/Pull Tool
and tap the Ctrl key (Option on Macs). Push
out the rectangular shape so that it pro-
trudes through the front of the rail. Move a
copy of the rail in front of the door assembly.
Triple-click on the component, right-click
on the selection, and choose Intersect with
Selected from the pop-up menu. See Figure
91. Delete the waste, leaving a clear 1-in.-
Figure 90. Create a gap in the beaded Figure 91. Do an Intersect with Selection to Figure 92. Remove the waste.
wide gap in the beaded groove, as shown in
groove on the rail for the mullion. create the gap in the beaded groove.
Figure 92. Repeat to create an identical gap
in the upper rail.
Step 29 Next, remove instances where the

square portion of the molding-and-groove
shape interferes where the door-frame
components meet. Begin where the mul-
lion meets the lower rail. Orbit for a view of
the back of the door again. Open the mul-
lion for editing and trace over the horizontal
straight lines where the shapes intersect, as
to remove the small rectangles from each
side of the mullion. Repeat where the mul-
lion meets the top rail. Follow this proce-
dure to remove interference points where
the stiles and rails meet. See Figure 94.
Trace over
lines here
Step 30 This step is required for inspec-
tion, clean-up, and touch-up. You have been
working on the door assembly and may be Figure 93. Remove the interference at the Figure 94. Also remove the interference Figure 95. The rear of the door assembly
somewhat blind to hidden details. Orbit to rear of the mullion. where the rails and stiles intersect. after removing all the interferences.

chapter five
a rear view of the assembly and hide the top triple-click on the stile to select all of the
rail. Zoom in close to the top of the mullion, faces and edges. See Figure 99. Right-click
as shown in Figure 96. on the selection and choose Intersect Faces
As you can see, the component has miss- with Selection from the pop-up menu.
ing faces on the end of the fingernail mold- Draw a right-to-left selection box around
ing, two extra faces, and extra lines at the the end of the cope cutter, then press the
base of the tenon. You can quickly fix all delete key. This will remove all the edges and
those faults with the Select, Eraser, and faces, except for those within the intersect-
Line Tools and the Delete key. Check the ing corner. Use the Eraser Tool to remove
other end of the mullion and the ends of any remaining waste. See Figure 100.
the other door components, cleaning them In this case, the tip of the coped joint Figure 97. Make the cope cutter.
up as needed. did not intersect to a point. That's because
With the cleanup completed, you're ready when I first drew the fingernail shape, I be-
to cope the ends of the fingernail molding gan with a short straight line at the tip. You
on the stiles and the mullion. may not see this, depending on how you
drew the fingernail. To clean up the shape, I
Step 31 The original corner cupboard used drew a diagonal line to finish the coped end.
Figure 96. The end of the mullion before it
coped joints on the door frame, where the See Figure 101.
is cleaned up.
fingernail molding at one end is cut with a
curved shape to fit over the mating piece.
This makes a better connection than a mi-
tered joint because it reduces the chance of
a gap opening at the corner.
Making coped joints in SketchUp requires Figure 100. Delete waste after intersecting
the use of the Intersect function to create the faces.
the curved shapes.
Begin by making a cope cutter. Use the
fingernail-molding portion of the molding-
and-groove component to make a short
piece of rounded-over molding strip, as
shown in Figure 97. Explode the component
and delete the square portion, which is not
needed. Scale this up by a factor of 10 and
make the cope cutter a component.
Scale up the door stile by a factor of 10
and open it for editing. In the Component
Dialog Box, select the cope cutter and move
it into position on the stile so that the cor-
ners of the fingernail shapes meet, as shown Figure 98. Grab a copy of the cope cutter Figure 99. Execute an Intersect Faces with Figure 101. The completed coped joint.
in Figure 98. Explode the cope cutter and from the Component Dialog Box. Selection command.

chapter five
Step 32 Use this cope joint to make the
others. Select the curved cope shape and
make it a component, as shown in Figure
102. Open up the stile for editing and select
this newly created component from the
Component Dialog Box. Flip the copy along
the blue axis and connect to the lower end
of the stile, as shown in Figure 103. Explode
the component and use the Eraser Tool to
remove the waste.
Repeat to cope the fingernail molding on
the four corners of the mullion.
Step 33 The frame is ready for the door

panels. I found it hard to make the Margon
dimensions work, so I've given my dimen-
sions in Figures 104, 105, and 106. Figure 102. Select the curved cope shape Figure 103. Bring a copy of the cope to all
When creating a door panel, you must po- and make it a component. other locations, explode, and remove waste.
sition it correctly in the stile and rail grooves
to allow for seasonal expansion and contrac-
tion. Figure 106 shows how the panel bevel Figure 104. The dimensioned door panel.
sits in the groove. It fits snugly yet maintains
a 1/16-in. air gap for expansion.
Begin by drawing a rectangle around the
opening for the panel, as shown in Figure
107. Make the rectangle a component. At
this point, the sides of the rectangle fall on Figure 105. A top view of the door panel
the outer edge of the stiles and rails. Once showing thickness and bevel angle.
you have made the basic shape, you will en-
large it to fit in the groove.
Complete the shape of the panel by plac-
ing a circle in the upper arch. The center of
the circle falls on the midpoint of the top
edge of the rectangle. See Figure 108.
The panel needs to grow by 5/16 in. around
its perimeter to fit into the stile and rail
grooves properly. Use the Offset Tool to cre-
ate this expansion. See Figure 108. Make the
panel 11/16 in. thick (Figure 109). Figure 106. A cross-section showing how Figure 107. Draw a rectangle inside the Figure 108. Increase the panel size by 5⁄16 in.
Use the Follow Me Tool to cut the shape the door panels fit in the stile grooves. panel opening.

chapter five
of the panel's beveled edge. Copy the panel
component and move it away from the
model. Orbit for a view of the bottom edge.
Place guidelines to help you draw the shape
of the bevel edge. See Figure 110; the neces-
sary dimensions are shown in Figure 105. Se-
lect the outside edge of the panel as the path
for the Follow Me Tool. Execute the Follow Figure 110. Draw the shape of the
Me command to produce the shape shown beveled edge.
in Figure 111.
To help position the panel within the
opening, I shift the component axes to a
point 5/16 in. away from both edges of a cor-
ner. This creates a grab point that will coin-
cide with an inside corner of the door frame.
Step 34 The mortise-and-tenon joints in

Figure 109. Make the panel 11⁄16 in. thick. Figure 111. Create the bevel with the Figure 112. The door lock.
the stiles are held with 1/4-in.-square pegs.
Follow Me Tool.
Drill 1/4-in. holes, as shown in Figure 73.
Matching cutout in
Step 35 The left stile has a 1/2-in. by 3/8-in. carcase stile lip
rabbet that the right one does not. Explode
the left stile and make it a component again
with a different name. Add the rabbet.
I chose a door lock from Ball & Ball and
modeled it as shown in Figure 112. It fits on
the left stile, as shown in Figure 113. To do
that, I filled in part of the rabbet and gave
the platform for the lock a decorative ogee
shape. Next, I made a matching cutout in
the lip of the carcase stile, as shown in Fig-
ure 114. These details depend on the specific
hardware you choose for the project.
Step 36 Margon shows three H-hinges on

the original cupboard. I used Ball & Ball
hinges, as shown in Figure 115.
This completes the construction of the Figure 113. The door lock installed on the Figure 114. The carcase door stile requires Figure 115. The model of the door hinges.
lower cabinet. back of the left stile. a cutout to accommodate the lock.

chapter five
Status Report
The lower-cabinet section is complete, and we've used just about every tool in the
SketchUp repertoire. In the shop, I would expect some difficulty in creating the
splined-miter joints in the carcase, the flutes on the pilasters, and the arched door.
These same areas were demanding constructions in SketchUp.
The good news is that the upper cabinet will be much easier to create because
you can use components you have already built for the lower cabinet. That's one
area where SketchUp modeling outshines real woodworking.
Figure 116. The completed lower cabinet, with all its hardware in place. Figure 117. The upper-cabinet assembly.

chapter five
Construct the upper carcase
We can save time building the upper carcase
by using the components already developed
for the lower cabinet. For the most part, the
existing components need to be stretched
in length to the full height of the upper
cabinet. Scaling would also lengthen the
components, but in the wrong way. Scaling
enlarges or shrinks everything in a compo-
nent proportionately, so that joinery details
are changed to odd or even unusable sizes.
Stretching simply changes one dimension,
without altering the existing joinery or the
thickness and widths of the boards.
Step 37 Make a copy of the entire lower

carcase assembly and move it to the right
along the red axis. Delete the facing at the
base, the shoe molding, the cornice molding,
the bottom, and the top.
Next, change the names of all the remain-
ing components in the copy. If you don't, any
change you make to the copy will also be re-
flected in the original. For example, change
the name of the corner post to something
like upper corner post. Inserting the word
"upper" is generally all you need to do to
change the name.
Right-click on each component and
choose Explode from the pop-up menu.
Right-click on the selection and choose
Make Component from the menu. Enter
the new name and click on Create.
Step 38 The bottom component in the up-

per cabinet is larger than the bottom in the
lower carcase. Instead of being hidden in-
side, the upper bottom's edges are exposed;
it serves as a platform on which the rest of
the parts sit. See Figure 119. Figure 118. Front, side, and plan views of the upper cabinet.

chapter five
Figure 119. The assembled upper carcase. Figure 120. An exploded view of the upper carcase.

chapter five
Use the Line Tool to trace over the out-
side bottom edge of the carcase, creating the
perimeter of the new bottom component.
Double-click on the face and make it a com-
ponent. See Figure 121. Now give it a thick-
ness of 1 in. Pull the thickness down along
the blue axis, so the bottom component is
below the rest of the carcase.
Step 39 Place a guideline to show you the

full height of the upper carcase. Click the
Tape Measure Tool on the front bottom
edge of the carcase bottom. Begin moving
the cursor up along blue axis, type 537/8, and
press the Enter key. This places a guideline
precisely. Figure 121. Trace the outline of the carcase Figure 122. Select the top of the stile,
To stretch the carcase stile, open it for ed- to shape the bottom component. including all of the mortises and the rabbet.
iting, then draw a left-to-right selection box
around the upper end of the stile, as shown
in Figure 122. Be sure to draw the selection
box large enough to include all the mortises
and the top face and edges of the rabbet. You Figure 125. Move the lower and upper rails
can switch to X-Ray style to ensure that your to the ends of the stiles.
selection is correct. Try again if you think
you have missed an element.
Choose the Move/Copy Tool and click it
on the top edge of the stile. Move the cur-
sor up along the blue axis (it helps to tap
the Down or Up Arrow Key to constrain
the movement) and click when you reach
the guideline. See Figure 123. Do the same
stretching operation on the back post, back,
and corner post. Figure 124 shows the back
post being stretched.
Step 40 Move the two front rails to the

ends of the stiles and change their widths.
See Figure 125. The lower rail is 25/8 in. wide;
the upper rail, 53/4 in. Modify the widths by Figure 123. Move (or stretch) the stile until Figure 124. Pull up the back post to the Figure 126. Increase the width of the upper
placing a guideline and using the Select and it is the full height of the upper cabinet. full height. rail and enlarge the mortise in the stile.

chapter five
Move/Copy Tools as you did to stretch the
other components. Figure 126 shows the up-
per rail being modified. It is in X-Ray view
to make sure that the bottom edges of the
tenon at both ends have been selected. That
will ensure that the tenon is elongated as the
rail is widened. The mortises in the stiles
must be elongated to match. Open the stile
for editing and use the tenon to gauge the
size of the mortise. Repeat for the mortise
at the lower end of the stiles.
Step 41 The top edge of the carcase has a

3/8-in. by 9/16-in. rabbet around its inside pe-
rimeter. The top component has a matching
rabbet and sits flush with the top of the car-
case. Cut the rabbet in each of the carcase
Figure 127. Create the rabbet in the top Figure 128. Make the top component by Figure 129. Create the rabbet joint by using
components by placing a guideline, tracing
edge of the carcase components. tracing around the edge of the rabbet. the Offset Tool and the Push/Pull Tool.
over it with the Line Tool, and pushing the
rabbet to depth with the Push/Pull Tool. See
Figure 127.
Step 42 Create the 3/4-in.-thick top compo-

nent by tracing around the carcase with the
Line Tool. Follow the top edge of the rabbet,
not the outside edge of the carcase. Make
the face a component and give it a thickness
of 3/8 in., as shown in Figure 128. Copy the
top and move it up above the carcase. Orbit
for a view of the bottom face. Use the Off-
set Tool to make a 9/16-in. offset line around
the border. Pull out the center face another
3/8 in. This gives the top its overall thickness
3/4 in. See Figure 129.
Step 43 Creating the rabbet in the top edge Only 1⁄8-in. gap from
top of tenon to
left the top of the mortise-and-tenon joint bottom of rabbet
too close to the bottom of the rabbet. So, as
shown in Figure 130, adjust the size of the Figure 130. Lower the top of the mortise- Figure 131. Scan this shape, import it into SketchUp, trace over it, and use it to push out the
mortise and tenon to leave a 1/2-in. shoulder and-tenon joint. waste in the front edge of the shelf.

chapter five
at the top. Open the rail for editing, change
the size of the tenon, then use the tenon to
help shape the mortise.
Step 44 Use the shelf component from the

lower cabinet to make the upper shelves.
They are the same overall size, but the up-
per shelf has a beautiful scrolled front edge.
It probably has a purpose, allowing taller
items to be stored in the cabinet.
Scan the shape in Figure 131, import it into
SketchUp, and trace over the scrolled shape
with the Line and Arc Tools. Place the shape
on the shelf and push out the waste. Or, if
you prefer, you can create your own scroll
shape directly on the shelf.
Step 45 The shelf support holes in the up-

per carcase are currently the ones inherited
from the lower carcase. You will need to add Figure 132. Copy two sets of five support
a number of holes to accommodate the four holes to accommodate all shelves.
shelves in the upper cabinet. Based on di-
mensions shown in Figure 118, the topmost
shelf is about 38 in. from the bottom of the Status Report
carcase. So the spread of the shelf support The basic upper carcase structure is
holes should extend above that height. now complete, as shown in Figure 133.
Make a guideline at 38 in. from the bot- This would likely be a milestone for the
tom face. Open the upper back component
upper cabinet in the shop as well.
for editing, and draw a left-to-right selection
In horizontal cross-section, the up-
box around the five existing support holes.
per and lower cabinets are identical in
Choose the Move/Copy Tool and tap the
Ctrl key (Option on Macs). Move the copied shape and size. However, there are dif-
set of holes up the blue axis, type 10, and ferences in the top and bottom compo-
press the Enter key. Copy one more set of nents, the shelves, and the front frame
five holes, which spreads them above the parts and joinery.
guideline. See Figure 132. Place another two In the next sections, you will apply
holes below the lowest one. Repeat to add the molding embellishments, elongate
suport holes on the corner post. the fluted pilasters, and create the
This completes the construction of the glazed door.
basic upper carcase structure. Figure 133. The completed upper carcase structure.

chapter five
Lengthen the fluted pilasters
The pilasters on the upper cabinet are iden-
tical to those on the lower cabinet except
for their height and the topmost molding
strip. You can draw them from scratch, us-
ing the same procedures you followed for
the lower cabinet. However, it's easier and
faster to create them by stretching the lower
pilaster. The easiest way I've found is to start
by using the lower pilaster component and
modifying its overall length, the length of
the flutes, and the position of three mold-
ing strips. The top molding strip is unique.
Step 46 Begin by opening a copy of the

lower cabinet's pilaster. If you haven't done
so already, rename the component.
Place a guideline 537/8 in. up from the Figure 135. Place guidelines to show the Figure 136. Turn on hidden geometry and
bottom of the pilaster, as shown in Figure height of the flutes and the overall height. select the bottom of the fluted section.
135. Use the Push/Pull Tool to lengthen the
pilaster to that guideline. Place a guideline
8 7/8 in. from the bottom edge of the pilaster,
the point where the bottom of the flutes fall.
Click on the View tab in the menu bar and
choose Hidden Geometry. Many dotted lines
immediately appear in the flutes. See Figure
136. These lines define the boundaries of the
facets that SketchUp uses to produce a face.
Step 47 Draw a left-to-right selection box

around the bottom of the fluted section.
This highlights the hidden-geometry lines
at the bottom of the flutes, as you can see
in Figure 136. Choose the Move/Copy Tool,
click on the bottom edge of a flute, and pull
down along the blue axis to the guideline;
click the mouse to end the move.
Step 48 Draw a guideline 341/8 in. above the Figure 134. The dimensions for the Figure 137. Use the Move/Copy Tool to Figure 138. Reposition the moldings and
bottom of the flutes to mark the location of lower pilaster. lengthen the fluted section to the guideline. add the unique top molding strip.

chapter five
the top of the flutes. Be sure hidden geom-
etry is still turned on. Draw a left-to-right
selection box around the top of the flutes
and use the Move/Copy Tool to lengthen
the flutes up to the guideline. See Figure
137. Reposition the molding strips, follow-
ing the dimensions in Figure 134. The top-
most molding strip is unique. Copy its shape
from Figure 43 and create it with the Follow
Me Tool.
Figure 141. Use the Follow Me Tool to ex- Figure 142. Use the Follow Me tool to
Create the base and crown moldings trude the upper crown molding. extrude the upper base molding.
Step 49 The crown molding consists of two
components, as shown in Figure 139, which
is the result of tracing over the scanned
image with the Line and Arc Tools. Make
two components: the upper crown mold-
ing (high) and upper crown molding (low).
Make these moldings exactly as you did the
crown molding for the lower cabinet. Create
the profile shape and position it on the back Figure 139. The two profiles that form the
upper crown molding.
edge of the upper pilaster, create a path, and
execute a Follow Me extrusion. Do this once
for each component. See Figure 141.
Step 50 Figure 140 shows the upper base

molding profile shape. Create this shape
and position it on the carcase bottom so
that the bottom edge of the molding is
flush with the bottom edge of the carcase.
See Figure 142. Draw a path and execute
another Follow Me extrusion.
Construct the glazed door

The glazed door has rails and muntins mor-
tised into the stiles. The vertical muntins are
mortised into the rails. All of those pieces
have a fingernail molding on their inside
edges. These are coped to fit at the corners Figure 140. The profile of the upper base Figure 143. An exploded view of the upper cabinet.
and where the muntins connect to the molding.

chapter five
Video Tutorial: Extruding the Crown Molding
Cabinets are often adorned with crown or cove molding at the top. To create those Follow Me Tool to extrude the shape along a path that follows the upper edge of the
elements in SketchUp, you must first replicate the profile shape. In this case, Margon's cabinet. A crown or cove molding usually consists of a single shape to extrude. For
original plan for the corner cupboard includes a small sketch that you can copy in this cabinet, however, the crown molding is quite large and built up from two
SketchUp using the Arc and Line tools. After producing the profile shape, you use the separate extrusions.

chapter five
Figure 144. The upper door assembly. Figure 145. An exploded view of the upper door.

chapter five
Video Tutorial: Making the Upper Door Top Rail
The upper door top rail, with its semicircular cutouts and thumbnail edge profile, is a follow.) As usual, the work begins with careful placement of guidelines. You create the
challenging component. This video will show you a process for modeling it. (The accom- cutout shapes with the Circle Tool. Then you position a door edge molding shape on the
panying text gives a slightly different method for locating the centers of the semicircu- lower edge of the rail and extrude it with the Follow Me Tool. The last step is to add the
lar cutouts in the rail, but the end results will be the same no matter which method you tenons to the ends of the rail.

chapter five
Video Tutorial: Cutting a Cope on a Door Muntin
Moldings like the muntins in the corner cupboard door are usually mitered or coped door rail. "Cutter" components take the place of a coping saw. Once you put the cutter
where two pieces intersect. In this 18th century piece, the cabinetmaker chose coped in position, you intersect it with the muntin, then perform some clean-up to remove the
moldings. This video will show how to cope the end of the muntin to fit into the upper waste edges and faces.

chapter five
rails and stiles. Figures 144 and 145 show
the completed door exploded as well as as-
sembled and dimensioned. Refer to them as
needed while you construct the door.
Step 51 As you did with the lower cabinet

door, draw the upper door in place, begin-
ning with a rectangle in the door opening.
See Figure 146. Copy this rectangle and
move it away from the carcase. Using the
dimensions shown in Figure 144, place
guidelines to mark the width of the stiles
and rails. Trace over the guidelines with the
Line Tool. Draw left-to-right selection boxes
around the stile and rail shapes one by one,
then make them components. Make each
component 13/16 in. thick. Figure 145 gives
the component names I used.
Step 52 Make a copy of the top rail and

Figure 146. Draw a rectangle in the door Figure 147. Size the components with Figure 148. Make each component
move it away from the model. Open the opening. guidelines. 13
⁄16 in. thick.
component for editing, then right-click on
the lower front edge. Pick Divide from the
menu, and divide the edge into 6 segments
to help locate the center of the arches (Fig-
ure 149).
Use the Circle Tool to draw circles at the
three arch locations. Margon specifies a
radius of 213/32 in. radius. Delete the waste
half of the circle and make the arch shape
with the Push/Pull Tool (Figure 150).
Create the tenons on the top rail. They
are 1/4 in. thick, 3/4 in. long, and have a 1/2-in.
shoulder at each end. See Figure 151.
Step 53 Make a copy of the bottom rail and

move it away from the model. Create the
tenons. Like the ones on the top rail, these
are 1/4 in. thick and 3/4 in. long. However, the Figure 149. Make a copy of the top rail. Divide the bottom edge into six equal segments to Figure 150. Make the arches with the Circle
1/2-in. shoulder is only on the bottom end of help place the arches. Tool, then delete the lower half of the circle.

chapter five
the rail, as you can see in Figure 152. Delete
the copies of the rails. The door frame to this
point is shown in Figure 153.
Step 54 Use the rail tenons to make the

mortises in the stile (Figure 154). Turn on
X-Ray style, open the stile for editing, zoom
in, and draw the outline of the tenon on the
stile. Then use the Push/Pull Tool to create
the mortise.
Step 55 The rails and stiles have a small

Figure 151. Add tenons to the top rail. Figure 152. Add tenons to the bottom rail. Figure 153. The status of the door frame.
molding on their front inner edges, as shown
in Figure 155. Draw the isolated molding
shape, as shown in Figure 156, and make it
a component. Be sure to leave the 1/16-in. line
segment extending beyond the face. This
will be used to connect the molding shape
to the stiles and rails precisely.
Open the stile for editing, then open the
Component Dialog Box and retrieve a copy
of the molding shape you just drew. Place it
precisely in the corner where the stile meets
the top rail. See Figure 157. Explode the
molding shape and use the Push/Pull Tool Figure 154. Use the rail tenons to make the Figure 155. A top view of the stile, showing the fingernail molding on the front inner edge.
to extend it along the length of the stile until mortises in the stiles.
it meets the bottom rail.
Step 56 Make a copy of the top rail and

move it away from the model. Open this
component for editing and retrieve another
copy of the molding shape from the Com-
ponent Dialog Box. Rotate it, and place it as
shown in Figure 158.
Use the Follow Me Tool to add the molding
shape to the inner edge of the arches. Place Leave this 1⁄16-in.
line segment on the
the shape on the inner edge and explode component
the shape. Choose the Select Tool while you
press the Shift key to select the path: all the Figure 156. Draw the fingernail molding Figure 157. Place the molding component Figure 158. Connect the molding shape to
arches and the straight segments between shape and make it a component. in the corner and extrude it. make a copy of the top rail.

chapter five
them. Choose the Follow Me Tool and click
on the face of the molding shape to com-
plete the extrusion.
Step 57 Open a copy of the bottom rail

for editing and retrieve another copy of the
molding shape from the Component Dialog
Box. Rotate it into position and place it on
the end of the rail, as shown in Figure 159.
Explode the shape, then use the Push/Pull
Tool to extend it the length of the rail.
Figure 159. Create the inner edge molding Figure 160. The molded inner edges are Figure 161. Use a top view of the stile to
Step 58 Follow the procedures explained shape on the bottom rail. complete. The corners must now be coped. make the muntins.
in steps 31 and 32 to create coped joints in
the corners where the stiles and rails meet.
Step 59 Use the top view of the stile (Figure

155) to make the muntin. Reduce the left-to-
right size of that shape to 13/16 in. Copy the
shape, flip it, then move the copy so that it
overlaps the original. The combined shape
should be 13/16 in. wide and 13/16 in. deep,
as shown in Figure 162. Explode both com- Muntin shape placed
ponents and remove the waste to produce here at the midpoint
the muntin cross-section shape shown in
Figure 162. Figure 162. The completed muntin shape. Figure 163. Shift the axes of this compo- Figure 164. A top view of the stile, showing
nent to the midpoint. the molded shape on the front inner edge.
It helps to shift the axis location on the
muntin shape to the midpoint of the top
edge, as shown in Figure 163. To do that,
right-click on the component and select
Change Axis, Then set the axes at the pre-
ferred location.
Step 60 Select the muntin shape compo-

nent from the Component Dialog Box and
place it on the midpoint of the rail's edge, as
shown in Figure 164. Explode the compo-
nent and make it a new component. Use the
Push/Pull Tool to extend it the full length Figure 165. Use the Push/Pull Tool to ex- Figure 166. End the move at the top front Figure 167. Copy the muntin and move it to
of the door, stopping at the top front edge tend the vertical muntin shape. edge of the lower rail. the next space between arches.

chapter five
of the bottom rail, as shown in Figure 166.
Copy the vertical muntin and move it over
to the other location on the door frame. See
Figure 167.
Step 61 Next, create the horizontal muntins

using that same shape and technique. Fol-
lowing the dimensions shown in Figure 144,
place horizontal guidelines to mark the
centerlines of the horizontal muntins. See
Figure 168. Pull a copy of the muntin shape
from the Component Dialog Box and move Figure 168. Make guidelines at the center- Figure 169. Position the muntin shape and Figure 170. Stop the movement at the front
it close to the stile. Rotate it 90 degrees and line locations of the horizontal muntins. pull it to length. edge of the opposite stile.
place on the stile at the guideline. Click on
the muntin shape, explode it, and make it a
Copy of muntin
component with a new name. cutter component
Use the Push/Pull Tool to make the hori-
zontal muntin its full length. Pull it right
through the two vertical muntins (Figure
169) and stop the movement at the front
edge of the opposite stile (Figure 170). Copy
the horizontal muntin to the other three lo-
cations, as shown in Figure 171. Make a "Muntin
Cutter" component
with 45-degree wings
Step 62 So far we have not done anything
about the joinery of the muntins. Their ends Figure 171. Copy the horizontal muntin to Figure 172. Create a muntin cutter and position it where the muntin meets the rail.
could be coped or, as an alternative, cut at the other three locations.
an angle to fit in matching cuts in the rails
and stiles. I'll show both options.
As shown in Figure 172, make a muntin
cutter component that can be used to trim
the ends at a 45-degree angle. Copy one of
the vertical muntins and move it away from
the model. Open the muntin for editing,
grab a muntin cutter from the Component
Dialog Box, and place it on the end of the
muntin, as shown in Figure 173. Explode the
cutter, select all of the muntin, and execute
an Intersect Faces with Selection command. Figure 173. Intersect the muntin and Figure 174. The finished cut on the end of Figure 175. The matching V-cut for the
Use the Eraser Tool to remove the waste, muntin cutter to begin mitering the ends. the muntin. muntin in the top rail.

chapter five
producing the shape shown in Figure 174.
Use the muntin cutter to make a V-cut in the
rail, as shown in Figure 175. Again, explode
the cutter, select all of the rail, and do an
Intersect command.
To make coped joints, as Margon shows,
you need a cope cutter like the one used for
the lower-cabinet door. However we cannot
reuse that one because the molding profile
is different for the upper door.
Use the upper door edge molding shape to
create the upper cope cutter component. As Figure 176. Create an upper cope cutter Figure 177. Position the cope cutter in the Figure 178. Clean up the waste after the
Figure 176 shows, the component has two using the door molding component. end of the vertical muntin. intersection.
shapes separated by a 1/4-in. gap.
Open one of the vertical muntins for edit-
ing and grab a copy of the upper cope cutter
from the Component Dialog Box. Rotate the
cutter and place it onto the top edge of the
muntin, as shown in Figure 177. Explode the
cutter. Triple-click on the muntin to select
it all, and execute an Intersect Faces with
Selection command. Clean up the waste, as
shown in Figure 178. Repeat this procedure
on both ends of the vertical and horizontal
muntin components.
Figure 179. Make a rail and stile cutter. Figure 180. Position the cutter at the midpoint of the muntin connection and execute an
Step 63 The rails and stiles require a 1/4-in.- Intersect Faces with Selection command.
wide gap in the inner molded edge to ac-
commodate the end of the muntin. Make
that with the cutter shown in Figure 179.
Place this cutter on the midpoint where
the muntin meets a stile or rail. See Figure
180. Explode the cutter and execute an
Intersect Faces with Selection command.
After clearing away the waste, you should
see the gap as shown in Figure 181. Repeat
at all the muntin connecting points.
Step 64 The muntins connect to the stiles Figure 181. After the intersection and cleanup, you will see gaps in the rail where the Figure 182. Create a tenon on the ends of
and rails with a small mortise-and-tenon muntins will fit. the muntins.

chapter five
joint. Figure 182 gives the dimensions for
this stub tenon. Add the tenon to each
end of the vertical and horizontal muntin
components.
Connect the vertical muntin with the top
rail, as shown in Figure 183. Open the rail
for editing and use the tenon to create the
3/8-in.-deep mortise in the rail. Make a mor-
tise at each connection between a muntin
and a stile and rail.
Step 65 The horizontal and vertical mun- Figure 183. Create the mortise in the top Figure 184. Position two muntin cutters at Figure 185. After the intersection, clean up
tins intersect at eight points. You need to rail using the muntin tenon as reference. the joint, then explode the cutters. the waste on a copy of the horizontal muntin.
make a crosslapped joint at each one of
those points, using the muntin cutter shown
in Figure 161.
Open a horizontal muntin component for
editing. Grab the muntin cutter from the
Component Dialog Box and place it at the
joint, as shown in Figure 184. Copy the cut-
ter, flip it, and move it into position on the
other side of the joint. Explode the cutters,
select all, and execute an Intersect Faces
with Selection command. After you clean
up the waste, the muntin should look like
the one shown in Figure 185. Figure 186. Edit the vertical muntin and Figure 187. The results of the Intersection on the vertical muntin joint.
Repeat these operations on a vertical place two muntin cutters.
muntin, as shown in Figures 186 and 187.
To finish the joint in the vertical muntin,
use the Push/Pull Tool to push in the front
half of the center spine; begin the move,
type 13/32, and press Enter. See Figure 188.
Do the same on the horizontal muntin,
clearing away the back half of the center
spine as shown in Figure 189. Now the
two crossing muntins will join together as
Create this crosslap joint at all the in-
tersections of the horizontal and vertical Figure 188. Remove the front half of the Figure 189. Remove the back half of the Figure 190. The finished crosslapped joint.
muntin components. Draw a left-to-right center spine on the vertical muntin. center spine on the horizontal muntin.

chapter five
selecton box around the entire joint and Figure 191 shows the completed molding
copy it to the other locations. in one panel.
Step 66 To add some realism, create a pane Step 67 The left stile requires a rabbet
of glass. It is 1/8 in. thick and "painted" with 3/8-in. by 1/2-in. on its inside edge, as shown in
Translucent_Glass_Grey, one of the stan- Figure 192. The rabbet is stopped to accom-
dard materials from the Materials Dialog modate the door lock, which is the same
Box. Apply it by selecting the entire pane, type used on the lower-cabinet door. Before
then choosing the material and clicking on editing the left stile, explode it and make it
the pane with the Paint Bucket Tool. Copy a component with a new name. Create a
the glass to all the other spaces in the door. keyhole and a shallow recess on the edge of
Use the Follow Me Tool to create a 1/4-in. the stile to mount the door lock.
quarter-round molding to back the glass. This completes the corner cupboard.
Figure 191. A rear view of the assembled upper door, with one pane of glass and a backing Figure 192. A rear view of the assembled upper door, showing the stopped rabbet, the door
molding of 1⁄4-in. quarter-round. lock, and the keyhole.

chapter six
How to Adjust and Resize Components and Models
F
or centuries, good cabinet-making the tap of a mouse. The more models you ers for the collection shown in Figure 3. To the best choice. As an alternative, you can
shops have had dozens of patterns create, the more assets you have for future add to the collection, I click on a drawer as- use the Scale Tool to resize components.
and templates hanging from the projects. Items like doors, drawers, legs, sembly in a SketchUp file, right-click on the However, as the sidebar on the next page
rafters. They would be used to cre- handles, hardware, moldings, rails, stretch- selection, and choose Save As in the pop-up shows, you have to be careful because scal-
ate multiples, such as a set of dining chairs. ers, backs, arms, skirts, and panels can be re- menu. (The screens look different on Macs, ing a model usually leads to some unwanted
They would also be used for new customers used, modified, and applied to new designs. but the process is essentially the same.) changes.
who wanted an existing design. SketchUp provides a mechanism for fil- In this chapter, I'll show you how to ad-
I'm reminded of the late Sam Maloof 's ing and grouping your component assets. just and resize components and models. Us-
shop, which had countless labeled tem- Figure 1 shows the Components Dialog ing models created in the earlier chapters,
plates covering the walls. He made many Box and the option to open or create a lo- I'll develop new, larger furniture pieces by
variations of his "standard" products, yet cal collection. When you click on the De- stretching and adapting existing compo-
took advantage of work already done by tails icon, this option appears in the fly-out nents. These new models, while substan-
having these valuable assets close at hand. menu. When you pick that option, a Browse tially complete, won't be fully detailed plans.
SketchUp can produce full-size templates, for Folder box appears. See Figure 2. Create Their purpose is to show you how to get
and I will show you how in the next chap- a file location here for your local collection. there in the most efficient way.
ter. Just as important, SketchUp also lets you For example, I have a folder called My Draw- For this work, the Move/Copy Tool is
keep a storehouse of specific components
and entire pieces that can be reused or al-
tered—scaled, stretched, or shrunk—to be
transformed into something new. Figure 2. The Browse for Folder box. Create
The project in the previous chapter intro- a file name and location.
duced the concept of reusing components.
The time needed to stretch the lower-cabi-
net components to create the upper cabinet
is a small fraction of that required to draw
new components from scratch.
I can also save time by keeping my pre-
liminary models and components. I typically
produce five or six design variations before
arriving at one ready for the shop. The de-
sign process involves a significant amount
of resizing and adjusting, and I save each
stage of development. Occasionally, I need
to revert to a previous version, and I'm very
glad to have kept the file.
With SketchUp, the assets are available at Figure 1. The Components Dialog Box option to open or create a local collection. Figure 3. My Drawers local collection.

chapter six
The Scale Tool: Its Uses and Limitations
To understand how the Scale Tool works, use a copy of the side drawer assembly practical use when resizing components. Also, when you create a new assembly by
from the Arts and Crafts bookcase from chapter 4. Draw a left-to-right selection box resizing an existing component using Scale, you must first explode and rename all the
around the entire drawer assembly and choose the Scale Tool. pieces that you intend to scale. If you don't, you will only change the size of the copy,
As Figure 4 shows, you will immediately see 27 green grips surrounding the and the original component definition will be unchanged.
drawer. Hover the Scale Tool icon over any the grips and notice the prompts that ap-
pear, such as "Red Scale about Opposite Point." It indicates the type and direction
of scaling when you use that grip. Click on various grips and move the mouse to ob-
serve changes in the drawer. When you choose a corner grip, the scaling is uniform
about all axes and the overall size will grow uniformly in width, length, and depth.
For example, type the number 2, press enter, and the drawer will double in size.
The side drawers in this cabinet are 143/4 in. wide, but the middle drawer is 15 in.
Can you use the Scale Tool to quickly make the middle drawer by scaling up a side
drawer? Maybe, as this demonstration will show.
Click on the middle grip in the side of the drawer, as shown in Figure 5. Pull the
grip along the red axis and notice how only the drawer's width changes. Click the
mouse again to stop the growth. It doesn't matter how much the drawer has been
stretched. Now type 15" and press Enter. Be sure to type a quotation mark for the
inch sign after typing 15. If you don't, you will make the model 15 times larger.
The drawer looks good and is exactly 15 in. wide. If you checked the dovetail
Figure 4. The side drawer assembly surrounded by the green Scale Tool grips.
joints, they would look perfectly fine. The drawer bottom looks good, too.
But there are some small problems,
as you can see in Figure 6. The drawer
pull should be 33/4 in. wide but has
grown to 313⁄16 in. The side is now 41⁄64 in.
thick rather than the original 5⁄8 in. You
could ignore those changes because
they are so small. Or, you can change
the level of precision for dimensions, so
that the drawer thickness will show as
its original 5⁄8 in.
In this instance, it is feasible to use
the Scale Tool to widen the drawer by 1/4
in. Still, I think it is safer and more accu-
rate to use the Move/Copy Tool instead. Figure 5. Click on the middle grip in the Figure 6. The result of scaling on the red axis only to grow the width of the drawer by 1⁄4 in.
Overall, I think the Scale Tool has limited right side of the drawer.

chapter six
Video Tutorial: Making the Side for the #525 Bookcase
This video will show you how to begin the conversion of the display case to create a to a longer length while preserving some of the joinery. The Move/Copy Tool is key to
model of the much larger Stickley #525 Bookcase. After you perform some clean-up making this type of modification successful.
and delete some unneeded components in the original model, you stretch the side

chapter six
Convert the Arts and Crafts cabinet
to a Stickley bookcase
The first example of a conversion changes
the Arts and Crafts cabinet from Chapter 4
to a larger double-door bookcase that was a
standard catalog offering by Gustav Stickley
in the early 1900s. He called it the #525. This
exercise shows how a design can change and
evolve, sometimes radically, without alter-
ing the basic style of the piece.
Figure 7 shows the two pieces side by side.
They look quite different but have much in
common: the sides, backsplash, back panel,
and skirts, as well as the associated joinery.
These similarities simplify the conversion.
From published information available on
the Internet (I don't have access to draw-
ings) the overall dimensions of the #525
bookcase are 51 in. wide, 551/2 in. high, and Figure 7. The cabinet on the left was used to create the Stickley #525 bookcase. Figure 8. The boundary of the #525
13 in. deep. The wedged tenons make it bookcase overlaid on the original cabinet.
3 in. wider than the display cabinet. It is 17
in. taller, but the two pieces are the same
depth. A box of this size is overlaid on the
original piece and shown in Figure 8.
Here is how to make the conversion:
Step 1 Make a copy of the Arts and Crafts

cabinet. Open a new SketchUp file and paste
the copy in it. The #525 bookcase will not
have vertical partitions, drawers, and short
shelves, so you can select those items and
delete them. Also delete one of the doors.
Figure 9 shows the resulting components
that will be reused and refitted in the new
bookcase.
Step 2 Place a guideline 551/2 in. up along

the blue axis from the bottom edge of the
side, marking the height of the bookcase. Figure 9. On a copy of the cabinet assembly, erase the parts not used in the bookcase. Figure 10. Move the top and backsplash.
With the Select Tool, click on the top and the

chapter six
backsplash. Choose the Move/Copy Tool,
click on the top edge of the backsplash, and
begin moving those components up. Tap
the up or down arrow key to constrain the
movement to the blue axis. Raise the two
components up to the guideline, as shown
in Figure 10.
Step 3 Open the side component for ed-

iting. Draw a left-to-right selection box
around the upper portion of the side, as
shown in Figure 11. Be sure that the selec-
tion box includes the mortises.
When you select portions of components
in this way, it is critically important to cap-
ture all the necessary edges and faces. Orbit,
pan, and zoom so you can easily see what
you have selected. It is often helpful to turn Figure 11. Draw a selection box around the top of the side, including the mortise. Figure 12. Pull the top of the side upward
on X-Ray style to give yourself a better view until it reaches the tenon on the top.
of the selection.
Choose the Move/Copy Tool and click on
the upper edge of the mortise. Pull the side
up along the blue axis (tap the up or down
arrow key to constrain the move), and stop
the movement when the top of the mortise
meets the upper edge of the tenon on the
top component. See Figure 12.
Step 4 The back slats also need to be

lengthened. There are two components in
the back panel, one for the two end slats
and another for the middle slats. Figure 13
shows the lengthening of the back slat end
with the Push/Pull Tool. Select one of the
middle slats to stretch up to the backsplash;
changing one changes them all. This com-
pletes fitting of the back panel.
Step 5 The bookcase has no vertical divid- Figure 13. Raise the back slats up to the rabbet in the backsplash. This requires lengthening Figure 14. Remove the dadoes for vertical
ers, so the dadoes in the top, the horizontal two components--the back slat end and the back slat. dividers in the cabinet bottom and top.

chapter six
divider, and the bottom components need
to be removed. It helps to turn on X-Ray
style to delete all the lines forming the da-
does, as shown in Figure 14. The dadoes ex-
tend to the back edge of the components, so
you need to draw short lines to close them
up, otherwise faces of the components will
disappear.
Step 6 The bookcase requires a post cen-

tered in the front, as shown in Figure 15.
It is 2 in. wide and 13/16 in. thick and inset
1/4 in. from the front edge of the bottom. See
Figure 16. The post will be inset 1/16 in. from
the front face of the doors.
The horizontal partition in the original
display cabinet will become one of the
bookcase shelves. Now, though, it intersects
with the front post. Use the Push/Pull Tool Figure 15. Draw a post and center it in the Figure 16. Inset the front post 1⁄4 in. from the Figure 17. Push the front edge of the hori-
to push the front edge of the horizontal par- front of the bookcase. front edge of the cabinet bottom. zontal partition back to clear the post.
tition backward until it clears the post, as
shown in Figure 17.
Step 7 Add through tenons to both ends

of the front post, as shown in Figure 18. The
tenons are 1/4 in. thick, 7/8 in. long, and the
full width of the post. Open the top and bot-
tom components for editing, trace over the
shape of the post tenon, and push out the
through mortise, as shown in Figure 19.
Step 8 Open the door stile for editing, select

the top of the stile, including the mortise
and the recess for the upper hinge. Use the
Move/Copy Tool to extend the stile's length
until it reaches the underside of the cabi-
net top. See Figure 20. Although the original
door is smaller, the widths of the stiles and
rails will work for the larger doors. Figure 18. Add a tenon to each end of the Figure 19. Add a through mortise to the top Figure 20. Extend the door stile up to the
Perform the same lengthening procedure front post. and bottom components. bottom edge of the cabinet top.

chapter six
to the right door stile and move it to its new
position next to the front post, as shown in
Figure 21.
Step 9 Move the top door rail up to connect

it with the upper right corner of the stile.
See Figure 22. Draw a left-to-right selec-
tion box around the right half of the rail, as
shown in Figure 23, making sure to include
the entire tenon within the selection box.
With the Move/Copy Tool, click on the right
Figure 21. Lengthen and reposition the right Figure 22. Move the top rail up to its new
front edge of the shoulder and extend the door stile. location.
rail's length until it meets the right stile. See
Figure 24. You will adjust the mortise-and-
tenon joinery in the next step.
Step 10 The new door will not have a lead-

ed glass frame. Instead, it will have hori-
zontal and vertical muntins 11/4 in. wide and Figure 23. Draw a left-to-right selection box
7/8 in. thick with a 3/8-in. by 7/16-in. rabbet in around the right end of the rail.
the back. Draw the muntin shape, following
the measurements in Figure 25. Changing
the muntins entails making the rabbet in
the stiles and rails less deep. That, in turn,
affects the mortise-and-tenon joints in the Figure 24. Extend the length of the rail to Figure 25. Make the muntin shape.
stiles and rails. the right stile.
Copy the stiles and rails and move them
away from the cabinet. Move the top rail
away from the stile, as shown in Figure 26.
Use the Push/Pull Tool to push the back
shoulder flush with the front. Orbit around
for a view of the stile mortise, as shown in
Figure 27. Place a short line across the rab-
bet at the bottom of the mortise, and pull
out the top face to create a stopped rabbet
in the back edge of the stiles. Repeat these
changes at each joint.
Match the depth of the stile and rail rab-
bets with that of the muntin shape: 7/16 in., Figure 26. Make even shoulders on the Figure 27. Pull out the top face, leaving a Figure 28. Decrease the depth of the stile
as shown in Figure 28. tenon ends of the rails. stopped rabbet in the stiles. and rail rabbets by 3⁄16 in.

chapter six
Step 11 Place a copy of the muntin shape Socket in the rail
on the underside of the top rail at the mid-
point, as shown in Figure 27. Extend the
length of the muntin to the top edge of the
bottom rail (Figure 28).
Create a 7/8-in.-long tongue on each end
of the muntin, as shown in Figure 29. This
tongue connects to a socket you will need to
create in the back of the rails. See Figure 29.
Tongue in the
Step 12 Next, create three equally spaced muntin
horizontal muntins in the door opening. To Figure 31. Place a muntin shape on the stile
space the muntins, place guidelines 5/8 in. at a line segment end.
from the inner edges of the rails, then draw
a vertical line between those guidelines and
divide it into four equal segments. See Figure
30. The divisions in the line locate the mid-
point of the muntins. You extend the vertical
line beyond the door opening half the width Figure 29. Create a tongue on the back end
of a muntin; that way, the endpoints and di- of the muntin. Then create rail sockets.
visions in the line represent the center of a
muntin, ensuring that the spaces are equal.
Copy the muntin shape, rotate it, and
place it on the stile so that it aligns with
one of the division points in the line. Once
you place the shape, move the cursor for the Figure 30. Place guidelines, then divide a
Move/Copy Tool over to the divided line to line into four equal segments.
position the shape precisely. Tap the up or
down arrow key to constrain the movement
on the blue axis. When the cursor reaches
a division point, a green dot will appear, as
to extend the length of the muntin to the
edge of the right stile (Figure 32).
The horizontal and vertical muntin inter-
sect with a lap joint. Open one of the hori-
zontal muntins for editing, place guidelines
3/8 in. from the edges, and trace over the
shape, as shown in Figure 33. Figure 32. Extrude the horizontal muntin, Figure 33. Place guidelines to help shape Figure 34. Remove the waste on the front
Copy the muntin and move it to the front stopping at the edge of the right stile. the lap joint. of the stile.

chapter six
of the assembly. Push out the shape to a
depth of 7/16 in., as shown in Figure 34.
Step 13 Next, create the matching lap

joints in the vertical muntin. Orbit around
for a rear view of the lap joint. Open the
vertical muntin for editing, and draw two
horizontal lines to define the square shown
in Figure 35. Use the Push/Pull Tool to push
this square toward the front by 7/16 in.
Orbit around for a front view of the joint,
as shown in Figure 36. Trace over the angled
shape of the horizontal muntin and use the
Push/Pull Tool to clear out the highlighted
waste shape, again to a depth of 7/16 in. Fig-
ure 37 shows the finished lap joint. Figure 37. The finished lap joint.
Step 14 Orbit around for a rear view again.

Figure 35. On the vertical muntin from the Figure 36. Trace over the angled shape and
Make a 7/8-in.-long tongue on each end of the rear, push out the square 7⁄16 in. deep. remove the waste on the vertical muntin.
horizontal muntin. See Figure 38. Create the
matching socket in the stiles, as shown in
Figure 39.
Step 15 Using the divided line created earli-

er, place copies of the horizontal muntins at
the other two division points. Use the mid-
point at the end of the horizontal muntin
as the copy and move point. See Figure 40.
Orbit around to the rear of the door as-
sembly and make the stile sockets for the
tongues on the other horizontal muntins.
Create sockets in both stiles.
Orbit around for a front view and finish
creating the lap joints where the vertical and
horizontal muntins intersect, as you did in
Step 13.
Step 16 Place the finished door assembly

into the cabinet. Lengthen the hinge strip to Figure 38. Extend the tongue on each end Figure 39. Make the matching sockets in Figure 40. Copy the horizontal muntin to the
the top of the door, as shown in Figure 41. of the horizontal muntin so it's 7⁄8 in. long. the stiles. other two locations.

chapter six
Open the hinge strip for editing and draw Step 18 The wedged tenons on the top and
Hinge Strip
a left-to-right selection box around the top bottom components are a typical Stickley
of the strip; be sure to include the mortise feature. The existing tenons must be ex-
for the hinge. Use the Move/Copy Tool to tended another 11/2 in. to accommodate Mortise for
extend the length up to the top of the door. the wedges. horizontal
partition
Move the hinge up to its new location. For Orbit for a view looking at the top of the
a door this size, I recommend placing an- cabinet. From the Camera menu, select a
other hinge at the middle of the door. Open Top View and parallel projection. Pan and
the hinge strip for editing and draw a left-to- zoom to a close view of the protruding ten-
right selection box around one of the hinge ons, as shown in Figure 44. Open the top
mortises. Copy it and move it along the blue component for editing and draw a left-to-
axis to the midpoint of the door. Repeat to right selection box around the ends of the
add a hinge mortise at the midpoint of the tenons; be sure the box includes the cham-
left stile. Copy a hinge and move it into the fer. With the Move/Copy Tool, pull the ten-
middle recesses. ons along the red axis another 11/2 in.
Create a wedge shape using the line and
Step 17 The original horizontal partition arc tools. I placed a flat plane close to the
(which is now the middle shelf) must now cabinet and drew a freehand shape sized as
be repositioned to line up with the middle shown in Figure 45. Make the wedge about Figure 41. Resize the hinge strip and move Figure 42. The exposed mortise in the side
horizontal muntin. Figure 42 shows the new 5/8 in. thick. Then make an angled slot 5/8 in. the hinge. needs to be shifted to line up with middle shelf.
position, which exposes the original mortise wide in the end of the tenons, which holds
in the side. To shift the location of the mor- the wedges. Chapter 3, Step 23, explains how
tise, open the side component for editing, to make an angled slot. Copy the door hard-
turn on X-Ray view, and orbit around for a ware from the original cabinet and place it
view like the one shown in Figure 43, from on the new bookcase.
the outside of the side component. Carefully
draw a left-to-right selection box around the
mortise and move it down to the new posi-
tion for the middle shelf.
Since the horizontal partition was re-
duced in width earlier in Step 6, the tenon
and associated mortise need to be adjusted
in size accordingly.
The other two shelves are adjustable and
will require shelf support holes. As you did
with the corner cupboard in the previous
chapter, make a series of 1/4-in.-dia. holes
1/4 in. deep, and space them 2 in. apart. To
make the adjustable shelves, either modify Figure 43. Select the side mortise and move Figure 44. Lengthen the top and bottom Figure 45. Create a wedge shape for the top
the center shelf or draw new components. it down to fit with the middle shelf tenons. tenons another 11⁄2 in. to for the wedges. and bottom tenons.

chapter six
Status Report
The conversion from an Arts and
Crafts cabinet to a Stickley #525
two-door bookcase is complete. Hav-
ing access to the original cabinet in
SketchUp with all its components
makes quick work of modeling the
new cabinet. There are many simi-
larities between the two pieces. The
bookcase doors are quite different
in appearance but use the stiles and
rails from the display case.
The conversion did not involve
use of the Scale Tool. The Move/
Copy Tool is most effective for
adapting existing components to a
new design.
Figure 45. The wedged tenons. Figure 46. The completed Stickley #525 two-door bookcase, adapted from the Arts and Crafts display case.

chapter six
Convert the Magazine Cabinet
to a Shaker Press Cupboard
The magazine cabinet we built in Chapter
3 can be adapted to larger applications,
including those without wall mounting. In
this section, we'll convert the original wall-
mounted cabinet to a much larger storage
cupboard resting on a stand.
My inspiration for the conversion was a
photo in The Book of Shaker Furniture, by
John Kassay. He showed an original Shaker
press cupboard made in Pleasant Hill, Ken-
tucky. The piece consisted of a base with a
drawer and a two-door shelved cupboard
on top. Its original purpose in the Shaker
village was to store neatly folded stacks
of household linens, such as pillowcases,
sheets, and towels, after they had been laun- Figure 48. The boundary of the larger cabi-
dered and ironed. A more contemporary use net surrounding the original
could be a bookcase and storage for home
files, papers, stationery, envelopes, recipes,
and the like.
Figure 47 shows the "before and after" cab-
inets side by side. The new cabinet is slightly
more than 11/2 times the width and height of
the original. The depth does not change pro-
portionately but increases by more than 2 in.
Figures 48 and 49 strip down the two cases
to show the relative sizes and dimensions of
the basic carcases.
To minimize the conversion work, I'll
make use of existing joinery, including the
dovetails and wedged mortise and tenons. I
think these joinery choices are good ones for
the larger cupboard. I have modified the way
the shelves join the carcase sides because of
the larger size of the Shaker cupboard.
Step 19 Create a boundary enclosure, as Figure 47. The original wall-mounted cabinet is the basis for a larger Shaker-style Figure 49. A front and top view of the com-
shown in Figure 49, which will help you re- cupboard on stand. parative sizes, with overall dimensions.

chapter six
size the magazine cupboard components.
Use the dimensions in that figure. You can
delete the faces of the boundary box so you
can easily grab the magazine-cupboard
components inside. The leftover edges are
sufficient for limiting how much you stretch
components.
I originally "painted" the boundary box
with less-opaque materials, but ended up
deleting most of the faces to make it easier
to access the model inside.
Place the original cabinet in the enclosure,
centered left to right and with its back edge
flush with the back of the enclosure. Delete
the doors, back panel, French cleat, hard-
ware, and crown molding.
As shown in Figure 50, draw a left-to-right
selection box around the top joinery of the
side component. Then use the Move/Copy Figure 50. Select the upper end of the side component, including the dovetail joinery, and Figure 51. Select the left end of the bottom
use the Move/Copy Tool to raise the height of the side to the bounding box. and stretch it to the bounding box.
Tool to raise the height of the side up to the
boundary box.
When you make these extensions and
movements, be sure to tap the appropriate
arrow keys to constrain the movement to a
particular axis. Once you do that, you can
move the cursor away from the component
to click on reference graphics to precisely
stop movements.
Step 20 Select the left end of the bottom

component, as shown in Figure 51, and
move it outward to the edge of the bounding
box. Lengthen the right end of the bottom
component, as shown in Figure 52.
Select a Top camera view and parallel
projection. Draw a selection box around the
front end of the bottom component, includ-
ing the recess for the hinges. Use the Move/
Copy Tool to extend the front edge out to Figure 52. Lengthen the right end of the Figure 53. Select the front end of the Figure 54. Current status, with side and
the bounding box. bottom component to the bounding box. bottom and pull it out to the bounding box. bottom components lengthened.

chapter six
Step 21 Making the bottom component
wider creates room for another mortise.
While still in the top view and parallel pro-
jection, copy a mortise and space it 1 in.
from its neighbor. Do this on both ends.
Step 22 With the Move/Copy Tool, click

on the end of the front tenon on the side
component. Orbit for a bottom view of the
cabinet, as shown in Figure 56. Move the
side component until it connects with the
corner of the mortise in the bottom com-
ponent. Repeat the move with the right side
component.
Step 23 Place a guideline 1 in. back from

the edge of the bottom. See Figure 57. Open
the side for editing and pull its front edge
out to the guideline. Figure 55. Copy a mortise into the front of Figure 56. Move the side component to the Figure 57. Increase the side's width to 1 in.
Set up a right side view of the bottom the bottom component. mortises on the end of the bottom. from the front edge of the bottom.
component. Set the Camera to Parallel Pro-
jection and the style to X-Ray, as shown in
Figure 58. The new mortise that you added
to the bottom in Step 3 is too wide and too
close to the front edge of the side. Select the
left end of the mortise and move it toward
the rear of the case by 1/2 in. This mortise will
be 1/2 in. narrower than the others.
Open the side for editing and copy a tenon
to the new mortise location. Connect it pre-
cisely to the front edge of the mortise. Then
shorten the right end of the tenon, as shown
in Figure 59. Draw a left-to-right selection
box around the right side of the tenon, then
use the Move/Copy Tool to shrink it to fit
exactly in the smaller mortise.
Step 24 Move the top component up to

the dovetail joints in the top of the side, as Figure 58. Decrease the width of the front mortise in the bottom component by 1⁄2 in. Figure 59. Copy a tenon on the side, then
shown in Figure 60. Select the right end of shorten it with the Move/Copy Tool.

chapter six
the top component and stretch it to con-
nect with the dovetails on the right side.
See Figure 61. The top must be widened
to fit the new depth of the cabinet. Change
to a top view with X-Ray style, as shown in
Figure 62. Draw a left-to-right selection box
around the front edge of the top, including
the recesses for the hinge. Use the Move/
Copy Tool to extend the width of the top; use
the front edge of the bottom as a reference
for ending the move.
Figure 60. Raise the top to connect it with Figure 61. Stretch the right end of the top to Figure 62. Extend the front edge of the top
Step 25 The increased width of the top the dovetail joints. connect it with the side dovetails. to the same width as the bottom component.
requires another dovetail. Switch to a side
view with parallel projection, as shown in
Figure 63. Open the top for editing and se-
lect a dovetail. Because you are in a stan-
dard side view and in parallel projection,
the selection will also pick up the match-
ing dovetail at the opposite end. Copy the
dovetail and move it to the open space. I set
a guidepoint to ensure that the pin will be
the same size as the others.
Move the top away from the side compo-
nent as shown in Figure 64. Use the Eraser Figure 63. Copy a dovetail joint to the open Figure 64. Move the top component and de- Figure 65. Open the side for editing and
Tool to delete the edges and open up the space at the front of the top. lete the extra lines to open the dovetail. create the side face of the dovetail.
dovetail. Return the top to the carcase, as
shown in Figure 65.
Open the side for editing and use the Line
Tool to close the side face of the dovetail.
Then use the Push/Pull Tool to fill the en-
tire dovetail opening. See Figure 66. Delete
any extra lines in the dovetails, as shown in
Figure 67.
Step 26 The rear of the magazine cabinet

has 1/2-in.-wide grooves for the back panel,
inset to accommodate the French cleat. The
new cabinet will be rabbeted for its back, so Figure 66. Use the Push/Pull Tool to fill in Figure 67. Delete any extra lines on the Figure 68. Delete the grooves in the back of
the grooves must go. Copy the bottom com- the dovetail gap. dovetails at either end of the cabinet. the carcase.

chapter six
ponent and move it away from the assem-
bly. Delete the groove, as shown in Figure
68. Use the Line Tool to close the ends of the
grooves before deleting their edges. Other-
wise, you will lose the entire top face of the
bottom component. Shift to X-Ray style so
you can delete the lower hidden lines of the
groove. Eliminate the grooves in the top and
side components.
Step 27 Delete the mortise in the inside face

of the side that connected the no-longer-
needed French cleat. Use the Eraser Tool in
X-Ray style to delete all the mortise edges.
See Figure 69.
Step 28 Remove the dovetail pin at the

Figure 69. Delete the mortise for the French Figure 70. Delete the back edge dovetail in Figure 71. Delete the back edge dovetail in
back corner of the top and side. See Figure
cleat in the inside face of the side. the side component. the top component.
70. Set up a side view, open the side com-
ponent for editing, draw a left-to-right se-
lection box around the pin, and then press
the delete key. Open the top component for
editing and remove the dovetail pin with the
Push/Pull Tool, as shown in Figure 71.
Step 29 To create a 1/2-in. by 1/2-in. rabbet

in the back edge of the carcase, place guide-
lines 1/2-in. from the inside edge of the com-
ponents, as shown in Figure 72. Draw over
the guidelines and use the Push/Pull Tool to
create the rabbets in each component. See
Figure 73.
Step 30 Move a copy of the original back

panel into the rabbets you just created. See
Figure 74. With an opening this size, use
two back panels, side by side. Convert the
original back panel into one that fills half
of the opening. Figure 72. Draw guidelines for the rabbet Figure 73. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make Figure 74. Move a copy of the original back
Open the back panel stile for editing and that will hold the back panel. the rabbet in each carcase component. panel into the back rabbet.

chapter six
select the top, including the mortise. Use the
Move/Copy Tool to extend the length of the
stile up to the rabbet in the top component.
See Figure 75. Move the top rail up to meet
the stiles (Figure 76). Copy the middle rail
and move it up into the open space above
the panel (Figure 77).
Using a second middle rail keeps the
floating door panels at an appropriate size.
I positioned the two middle rails so that the
top and bottom floating door panels are
the same size and the center floating panel
slightly larger. However, you could space the
rails to create three identical panels.
Once you have positioned the rails, open
a stile for editing, select the mortise, and
move it to its new location. Then copy the
mortise and move it up to meet the tenon Figure 75. Lengthen the back panel stile. Figure 76. Move the top rail into its new Figure 77. Copy the middle rail and position
on the other rail. position. it in the open space above the floating panel.
Copy the bottom floating panel and move
it up to the top of the back. See Figure 78.
The floating panels have a 1/16-in. gap for ex-
pansion around the shoulder of the raised
panel. To achieve that gap, grab the top edge
of the panel, tap the up or down arrow key,
and stop moving the panel when it con-
nects with the lower edge of the top rail. At
this point there is no gap at all. Click on the
top edge of the floating panel, tap the up
or down arrow key, and begin moving the
panel downward. Type 1/16 and press enter.
This produces a precise gap.
Repeat with another copy of the float-
ing panel to create the center panel. See
Figure 79.
The back panel is wider than half the
width of the opening. Use the Move/Copy
Tool to grab the end of the left stile at its left
upper corner, then move it to the right until Figure 78. Copy the lower floating panel and Figure 79. Resize the panel to properly fit Figure 80. Shorten the rails to fit.
it reaches the midpoint of the back edge of move it to its new position at the top. the opening.

chapter six
the top component. See Figure 80. Now, of
course, the rails and floating panels are too
wide. Select the ends of these components
and use the Move/Copy Tool to shorten
them to fit.
When you have finished this back panel
assembly, copy it and move it into the re-
maining space, as shown in Figure 81.
I simply butted the two halves in the mid-
dle. Alternatively, you could create a shiplap
joint, which would require a slight increase
in the width of each panel assembly.
Figure 82. Increase the width of the shelf. Figure 83. Move the shelf so that it pen-
Step 31 This cabinet is tall enough for more etrates the side by 1⁄4 in.
than one shelf. I'll show it with two shelves,
but it could hold at least three. The origi-
nal cabinet used 3/4-in.-thick stock for the
shelves, but I recommend increasing that to
7/8 in. for the larger cabinet. The added thick-
ness should avoid unacceptable amounts of Figure 81. The finished cabinet back.
sagging.
Decide on the shelf spacing and place
guidelines for their position on the side.
The original shelf must be widened, so
move it to butt against the back corner, as
shown in Figure 82. Pull out the front edge Figure 85. Outline the dado on the side.
Figure 86. Use the Push/Pull Tool to make a
so it is flush with the front edge of the side. 1
⁄4-in.-deep dado.
Move the shelf to the side, so it penetrates
the side component by 1/4 in. That is the 10 degree
depth of the dado needed to hold the shelf. guideline
See Figure 83. Orbit for a view of the other
end of the shelf. Extend its length to butt
against the other side. Extend the shelf an- Figure 84. Extend the length of the shelf to
other 1/4 in. (Figure 84). the opposite side.
Open the side for editing and trace around
the intersection of the shelf with the inner Step 32 For cabinets this size, I use half-
face of the side (Figure 85). These lines out- dovetail joints to connect the shelves to
line the dado. Copy the side and move it the cabinet sides. It is a typical detail on
away from the assembly. Use the Push/Pull 18th century and Shaker furniture. I use a Figure 87. The dimensions for the dovetail. Figure 88. Lay out the dovetail and the
Tool to create the dado. See Figure 86. through dovetail, which shows on the outer 10-degree angle on the shelf.

chapter six
face of the sides. The joint can also be made
as a blind dovetail.
The dovetail extends only 1 in. back from
the front edge of the shelf and provides a
strong tie across the front and along the
height of the cabinet.
The first step is to create the shape of
the half-dovetail. Figure 87 gives its dimen-
sions. Be sure the shelf is inserted in the
dado (Figure 88).
Open the shelf for editing, orbit for a front
view, and place a guideline 1/16 in. down Figure 89. Trace a line along the angled line Figure 90. The dovetail shape is highlighted. Figure 91. Push the dovetail shape
from the top edge of the shelf. Use the Pro- and other edges of the dovetail. back 1 in.
tractor Tool to place a 10-degree angled
guideline connected to the intersection
of this guideline with the outside edge of
the side.
Figure 88 shows the intersection. Trace
over the angled guideline with the Line
Tool (Figure 89) and trace lines around the
shape of the dovetail.
The images on this page illustrate each
step in creating the dovetail. It involves
several back-and-forth component open-
ings and closings. Figure 94. Select the dovetail shape and
Figure 92. Open the side for editing and Figure 93. Pull the shelf out and delete the
Push the dovetail shape back 1 in. from trace over the dovetail shape. extra line on the front edge. copy it to the opposite end of the shelf.
the front edge of the shelf (Figures 90 and
91). Open the side for editing and trace
over the dovetail shape. Figure 90 shows
the face of the dovetail highlighted and
Figure 92 shows the Line Tool making that
traceover on the side. With the Push/Pull
Tool, push back the face of the dovetail
by 1 in.
Close the side and pull the shelf away from
the carcase slightly, as shown in Figure 93.
Open the shelf for editing and delete the ex-
tra line on the front edge.
Draw a left-to-right selection box around Figure 95. Flip the dovetail shape and move Figure 96. After positioning the copy, clean Figure 97. Open the side for editing and
the dovetail joint (Figure 94), copy the joint, it into position. up the dovetail shape. remove the waste dovetail shape.

chapter six
Figure 98. Delete the extra vertical line in Figure 99. Copy the dovetail joint and move Figure 100. After copying the dovetail, erase Figure 101. The completed dovetail joint in
the side component. it to the other shelf location. extraneous lines. X-Ray style.
and move it to the opposite end of the shelf. Status Report

See Figure 95. Flip the copy along the red Figure 102 shows the status of the
axis and move it into place. You will need
construction. Increasing the depth
to do some cleanup to close faces and erase
of the cabinet necessitated editing
extra lines. See Figure 96.
the dovetail and mortise-and-tenon
Close the shelf and open the side compo-
nent for editing (this time, using the right joints in the carcase. The back panel
side). Use the Push/Pull Tool to remove the needed substantial work. I also chose
waste and open the dovetail socket. Stop to make the shelves more complex by
the push 1 in. back from the front edge. See adding the half-dovetail joints on the
Figure 97. front. But on a cabinet as big as this
Erase an extra vertical line, as shown in Fig- one, those joints help tie the parts to-
ure 98. Copy the dovetail socket on the side gether. Still, even with all the changes,
and move it up to the other shelf locations, it is faster to alter existing compo-
as shown in Figure 99. After placing the copy nents than to start from scratch.
on the side, clean up the waste to produce
I've only shown two shelves, but
sockets that look like the one in Figure 100.
this cabinet could handle three.
Copy the shelf to the other locations.
In the next section, you will en-
Figure 101 is in X-Ray style, showing the
shelf connected to the side component. A large the doors and remake the
visual inspection ensures that there is an cove molding for the top of the case.
exact fit between the side socket and the Finally, I'll provide general instruc-
dovetail end of the shelf. Also, I can see that tions for building the table base. Its
the shelf fits exactly within the dado across construction is very straightforward.
the face of the side. Figure 102. The current status of the cabinet construction.

chapter six
Step 33 Figure 103 shows the original door
in the new cabinet opening. We can use the
Move/Copy Tool to stretch individual com-
ponents, as you have before. But first use the
Scale Tool to determine the new widths for
the stiles and rails. The existing widths of
these components are too thin to be prop-
erly proportioned for the larger cabinet.
Begin by making the entire door assembly
one component. The rails, stiles, handle, and
panel components will "nest" under an over-
all assembled component.
Click on the door assembly to select it.
Now choose the Scale Tool and grab the
middle upper grip (the prompt will say, "Blue Figure 103. The original door in the new
Scale about Opposite Point"). Enlarge the cabinet opening.
door vertically and click on the lower edge
of the top component to stop the scaling.
See Figure 104.
Now begin a new scaling along the red Figure 104. Scale the door assembly Figure 105. Use the red scale grips to
axis, as shown in Figure 105. Use the grips vertically. scale the door horizontally.
with the prompt, "Red Scale about Opposite
Point." Enlarge the door to the right; click
the mouse on the midpoint of the front
edge of the top to stop the scaling. Figure
106 shows the results of the scaling and the
new, more appropriate, widths of the door
components. It also shows the original door
with the inner edge of the stiles lined up.
That alignment is important: It will help you
quickly stretch the pieces of the door frame.
Unfortunately, this scaled door has issues
that prevent its use as the final door. First,
the inner rabbeted edges of the stiles and
rails have been increased to 7/16 in. when
they should be unchanged at 1/4 in. wide.
Second, the miter angles are no longer 45
degrees due to the non-proportional scaling.
I deleted the recesses for the knife hinges Figure 106. New increased widths for the Figure 107. Select the top joinery of the Figure 108. Stretch the stile up to the top
in the stiles and the upper rail. These re- stiles and rails. stile. edge of the scaled door.

chapter six
cesses would be affected by the resizing and
would need to be redone. Besides, I would
be more comfortable using butt hinges on
this larger door.
Step 34 As shown in Figure 107, draw a

left-to-right selection box around the upper
joinery of the stile. Use the Move/Copy Tool
to stretch the stile up to the top of the scaled
door. See Figure 108.
Select the bottom of the mortise and the
miter joints, as shown in Figure 109. Then Figure 109. Select the lower edges of the Figure 110. Move the miter joint down to Figure 111. Move the upper rail so that the
move the selected graphics down to line up mortise and the miter joint. line up with the lower edge of the top rail. miters on the inner edges meet cleanly.
with the lower edge of the upper rail. See
Figure 110.
Move the original door upper rail into po-
sition on the stile, as shown in Figure 111.
The original upper rail needs to widen sig-
nificantly, as shown in Figure 112. Open the
component for editing and use the Push/
Pull Tool to raise the top edge up to the top
of the stile.
Step 35 The tenon needs adjustment to

match the mortise in the stile. Turn on X-
Ray style and use the Push/Pull Tool to raise Figure 112. Stretch the upper rail to meet Figure 113. Stretch the tenon to fit the new, Figure 114. Extend the rail to meet the
the top edge of the tenon up to the matching the top of the stile. larger mortise. opposite stile.
top edge of the mortise. See Figure 113.
Stretch the upper rail length to the posi-
tion of the opposite stile, as shown in Figure
114.
The stile is still at its original width. Use
the Push/Pull Tool to pull the outer edge
to the full width, aligning with the outside
edge of the scaled-up version of the door, as
Step 36 The position and size of the mor-

tise and miter trim in the middle of the stile Figure 115. Widen the stile. Figure 116. Grab the joinery in the middle Figure 117. Move the mortise into position.
need adjustment. Open the stile for edit- of the stile.

chapter six
ing and draw a left-to-right selection box
around the middle joinery in the stile. See
Figure 116. Move the middle joinery up to
its position in the larger door, as shown in
Figure 117. Draw a left-to-right selection box
around the lower face of the mortise and the
miter joint, then lower them to their new
position in the larger door.
Move the original middle rail into the new
position and resize its width and tenons.
Then edit the lower rail, enlarging it as you
did the upper rail.
Step 37 The original floating door panels

were 5/16-in. thick. Since the doors have in-
creased in size substantially, increase the
thickness of the panels by 3/16 in. That makes
them 1/2 in. thick with a 1/4-in. tongue. See
Figure 118.
Figure 118. Increase the thickness of the Figure 119. Select the original handle and Figure 120. Scale up the cove molding
Step 38 The original handle is too small panels by 3⁄16 in. pick the Scale Tool. Grab the corner grip. shape by a factor of 1.5.
for the new door. Scaling produced a han-
dle that was misshapen. Select the original that. Use the Move/Copy Tool to make it
handle and choose the Scale Tool. Click on 3/4 in. by 3/4 in., as shown in Figure 121.
a corner grip that will scale uniformly about Create a path on the perimeter of the cabi-
all axes. See Figure 119. Type 1.5 as the scal- net top and execute a Follow Me command
ing factor and press enter. This time, the using the new molding shape. See Figure
handle keeps its perfectly round cross sec- 122. After extruding the cove molding, fill
tion. Explode the scaled handle and make in the miter joint lines. Add three lines: the
it a new component. The handle ends have one on the top surface, one short one on the
tenons that are larger than the original. Re- bottom surface, and another at the rabbet
duce them back to 1/4 in. square. Modify the joint. Use X-Ray style to place the middle
matching sockets created in the door stile. and the lower lines.
This completes the design of the new up-
Step 39 Copy the original cove molding per cabinet, as shown in Figure 123.
profile to the back corner of the cabinet.
Select the shape and choose the Scale Tool. Step 40 The upper cabinet sits atop a
Click on a corner grip, expand the size, type plain table. I'll briefly go through the steps
1.5, and press Enter. See Figure 120. This en- to make the table, beginning with the legs. Figure 121. Reduce the size of the rabbet Figure 122. Select a path and molding pro-
larges the rabbet, so you will have to undo Scan the orthographic drawing shown joint on the back edge to 3⁄4 in. by 3⁄4 in. file for a Follow Me action.

chapter six
in Figure 124, or convert the PDF to a .jpg
file. Import the file as an image, make it full
size, and straighten it to align with the axes
if necessary. Use the Line and Arc Tools to
trace over the shape of the turning. Prepare
a path and execute a Follow Me command.
Add the upper 2-in. by 2-in. square section
using the dimensions shown in Figure 124.
In the beginning, you can work with one
leg component. However, later in the pro-
cess, you will need to have separate front
and back leg components because of the dif-
ferences in the mortises. Copy and flip the
legs into the four corner positions. Figure
125 identifies the center-to-center dimen-
sions for the four legs.
Create the side apron component. Note
that it is inset 3/16 in. from the outer face of
the leg. Create the tenons based on the di-
mensions shown in Figure 126. The tenons
are not centered, but offset and flush with
the back face of the apron. Once you have
tenons on one end, copy and flip them to the
other end. The back apron has identical ten-
ons. However, the back apron is flush with
the back face of the legs, not inset.
Make the front rails 11/4 in. wide by 7/8 in.
thick. The only difference between the top
and bottom rails is that the top rail has a
tenon with a 3/8-in. shoulder. The tenon in
the bottom rail is full width.
Use the tenons to make the mortises in
the legs. Make the mortises for the side
aprons first. Explode one leg and make it
a back leg component. Copy and flip this
to the other end of the table. Now you can
complete the mortises for the back apron
and the front rails.
Create the drawer components, using the
dovetail dimensions in Figure 127. Figure 123. The completed upper cabinet. Figure 124. Table leg.

chapter six
Video Tutorial: Turning a Table Leg
To turn a table leg, it helps to trace over an existing image that you imported into how strategically located guidelines help you make an accurate tracing. And you will
SketchUp. This video shows you how to import an image, scale it to the proper size see how special tags and colors that SketchUp generates helps you place multiple arc
with the Tape Measure Tool, then trace over it with the Line and Arc tools. You will see segments so that they remain on a plane and produce the shape you want.

chapter six
Sides are inset

3
⁄16 in. from face
of the legs
Figure 126. Tenons on side and back aprons.
Figure 125. Dimensioned orthographic view of the press cupboard table.

chapter six
Figure 127. Drawer dovetails.
Figure 128. An exploded view of the table.

chapter seven
How to Assemble a Package of Shop Drawings
H
aving a three-dimensional model have some limitations, however, which I
is a great asset, but it isn't enough will cover in this chapter. The Pro version
for shop work. For that you need of SketchUp comes with a companion pro-
dimensioned drawings. gram called Layout. Its main purpose is to
The drawings don't have to be done in allow you to generate professional-looking
pencil or ink on paper, but they must com- drawings from the model. With Layout,
municate where to cut, drill, rout, saw, and you can add photos, explanatory text, title
carve. It's not enough to have only graphical blocks, PDFs, and have multiple scenes on
representations of shapes. A woodworker a page. I'll show how to make drawings with
needs to know angles, lengths, thicknesses, basic SketchUp and with Layout.
materials, fastening methods, hardware
sizes, grain direction, and notes for special Types of drawings
procedures or sequences of operations. In woodworking, you are likely to see draw-
When I went to college, first-year stu- ing packages that include various types of
dents were required to take an introductory views and documents. They include:
graphics course. You could easily spot the • Perspective views showing 3D represen-
engineering students—they were the ones tations of the assembled furniture and
burdened with T-squares, triangles, com- its parts. Isometric views are sometimes
passes, and drawing boards. Today, all they used; these are a kind of false perspective,
need is a laptop and the right software. One constructed around three lines that are
thing has not changed, however: Some of 120 degrees apart.
the practices we learned for adding dimen- • Orthographic projections display three
sions to a drawing are still relevant; the side- views: front, top, and right side or end. Figure 1. My drawing format for the orthographic view of the wall-mounted cabinet. It is very
much like a traditional pen-and-paper mechanical drawing.
bar at the right summarizes them. Figure 1 is an example. This is probably
Now that we're in a digital world, accurate, the most common type of drawing.
to-scale renderings haven't gone away. Au- • Section views show the interior of an ob- Classic Dimensioning Practices
tomation makes it much easier to produce ject as if the surface had been cut away. I learned these dimensioning practices in my first year of college. That was a long time
on-screen images and models. Hard cop- • Detail drawings present separate close- ago, before the advent of computer-assisted design. Nevertheless, I think they still apply.
ies are another matter. It would be nice to up views to show important details and
have a "Make Drawing" computer key, but dimensions that cannot be communi- • Place dimensions so they are easy to read and their meaning unmistakable.
until someone invents that, you'll have to cated clearly in a larger drawing. • Include enough dimensions so the reader does not have to make any arithmeti-
go through several steps to convert a 3D • Exploded views show the parts discon- cal computations.
SketchUp model into drawings you can nected from each other. • Don't duplicate dimensions.
print and take to the shop. • A cutlist is a table or spreadsheet iden- • Avoid placing dimension lines or dimension values on the component.
You can produce usable shop drawings tifying each component, along with its • Avoid crossing dimension lines.
with the free version of SketchUp. It does length, width, and thickness. It will also

chapter seven
identify how many components are re- How to make and modify scenes
quired and sometimes list the material You should have the Scenes dialog box bun-
and hardware. dled on screen with other functions, as ex-
• Templates are orthographic views of an plained in Chapter 1 and as shown in Figure
individual component at actual size or 2 with the model of the cabinet. Scene 1
tab
at a stated scale. Templates are typically Click on the Add Scene icon to open a
used for shaped and turned pieces. They new scene, as shown in Figure 3. SketchUp
are sometimes shown with a background adds a tab labeled Scene 1 and shows the
grid at scale, to make it easier to dupli- thumbnail picture and Scene 1 identified in
cate the shape. the open dialog box (Figure 2). Click on the
SketchUp will generate all of those draw- Name text box and name the scene Assem-
ing types (and more, such as X-Ray style) bly, as shown in Figure 4. The name changes
whether you use the free or Pro version. on the tab and in the dialog box.
Once you have the SketchUp model, you can Click on the Update Scene icon, the one
produce any drawing type with a few clicks showing a pair of arrows chasing each
of the mouse. If you change a component, other, to save the scene you just created.
every drawing that includes the component This saves the current view shown in the
will be updated automatically. modeling window.
When you make shop drawings by hand When you click on the Update Scene icon, Figure 2. The Scenes dialog box open on the assembled view of the cabinet.
with triangle, T-square, and compass, you another pop-up menu will appear. Click the
generally make them to scale: 1/4 in. equals Update button in this menu as well. Every
1 in., for example. In SketchUp, of course, time you update a scene, it takes two clicks.
Click here
you "build" full-size with the ability to pro- If you modify the view in a scene by or- to update
duce drawings in any scale. The key to gen- biting, panning, or zooming, you can easily the scene
erating shop drawings with SketchUp is its update the scene. Open the Scenes dialog
Scenes utility, which allows you to define, box, click on the title of the scene, and click
capture, and save multiple views and details. on the Update Scene icon again.
A scene can be an overall perspective view Now you have an easy way to return
of the complete cabinet, the associated ex- to this saved view with just a click of the Type here
ploded view, a full-size template, a close-up mouse. By creating additional scenes— Add to enter
look at a specific joint, or any variation you showing various parts, zoomed-in views, Scene the name
of the
can envision. You can generate as many orthographic views, an exploded view, and scene
scenes as you need for a given model. When so on—you build a complete, comprehen-
you print the scenes, you have a comprehensive design package.
sive document to use in the shop.
I'll use the wall-mounted cabinet from My standard scenes
Chapter 3 to illustrate how to create a Over the years, I've developed a fairly stan-
drawing package. Open the cabinet model dard set of scenes. They are based mainly on
again to work through the steps shown in personal taste, but tempered with feedback Figure 3. Click the icon shown to generate a Figure 4. Edit the name of the scene and
this chapter. from students, customers, and Fine Wood- new scene. update.

chapter seven
Video Tutorial: Creating an Exploded View
In this video I will show you how to create an exploded view and save it into a SketchUp Move/Copy Tool to separate the components in the model, moving them along the red,
scene. The first step is to make a copy of the assembled model and move it away from green, and blue axes. The aim is to spread out the components in order to expose all
the original along the red axis. After creating a scene called Exploded View, you use the the joinery.

chapter seven
working projects. Here's a rundown of the ing on the camera view, I may have to shift Click the Text Tool
scenes I normally use: a scene on the blue or green axes to avoid on each exploded
• Assembly—the overall assembly in per- interferences in the background. component to retrieve
the label
spective view, sometimes with a door With practice, you will find your own pre-
open, if applicable, and occasionally with ferred set of scenes.
shadows.
• Exploded view—I pull the model apart The exploded view
so each component is visible, and I dis- Select the fully assembled model and use the
play the name of each component. Move/Copy Tool to make a copy and move it
• Orthographic—A top, front, and end along the red axis. Use the Move/Copy Tool
view in orthographic projection, with to pull the assembly apart one component
dimensions. I often use Back Edges style at a time, arranging the components to suit.
to show hidden lines and to be able to For clarity, some components will have to be
dimension those hidden features. moved farther away than others. See Figure 5.
• Component perspective—Each compo- Use the Text Tool to label each compo-
nent will have at least one scene, a per- nent. When you click the tool on the com-
spective view with dimensions. I often ponent, SketchUp displays the default label
use Back Edges style for these scenes to text, with the exact name you gave the com-
show hidden edges and joint details. For ponent. If you don't like the default label, you
large components with complex joinery, can modify it by double-clicking the label
the scene may require several zoomed- and typing new text. Figure 5. Use the Text Tool to label the components in an exploded view.
in close-ups. The dimensions shown on There are plug-ins for SketchUp that can
these detailed perspective views should be downloaded and used to automatically make a third copy, and raise it up along the
not display on the larger overall perspec- "explode" the assembly. I don't use them. blue axis. Use the Move/Copy Tool to rotate
tive view of the component, and vice ver- Making an exploded view is very easy and each assembly 90 degrees, placing it into its
sa. To accomplish that, I use Layers for quick, and doing it manually gives me more respective top or end orientation, as shown
dimensions and text. I'll explain Layers control over the placement of parts. in Figure 6.
later in this chapter; see page 180. Once you have the components in the It helps to make the overall model a named
• Component template—Many compo- copy separated and labeled to your liking, component. That way, any adjustments and
nents need orthographic front, side, or make that view a new scene named Ex- changes to the overall model automatically
top views. These scenes are frequently ploded View. appear in all copies in the design file. Don't
used to create full-size templates. I often worry about lining up the assemblies on the
use Back Edges or X-Ray style for these The orthographic view green axis. The front view will look along the
scenes to show hidden joint details. I include a straight-on front, side, and top green direction, so displacements along that
I typically string these scenes along the view in the final documentation. To create axis won't matter.
red axis, with each addition stepping further this scene, make another copy of the as- Click on the Camera tab in the Menu bar.
away from the SketchUp origin,where the sembled model and move it farther along From the drop-down menu, choose Front
three axes meet. I leave some space between the red axis. Copy it again and move the for the standard view and choose Parallel
the scenes to avoid having a portion of one second copy to one side, being sure to stay Projection. Figure 7 shows the resulting Figure 6. To make an orthographic drawing,
scene visible at the edge of another. Depend- on the red axis. Go back to the first copy, view. You may need to nudge one or more rotate copies into front, top, and side views.

chapter seven
of the assemblies with the Move/Copy Tool
to space it appropriately. Be sure to keep the
Click this icon
moves on-axis. Open the Scenes dialog box, to create a
create a new scene named Orthographic new style
and update the scene.
You should now have three scene tabs: As-
sembly, Exploded, and Orthographic. Click
on each tab to switch between them.
The new style
I prefer to use Back Edges style in my or-
thographic views because it shows hidden
geometry and joinery. For example, shelves
that would not show in a normal style will
appear as dotted lines in the Back Edges Figure 8. To change the style for a scene, Figure 9. When the new style icon appears
style. Now, I can place dimensions on the begin by opening the Styles dialog box. in the dialog box, click the Edit tab.
orthographic view to locate the shelves.
Clicking on the Back Edges icon in the Figure 7. In Parallel Projection, the three
Face style toolbar will change the view, but copies appear as two-dimensional drawings.
only temporarily. To have a Back Edges view
whenever you select the Orthographic scene There is one more very important step Change this
tab requires some additional setup with to finalize the scene change to Back Edges label to Back
Edges
Styles. Here’s what to do. style. Open the Scene dialog box and click
Open the Styles dialog box, as shown in on the Update Scene icon. See Figure 12. The
Update
Figure 8. There is only one style in the file, Back Edges style is now attached to the Or- Styles
the Shaded With Textures default style. thographic scene. Whenever you select this icon
You need to create a new style for the Back scene, the view will be in Back Edges style.
Edges setting. Figure 10. Click the Back Edges check box. Figure 11. Name the new style.
Click on the icon for creating a new style, Dimensions
as shown in Figure 8. A new style thumb- The Dimension Tool, shown in Figure 13, is
nail will appear, as shown in Figure 9. Click quite intuitive and simple to use. Click on
on the Edit tab. The Styles dialog box will one end of an object to begin placing the
change to the edit page, as shown in Figure dimension, then move to the other end and
10. Click on the first cubic icon from the click again. The dimension lines will appear
left, for Edge Settings. Note the check box in whatever format you have chosen.
for Back Edges. Click on it to invoke the back Here is the only tricky part: As you move
edges setting. In the text box at the top of the the mouse, the dimension lines move, too.
dialog box, change the name of the style to You can decide where the dimension will fi-
Back Edges, as shown in Figure 11. Click on nally be placed by clicking the mouse again. Dimension
the Update Styles icon to save the changes Depending on your view of the model, the Tool
to this new style. The orthographic view will dimension can be placed along the red, blue, Figure 12. Update the scene so that it Figure 13. The location of the Dimension
immediately change to Back Edges. or green axis. You can also place a dimen- always opens in Back Edges style. Tool in the toolbar.

chapter seven
sion parallel to an angled component. As You can also change the way dimensions
you move the mouse and the dimension are displayed on the fly by right-clicking on
lines, you will see a red, green, or blue dot- them. I often do this to place the numbers
ted line appear. It tells you which axis the outside the start or end of the dimension
dimension is aligned with (Figure 13). line. See the 3/16-in. dimension in Figure 15,
If you don’t like the way a dimension ap- for example. You can make another on-the-
pears, use the Orbit Tool and try again. The fly change by highlighting the dimension
options for placing a dimension very much with the Select Tool and choosing Entity
depend on the current view. With an ortho- Info from the pop-up list. See Figure 16. In
graphic drawing, though, placing dimen- the Entity Info dialog box, you can switch to
sions is very straightforward. "Align to dimension" and change the text size
Here are some basic guidelines: or font, text position, or type of endpoints.
• Don’t place dimensions within the defini- After you place a dimension, you can shift Figure 14. Modify the way dimensions are Figure 15. Right-click on a dimension to
tion of a component—that is, if you have its location with the Move/Copy Tool. That displayed using the Model Info dialog box. change the text position on the model.
a component open for editing. If you in- moves it along the existing axis but won’t
clude dimensions within the definition, change its axis orientation. Sometimes this Layer 0. In fact, I initially place all dimen-
then they will appear in every copy of the movement can be jerky and the dimension sions and call-out text on Layer 0, but later
component, cluttering your scenes. will jump in larger steps that you desire. To revise these to the specific view layer. In that
• In general, I use the Text Tool to indi- have more control over the movements, I way, I never change from the active default
cate dimensions of circles, arcs, and sometimes select the dimension, then click Layer 0. This helps me avoid creating a jum-
holes. You can use the Dimension Tool the Move/Copy Tool on an edge anywhere bled mess on different layers and not having
instead, but only within the definition in the model (but along the axis of desired the proper things appear in the scenes.
of a component. And that may cause movement). Now when you move the Using Layers as I recommend means that
problems with dimensions showing up mouse, the adjustment of the dimension is you will be accessing both the Layers dialog
in unwanted places. smoother, incremental, and controlled. box (to define what layers show in a specific
• When dimensioning, zoom in close to The Dimension Tool can also be used to scene) and the Layers Toolbar (to assign a Figure 16. Select the dimension, choose En-
be sure you are connecting to the proper nudge and bump the location of a previously specific layer to dimensions and text). They tity Info, then switch to "Align to dimension."
place on a component. From far away, the placed dimension. Hovering the tool over do different things and need to be coordi-
dimension may attach to a point close to the dimension automatically selects it, and nated. Be sure both features are on your and another for the overall view.
but not exactly where you want it. the cursor changes to the Move/Copy shape. screen and within your SketchUp template. I find it useful to apply dimensions to lay-
• After placing dimensions, carefully in- In general, having dimensions on Layer 0 ers that are assigned to typical camera views.
spect their placement. Be sure that they Use layers to manage views (the default layer) will work. However, this That gives me more control over which di-
are on the proper axis and between the Like Photoshop and other drawing or im- will likely require you to create more copies mensions are displayed when I have more
correct endpoints. age-handling programs, SketchUp lets you of components, each with a separate scene, than one view for the same component. I set
There are various ways to change how di- create layers to show or hide different ele- to isolate dimensions specific to the views. up five layers within my SketchUp template:
mensions are displayed. You can find many ments for a drawing. In SketchUp, you can For example, the detail dimensions shown Detail View Dimensions/Text; Perspective
of those in the Window/Model Info/Dimen- associate a layer to a specific view, but I only for a close-up view will be unreadable in the View Dimensions/Text; Front View Dimen-
sions dialog box. See Figure 14. I set Leader apply those specific layers to the dimensions zoomed-out overall view of the component. sions/Text; Side View Dimensions/Text; and
Line Endpoints to None. I also choose Di- and call-out text. I leave all the basic graph- So you would need to have one copy of the Top View Dimensions/Text.
mensions Align to Screen. ics (lines, edges, faces, circles, arcs, etc.) on component for the close-up detailed view By using these alternative layers for di-

chapter seven
mensions and call-out text, I can have five View Dimensions/Text. That shifts all the
different views of the same component, all selected dimensions from Layer 0 to the
showing the dimensions in the clearest, perspective layer but does not change the
most appropriate way. default layer.
The next section shows how to assign ele- If you reverse the process, picking a layer
ments to a specific layer. on the Layers toolbar first, you will change
the default layer. You’ll probably forget that
Make a component scene happened and end up with a mess of graph-
When I create component scenes, I typi- ics on unintended layers.
cally copy the components from the Ex-
ploded View. You can copy one of the side Create a detail component view
components in the wall-mounted cabinet Often a component requires multiple views
and move it along the red axis. Arrange a to show all the necessary dimensions. In Figure 18. Open the Layers dialog box to
perspective view similar to the one shown this case, only overall dimensions could be check the appropriate layer for this scene.
in Figure 17. Open the Scenes dialog box, placed on the side perspective view. Read-
make a new scene named Side, and update able dimensions could not be placed on the
it. Place overall dimensions like those shown complex joinery at the ends. Here's how to
in Figure 17. Use the Orbit Tool and watch create a detail component view. Figure 17. Make a component scene using
the color of the dotted lines to be sure di- On the same copy of the side component, the wall-cabinet side.
mensions are properly aligned. On a large zoom in close on the top dovetail joinery.
component like this, it is impractical to Open the Layers dialog box, select Detail
place detail dimensions for the joinery. For Dimensions and Text, and uncheck the per-
that you will need separate close-up views. spective dimension layer. Open the Scenes
Open up the Layers dialog box, as shown dialog box and create a new scene named
in Figure 18, and click on the box to place a Side Dovetail Joinery. Update the view. See
check mark on the Perspective View Dimen- Figure 20. You should not see any of the pre- Figure 20. Zoom into the dovetail joinery
sions/Text layer. Be sure that the only other vious dimensions that were already placed and create a new scene. Add dimensions.
check mark is on Layer 0. That is the default in the overall side scene.
layer. Don’t change it. Now you can place detailed dimensions
Open the Scenes dialog box and update for the dovetail joints. Select all the dimen-
the scene. If you don’t, the layering of dimensions, open the Layers toolbar, uncheck Per- Figure 19. Move all the dimensions to the
sions will not work as intended. With the spective, and check Detail Dimensions and perspective layer in the Layers toolbar.
Scene updated, only Layer 0 and Layer Per- Text. These new dimensions will not be seen
spective graphics will be displayed. in the previous overall perspective scene. Here’s how to make a template.
The dimensions you placed on the side are With the Perspective View of the side
currently on Layer 0. To change the layer for Create a template view dovetails on the screen, click on the Right
those dimensions, use the Select Tool, hold One of the wonderful byproducts of Sketch- Side icon in the Standard Views toolbar.
down the Shift key, and click on each dimen- Up is the ability to make full-size templates. Click on the Camera tab in the Menu bar
sion in turn, as shown in Figure 19. Click on My students and I regularly print these tem- and choose Parallel Projection from the Figure 21. The template view of the side
the Layers toolbar and select Perspective plates and use them extensively in the shop. drop-down menu. dovetails.

chapter seven
Open the Scenes dialog box, add a new This opens the Print Setup dialog box, as
scene named Side Dovetail Template, and shown in Figure 22. Select the printer you
update it. You should now have a view and a will use, then set up the page size, source,
saved scene like the one shown in Figure 21. and page orientation. My preference is land-
I've added more detailed dimensions to scape, as this fits well with the computer
this template view, but we don’t want the screen. Click OK when you have finished.
new dimensions to show in the perspec- Click on File in the Menu Bar again; this
tive side scenes. To do that, open the Layers time, select Print Preview to open the Print
dialog box, check the Side View Dimen- Preview dialog box, as shown in Figure 23. I
sions/Text layer, and uncheck the Perspec- prefer using Print Preview because it gives
tive View Dimensions/Text layer. Open me a chance to see the results before com-
the Scenes dialog box and update the Side mitting to print and possibly wasting paper.
Figure 22. The Print Setup dialog box in Dovetail Template scene. Place the new de- This dialog box gives you the option to print
Windows. tailed dimensions and select them with the the current view, all pages, or any range of
Select Tool as you hold down the Shift key. the saved scenes. For Print Size, check Fit to
Figure 25. The Print Setup dialog box for
Click on the Layers Toolbar and choose the Page for general printing. Uncheck it when Macintosh.
Front View Dimensions/Text layer. printing full-size or scaled drawings. For
To see how you’ve done with the layering furniture-type SketchUp files with multiple
of dimensions and the different face styles, scenes, unclick the Use Model Extents box.
click on the different scene tabs. You can I set print quality to Standard, and I ignore
use these same procedures to create unique the Use High Accuracy HLR box; leave it
scenes for the other components. unchecked.
Click OK to display the print preview, as
Printing templates and other scenes shown in Figure 24. Scroll through the docu-
In the free version of SketchUp, each printed ment or the selected scenes you have cho-
page corresponds to one saved scene. Ex- sen to print. You can choose to see one or
cept for full-size templates, the number of two pages at a time. If you like what you see,
pages equals the number of scenes in the then click the Print button. The Print dialog Figure 26. The Page Setup dialog box on the
Figure 23. The Print Preview dialog box in SketchUp model. Because of their size, tem- box will return; click OK to finish the job. If Mac, where you select the printer.
Windows. plates require multiple sheets; the trick is to you aren’t satisfied with the print preview,
print them without wasting paper. click the Close button to back out and make
I’ll explain how to set up scenes and tem- your adjustments.
plates to print on Windows computers first, That’s all there is to it for simple printing
then on Macintosh computers. "Create a on Windows computers.
drawing package in Layout” on page 184
covers the expanded printing options avail- Print setup for Macintosh Click on File
able with the Pro version of SketchUp. in the Menu Bar and select Page Setup, as
shown in Figure 25. This opens a new screen,
Print setup for Windows Click on the File as shown in Figure 26. Use this screen to set Figure 27. One button at the bottom of the
Figure 24. The Print Preview Screen. tab in the Menu Bar and click on Print Setup. up the printing for landscape orientation. print screen lets you select Print Preview.

chapter seven
Video Tutorial: Making a Template Page in Layout
Full-size templates are extremely helpful in the shop when you have to lay out parts, this video shows how to make them in the Pro version using Layout. Layout has the
carve shapes, and position joinery. A key strength of using SketchUp is its ability to pro- added advantage of allowing you to produce full-size templates on large-size paper
duce these full-size templates. They can be created in the free version of SketchUp, but in the PDF format.

chapter seven
After completing the page setup, click active screen. (Similar buttons are in the
on File in the Menu Bar again. This time, upper-left-hand corner on Macs.) Figure 30
choose Print from the menu, which opens shows the buttons. Click on the middle but-
the Print screen, as shown in Figure 27. Click ton, for Restore Down, then adjust the size
on the Preview button. This opens the box of the window to eliminate as much white
shown in Figure 28. Check the Fit View to space as possible (Figure 31).
Page box, then click OK. Scroll through the Click on File in the Menu bar and choose
previewed pages and click the Print button Print Preview from the drop-down menu.
if you’re satisfied with the output. If not, you That opens a dialog box like the one shown
can back out of Preview and make adjust- in Figure 32. Be sure that Fit to Page is not
ments to the scene or the page settings. checked, that Use Model Extents is checked,
Figure 28. The Print Preview setup page and that the Scale is set to 1 to 1. I set the
on the Mac.
How to print full-size templates There are page orientation to Landscape, which is
Figure 32. The Print Preview dialog box
two key things to remember about making better for the wide component. The Print setup for templates.
templates in SketchUp. First, the Scene or Range shows only two pages, which is what
the view in SketchUp must have the Camera you want to see. Click OK. sheet, for instance, I can usually arrange all
set to Parallel Projection. You cannot print Click the Print button, then click OK in the the templates on one sheet as a PDF file;
a full-size template if the Camera is set to Print dialog box. it's a handy and ubiquitous format. You can
Perspective mode. This method has one drawback: It often print the PDF files with Adobe Acrobat on
Second, the view must be set to one of the jumbles the Toolbar positions at the top of a small home printer and patch the pages
Figure 29. The Print Preview dialog box in
standard views, such as Top, Front, Right, or the SketchUp screen. So I must return the together. Or, for less tedium, you can send
Windows. Left. When you set a standard view, avoid Toolbars to their original single-line location the file to a local print shop to output on a
using the Orbit Tool on that view, which ne- whenever I have to use this technique to large-format printer.
gates the standard view setting. You can use print a template. SketchUp provides a spe- You can also place dimensions in Layout.
the Pan Tool but not the Orbit Tool. cial command to return a saved position of However, I prefer to do them in SketchUp.
I’ll use the side dovetails as an example to Toolbars. You can find this under the View Layout is currently limited to orthographic
The Restore show how to print a full-size template. Tab/Toolbars/Restore Toolbar Positions. dimensions only, not perspective. To me this
Down button Click on the Dovetail Template Scene; this is a significant limitation since I think it is
opens the view shown in Figure 29. It’s in Create a drawing package in Layout most effective to have dimensions on per-
Parallel Projection and Right Side View. The Pro version of SketchUp comes with a spective views as well.
Figure 30. The button to adjust window size.
If the printer can handle only 81⁄2-in. by companion program called Layout. Its main Like SketchUp, the Layout interface for
11-in. paper, the template will have to be purpose is to allow you to produce profes- Mac OS X looks different than that for Win-
printed on multiple tiled pages. The trick sional-looking drawings from the model. dows. However, most operations are very
is to arrange the view of the component to Layout also gives you the best options for similar and accomplish the same things.
minimize the number of sheets needed. This making full-size templates. You can bundle In this section, I'll briefly show you how I
is my preferred method with the free version many templates on one page, print on large make drawings with Layout. This will not
of SketchUp. sheets, and export the pages as Adobe PDF be a detailed tutorial but a general presen-
In the upper right-hand corner of a Win- files. I use Pro and Layout exclusively when tation of how Layout works with SketchUp
dows computer are the three buttons to I package templates for my students or and how it can be used to enhance drawing
Figure 31. The component fills the window. Minimize, Restore Down, and Close the customers. By printing on a 24-in. by 36-in. output.

chapter seven
Introduction to Layout Figure 33 shows You can choose any scene from the list and
the full Layout screen with the first page of it will immediately appear in the frame.
the drawing for the wall-mounted cabinet. When you adjust the size of a scene, Lay-
This page includes two scenes from Sketch- out maintains original text size, including
Up, the Assembled View and the Back View, the dimension text. Therefore, text size is
and a small paragraph of text. The scenes consistent across the document no matter
and text are embedded in a standard sheet what variations exist in scene size.
format I created that includes a title block If you double-click on a scene in Layout,
and a frame border. Layout offers various you can orbit, pan, and zoom as if you were
built-in templates for these features, but operating in SketchUp. Therefore, you can
you can create your own. Also, you have adjust the camera view of a specific scene.
the option to select standard paper sizes for Building up the document is a matter of
your documents. I typically use two separate appending blank pages, inserting scenes, ad-
Layout files for each piece of furniture: one justing scene sizes, and adding text notes.
81/2 in.. by 11 in. for the multipage drawing My SketchUp file for the wall-mounted cabi-
details and notes and another 24 in. by net contains 38 scenes, and I'm able to have
36 in. for the full-size templates. a corresponding Layout with only18 pages.
For each Layout file, you specify the ref- When making a Layout document, I often
erence SketchUp file or files (you can have realize that I need to make a change or an Figure 33. The Layout screen with toolbar, dialog boxes, and the first page of the
multiple SketchUp files) in a File/Insert addition to the original SketchUp file. This wall-mounted cabinet drawing.
function. You select the file from your op- could be a result of a missing or awkwardly
erating system's file directory. The inserted placed dimension or of a need for an entirely
files are listed in a Document Setup dialog new scene. I will go back to SketchUp, make
box like the one shown in Figure 34. In this the modification, and save the file. When I
case, I only have two inserted files, the cabi- return to Layout, I "Update the Reference"
net's SketchUp file and a .jpg used for the by right-clicking on any scene and choosing
title block. that option from the pop-up menu. All the
scenes in Layout are immediately updated
Inserting and arranging scenes Each with the changes made in SketchUp. Any
SketchUp scene in Layout is held within new scenes are now available to be placed
an adjustable frame. These frames can be in Layout.
copied, pasted, and modified to contain a
different scene. Figure 35 shows the frame Making full-size templates in Layout
surrounding the carcase side. After placing With Layout you have the best options for
the scene, you can adjust its size, move it producing full-size templates. By select-
on the page, or even rotate it. Right-clicking ing large-scale paper, such as Arch D size
on the frame displays a menu, as shown in (24 in. by 36 in.), you can fit most of your
Figure 36. When you choose Scenes in this templates. This, in conjunction with the
menu, another fly-out menu lists all the ability to produce a PDF file, gives you a way
scenes within the reference SketchUp file. to distribute and print the document. Figure 34. The Document Setup dialog box in Layout showing document references.

chapter seven
Figure 35. Each scene is held in an adjust- Figure 36. Selecting a SketchUp scene to
able frame, as shown for the carcase side. display in a Layout frame.
For the wall-mounted cabinet, I've pro- make sure that each component is set to
duced a one-page PDF that includes all the Full Size (1:1).
full-size templates (Figure 37). I've included This dialog box also has a tab at the top Figure 37. The one-page Layout file printed on large paper. All of the full-size templates for
the back panel stile and the door stile that labeled Styles. Layout imports all the styles the cabinet are arranged on this single page.
fit comfortably within the 36-in. length of that exist in the SketchUp file. You have the
paper. There were no scenes within Sketch- option to switch styles in Layout, regard-
Up showing the stiles in a Front View Par- less of the choice you made when working
allel Projection. However, I was able to in SketchUp. I sometimes use this feature
produce those views in Layout and display to switch a component scene between Back
these templates. Edges, X-Ray, or Standard.
To set the page size in Layout, open the
Document Setup dialog box, as shown Including a cutlist With a popular, free
in Figure 38. By selecting Pages in the left plug-in called CutList (available as a down-
panel, you can expose the selection box for load at www.box.net/shared/ce18vpk36l),
paper size. A listing of options appears, as you can develop a cutlist based on the model Figure 38. The Document Setup dialog box Figure 40. Setting to Full Size (1:1) for
shown in Figure 38. components (Figure 41). Select the overall in Layout showing paper sizes. templates.
Figure 39 shows additional settings in the assembly of the model, click on the Plugins
Pages option of the Document Setup dialog tab in the Menu bar, and choose CutList. A
box. In the Rendering options, you have the dialog box opens, allowing you to customize
choice of the Edit Quality or the Output the output. I choose the option to produce
Quality. I set both parameters to High. a .csv file. Open the cutlist in a spreadsheet
Figure 40 shows the SketchUp Model program and edit it as needed.
dialog box within Layout. It allows you to I save the edited cutlist as a PDF file and
set the Scene, Standard View, and the scale import it into Layout. You could also use .jpg
within Layout. When creating templates, I or .png, but I find PDF to be a higher quality. Figure 39. Choosing High Quality Rendering. Figure 41. The cutlist in the Layout file.

Index
A shelves for, 68, 83 rabbets for, 11, 13, 31, 72, 77, 78, 163 Exploded View of, 10
Add Scene icon, 176 top of, 73, 75–79, 84 rails and stiles for, 43–45, 72, 73, 164–65 huntboard, 18
Adobe Acrobat, 184 Arts-N-Craftshardware.com, 93 recessed, 46–47 main components of, 10
Adult education course, 11 Assembled view resizing, 152, 162–65 media, 17
Align to Dimension, 180 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 66 shiplapped, 12, 13, 16, 84–85 traditional, 9–13
Align to Screen, 180 of back panels, 41 video tutorial for, 42 See also Arts-and-Crafts display
American Colonial corner cupboard. See corner cupboard lower cabinet, 101, 120 wall-mounted cabinet, 16, 41–47 cabinet; Wall-mounted cabinet
Corner cupboard corner cupboard upper cabinet, 130, 131 Backsplash, 81, 82–83 Camera tab
Angles of frame-and-panel doors, 56 Back View, 185 layers and, 180
Protractor Tool for, 35, 38–39 Layout software for, 185 Ball & Ball lock, 128 orthographic view and, 178–79
Rotate Tool for, 8 Shaker press cupboard, 171 Bands, decorative, 16 for resizing components, 157, 160–61
Aprons, 81–82, 83, 171 utility of, 178 Base molding, 136 templates and, 181
Arched cutouts & panels, 122–23, 124, wall-mounted cabinet, 25 Bevels, 7–8, 50, 127–28 See also Parallel Projection feature
127–28, 139 Axis Blanket chests, 13 Carcase
Arc Tool alignment of, 5 Blue axis (Z axis), 5, 6, 27, 71 for Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet,
for cove molding, 52, 54 arrow keys for, 6 Blue Scale about Opposite Point, 168 70–86
for crown molding, 136, 137 blue axis, 5, 6, 27, 71 Bookcase, Stickley #525, 150–58 bottom of, 29, 35–39, 76, 77–78, 84, 108,
for pilaster molding, 114 Change Axis function, 143 The Book of Shaker Furniture (Kassay), 159 130–32, 160–61
for profile shapes, 8 green axis, 5, 6, 27 Bottoms, 35–39 Colonial cupboard, 10–11
tracing lines with, 71, 72 resizing components and, 160 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 76, corner cupboard, 103, 104–10, 130–34
for turnings, 171 See also Red axis 77–78, 84 dovetail joints for, 30–34, 167
Arrow keys, 6 corner cupboard, 108, 130–32 Exploded View of, 11, 15, 40, 51
Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 2, 66–99 B drawer, 98, 99 mortise-and-tenon joints for, 35–39,
aprons and backsplash for, 81–83 Back Edges resizing, 160–61 106–108, 133, 135
assembled view of, 66 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 68 wall-mounted cabinet, 29 pine cupboard chest, 19
back panel for, 72–73, 84–85 for changing views, 179 Boundary enclosures, 159–60 pine wall cupboard, 15
bottom of, 76, 77–78, 84 for floating panels, 46 Bracket base, 10, 11–13 rails, 106, 122–23, 124, 132–33
carcase for, 70–86 for orthographic view, 178 Bullet catches, 51 reference rectangle in, 88
cut list for, 67 styles settings for, 3 Butt hinges, 13 resizing, 151–53, 159–67
dividers for, 68, 78–81 Back panels sides of, 27–28, 30, 70–74, 152, 167
drawers for, 95–100, 149 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 72–73, C stiles, 105–106, 132
Exploded View of, 69 84–85 Cabinetmaking and Millwork (Dahl and top of, 29, 30–34, 75–79, 84, 108, 133
hardware for, 92–93 Colonial cupboard, 10, 11, 12, 13 Wilson), 9 video tutorials for, 26, 31, 70, 75
leaded glass door for, 87–94 Exploded View of, 12, 43 Cabinets, 1, 9–20 wall-mounted cabinet, 16, 25–40
mortise-and-tenon joints for, 75–78, 82, floating panel for, 43, 45–46, 164 18th-century, 1, 2 Cascade Lead Products Ltd., 91
83, 84, 88–89 mortise-and-tenon joints for, 41, 43–45, definition of, 9 Catches, door, 92–93
resizing components of, 150–58 73, 74 display, 9, 20 Chamfer, 84

index
Change Axis function, 143 assembled view of, 101, 120, 130, 131 D muntins for, 8, 138, 140, 143–47, 154–56
Chests carcase, 103, 104–10, 130–34 Dadoes resizing, 153–57, 168–70
blanket, 13 cornice molding for, 119 deleting, 153 sliding-glass, 20
pine cupboard, 19 crown molding for, 136, 137 pine wall cupboard, 15 See also Frame-and-panel doors
Circles, 113, 127–28 cut list for, 103 for shelves, 11, 49, 165, 167 Door stiles
Circle Tool Exploded View of, 104, 107, 110, 121, Dahl, Alf, 9 for frame-and-panel doors, 13, 57, 59,
for arched cutouts, 139, 141 131, 136, 138 Darker setting, 83 60–61, 121–22, 123
for fluted pilasters, 111 fluted pilasters for, 111, 135–36 Decorative bands, 16 for glazed doors, 138, 141–43
for profile shapes, 8 front facing for, 115–18 Design process, 148 for leaded glass doors, 87, 88–89, 91
for saw kerfs, 37 glazed doors for, 136–47 Detail Dimensions and Text, 181 muntin intersection with, 8, 145
for shank holes, 55 hardware for, 128 Detail drawings, 175, 180, 181 resizing, 153–54, 168–70
for shelf support holes, 108 lower cabinet, 103, 104–29 Dialog boxes, minimized clump of, 4, 5 Door stops, 93
for turnings, 63–64 lower cabinet doors for, 121–29 Dimensional drawings, 175 Dotted-line boxes, 7
Cleats, 13 orthographic view of, 109 Dimensions, 5, 180 Dovetail joints
See also French cleats shelf support holes for, 107, 108 Dimensions Tool, 179–80 for blanket chest plinths, 13
Colonial cupboards, 9–13 shelves for, 118–19, 134 Display cabinets, 9, 20 carcase, 10–11, 30–34, 167
See also Corner cupboard upper cabinet, 103, 129–47 See also Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet for drawers, 16, 80, 95, 96, 97–100, 174
Component perspective, 178 video tutorials for, 111, 139, 140 Divide function, 32 half, 19, 33, 95, 165–67
Components, 5–7 Cornice molding Dividers half-blind, 11, 18, 96, 97–98
copying, 7 Colonial cupboard, 10, 13 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 68, increasing the number of, 162
editing, 6, 7 corner cupboard, 119 78–81 pine cupboard chest, 19
how to make, 6–7 Exploded View of, 12 resizing, 153, 157 pins of, 34, 98, 163
inset, 77, 79, 87 wall-mounted cabinet, 16 sliding dovetails for, 78 removing, 163
mirroring, 28 Countersunk holes, 55 Document Setup dialog box, 186 for shelves, 165–67
moving, 6, 7 Cove molding, 52–55, 170 Door catches, 92–93 sliding, 16, 78, 81
naming, 27, 130 Craftsman (magazine), 66 Door handles, 62–65, 92–93, 170 tails of, 32–34
overlapping, 25 Create button, 27 Door latches, 51 through, 11, 96, 98–99
resizing, 148–74 Create Component dialog box, 27 Door locks, 128, 147 for top rails, 18
See also Edit Component feature; Make Crosslapped joints, 146–47 Door pulls, 87 video tutorial for, 31
Component function Crown molding, 5, 136, 137 Door rails waste from, 33, 34, 98
Component scenes, 181 Cupboards arched cutouts in, 122–23, 124, 139 Dowels, 63–64
Components dialog box, 4, 5 Colonial, 9–13 for frame-and-panel doors, 57–60, 61, Drawer pulls, 100
Construction of American Furniture definition of, 9 121–24, 139 Drawers, 95–100
Treasures (Margon), 101, 102 pine wall, 15 for glazed doors, 141–43 Arts and-Crafts display cabinet, 95–100,
Cope cutter, 126, 140, 144–45 See also Corner cupboard; Shaker press for leaded glass doors, 87, 88, 89–90, 91 146
Coped joints, 121, 126–27, 140, 144–45 cupboard muntin intersection with, 145 dividers for, 80
Copying, 7 Curved shapes. See Arc Tool; Circles; resizing, 154, 168–70 dovetail joints for, 16, 80, 95, 96, 97–100, 174
See also Move/Copy Tool Turned components Doors huntboard cabinet, 18
Corner cupboard, 101–47 Cut lists, 22, 67, 103, 175–76 glazed, 136–47, 153–57 scaling, 149
arched top rails for, 122–23, 124, 139 leaded glass, 87–94 Shaker press cupboard, 171, 174

index
video tutorials for, 95 creating, 14, 177, 178 resizing, 170 Full-size templates, 148, 184, 185–86
wall-mounted cabinet, 16 definition of, 175 Fluted pilasters, 111–15, 135–36 Furniture Treasury (Nutting), 9
Drawings display cabinets, 20 Folder Box, 148 G
detail, 175, 180, 181 drawers, 96 Follow Me Tool Glass, leaded, 90–92
dimensional, 175 18th-century cabinet, 2 for arched cutouts, 124, 139 Glazed doors, 136–47, 153–57
Layout software for, 173, 183, 184–86 of frame-and-panel doors, 8, 57, 121 for beveled edges, 127–28 Glue, 55
measured, 101, 102 of glazed doors, 138 for chamfers, 84 Glue blocks, 117, 118
shop, 1, 2, 175–86 huntboard cabinet, 18 for cornice molding, 119 Gochnour, Chris, 21, 51, 57, 65
types of, 175–76 leaded glass doors, 87 for cove molding, 52, 54–55 Google SketchUp. See SketchUp
Drawing tools, 4, 5, 7 media cabinet, 17 for crown molding, 136, 137 Google SketchUp Guide for Woodworkers
Dunbar, Mike, 9, 11, 13 pine wall cupboard, 15 for fluted pilasters, 111, 113–14 (Killen), 1, 3
table base, 174 for front facings, 117 Graying out lines, 83
E utility of, 178 introduction to, 7–8 Green axis (Y axis), 5, 6, 27
EBooks, 22 video tutorials for, 13, 14, 177 for leaded glass, 91 Green grips, 149
Edit Component feature, 7, 119 wall-mounted cabinet, 16, 23, 40, 43, 177 for leaded glass doors, 92 Grips, green, 149
Editing, 7, 28 Explode feature, 44–45 for molding profiles, 115 Grooves
18th-century cabinets, 1, 2, 5 Extraneous lines, 8, 74 for resizing molding, 170 for back panels, 44, 47
Entertainment (media) cabinets, 17 for shoe molding, 118 for drawer bottoms, 98
Entity Info, 180 F for turnings, 7–8, 62, 63–64, 171 for frame-and-panel doors, 58, 60, 61,
Eraser Tool Face frame Frame-and-panel cabinet, 18 123, 127
for copied components, 46 Colonial cupboard, 10, 11, 12, 13 Frame-and-panel doors for mullions, 125
for deleting, 163 pine wall cupboard, 15 Colonial cupboard, 10, 13, 15 removing, 162–63
for dovetail waste, 98 Faces, creating, 27 Exploded View of, 8, 57, 121 for shelf pins, 83
for miter joints, 56 Face style, 4, 179 grooves for, 58, 60, 61, 123, 127 Guidelines
for resizing components, 162 Fine Woodworking lower corner cupboard, 121–29 angled, 35, 38–39
for saw kerfs, 37 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet plan, 66 mortise-and-tenon joints for, 13, 58–61, for carcase sides, 27
for tenon waste, 36, 37, 60 Colonial cupboard plan, 9, 11 91, 128, 141, 142 for circles, 113
for turning waste, 63–64 on measured drawings, 102 panels for, 60, 61, 121, 127–28 for dovetail joints, 32
for waste, 8 wall-mounted cabinet plan, 16, 21, 49, 51 rails for, 57–60, 61, 121–24, 139 for leaded glass, 91
for wedged tenons, 39 Fingernail molding, 121, 126–27, 142–43 resizing, 168–70
Exploded View Flip Along function Shaker press cupboard, 168–70 H
Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 69 for French cleats, 50 stiles for, 13, 57, 59, 60–61, 121–22, 123 Hack, Garrett, 16
of back panels, 12, 43 introduction to, 7 wall-mounted cabinet, 56–61 Half-blind dovetail joints, 11, 18, 96, 97–98
carcase, 11, 15, 40, 51 for mirroring components, 28 French cleats Half-dovetails
Colonial cupboard, 10, 11, 12 for mortises, 39, 89 back panel for, 43, 46–47 carcase, 33–34
corner cupboard doors, 121 for tenons, 44, 78 details of, 22, 41 for drawers, 95
corner cupboard lower cabinet, 104, Floating panels making, 48–50 pine cupboard chest, 19
107, 110 for back panels, 43, 45–46, 164 removing, 162–63 for shelves, 165–67
corner cupboard upper cabinet, 131, for frame-and-panel doors, 60, 61, 121, strength of, 21 Handberg, Ejner, 19
136, 138 127–28 Front facing, 115–18 Handles, door, 92–93, 170

For Evaluation Only.
Copyright (c) by VeryPDF.com Inc.
Edited by VeryPDF PDF Editor Version 4.1
index
H channel, 91, 92 .jpg files, 71, 114, 186 for fluted pilasters, 111 Materials dialog box, 4, 5
Height, resizing, 151–52 for front facings, 117 Measured drawings, 101, 102
H-hinges, 13, 128 K for grooves, 47 Measurements Box, 5, 6, 71
Hidden Geometry, 135–36 Kassay, John, 159 introduction to, 5, 8 Media cabinets, 17
Hinge mortises, 157 Kerfs, saw, 36–37 for mortises, 38–39 Minimized clump format, 4, 5
Hinges Kettell, Russell Hawes, 15 for profile shapes, 54, 114 Mirroring components, 28
Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 92–93 Keyholes, 147 for rabbets, 133 Mirroring joints, 60
butt, 13 Knife hinges, 51, 62, 65, 168–69 for removing components, 163 Miter joints
knife, 51, 62, 65, 168–69 scanned images and, 71 closing gaps in, 117
Hinge strips, 87–88, 156–57 L for slats, 85 for cornice molding, 13
Home Craftsman, 102 Lap joints, 155, 156 for stiles, 44 for cove molding, 55
Huntboard cabinets, 18 Large Tool Set, 4, 5 for tenons, 43 for door rails, 56, 59–60
Latches, door, 51 for tops, 133 for front facings, 116, 117
I Layers dialog box, 4, 5, 182 for tracing, 132 splined, 105–106, 108, 129
Images. See Scanned images Layers toolbar, 4, 5, 180–81 for turnings, 171 Model dialog box, 186
Import function, 8, 70, 71, 114 Layout (software), 175, 183, 184–86 Local Collection, 148 Model Info feature, 3, 83
Inferences, 39 Leaded glass doors, 87–94 Locks, door, 128, 147 Models & modeling
Inset components, 77, 79, 87 Leader Line Endpoints, 180 drawings from, 176
Intersect Faces function Legs M sequence of, 22
for coped joints, 126 display cabinet, 20 Macintosh computers See also Resizing components; Scaling
introduction to, 8 huntboard cabinet, 18 Layout software for, 184 Molding
for mullions, 125 media cabinet, 17 Option key, 28, 33, 134 base, 136
for muntins, 145, 146 table, 170–71, 172 printing, 182, 184 coped joints for, 121, 126–27
Intersections, 8 Length, extending, 5, 100, 130, 132, toolbars, 4 cornice, 10, 12, 13, 16, 119
See also Joints 135–36 Magazine cabinet. See Wall-mounted cove, 52–55, 170
iPad, 22 See also Resizing components cabinet crown, 5, 136, 137
IR extender, 17 Lines Make Component function fingernail, 121, 126–27, 142–43
Isometric view, 21 arrow keys for, 6 for carcase bottoms, 29 Follow Me Tool for, 7–8
dividing, 97 for carcase sides, 27 pilaster, 114–15
J equal segments of, 30, 32 for changing component names, 130 shoe, 118
Joints extraneous, 8, 74 introduction to, 5–6 video tutorial for, 137
coped, 121, 126–27, 140, 144–45 graying out, 83 Maloof, Sam, 148 Mortise-and-tenon joints
crosslapped, 146–47 length of, 5 Margon, Lester, 101, 102 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 75–78,
lap, 155, 156 tracing, 71–72, 117 arched cutout design by, 141 82, 83, 84, 88–89
mirroring, 60 See also Guidelines coped joints by, 145 for back panels, 41, 43–45, 73, 74
resizing, 153, 157, 161, 167, 169–70 Line Tool door design by, 121 for carcases, 35–39, 106–108, 133, 135
shiplap, 12, 13, 16, 84–85 for carcase components, 27, 29, 104, 132 on hinges, 128 deleting, 163
splined, 105–106, 108, 129 for chamfers, 84 measured drawings by, 101, 102, 104 display cabinet, 20
See also Dovetail joints; Mortise-and- for crown molding, 136, 137 molding profiles by, 114, 119, 137 for face frames, 11
tenon joints for dovetail joints, 32–33, 34, 97, 166 on top & bottom fasteners, 108 for frame-and-panel doors, 13, 58–61,

For Evaluation Only.
Copyright (c) by VeryPDF.com Inc.
Edited by VeryPDF PDF Editor Version 4.1
index
91, 128, 141, 142 for resizing components, 132, 148, 150, 158 table leg, 170–71 for dovetail joints, 80, 97, 166
for French cleats, 49–50 for resizing doors, 153–54, 155, 157, utility of, 178 for front facings, 116
huntboard cabinet, 18 168, 169 wall-mounted cabinet, 24 introduction to, 7
for muntins, 145–47 for resizing joints, 157, 161 Overlapping components, 25 for miter joints, 56, 59
pine cupboard chest, 19 for resizing molding, 170 for mortises, 38
pine wall cupboard, 15 for shank holes, 55 P for tenons, 58–59
resizing, 153, 157, 161, 167, 169–70 for shelf support holes, 134 Panels for wedged tenons, 39
for table legs, 171 for tenons, 37, 60 arched top, 127–28 Push/Pull Tool, 5
X-Ray view of, 35, 39, 44, 50, 61, 106, 133 vs. Scale Tool, 148, 149, 158 floating, 43, 45–46, 60, 61, 121, 127–28, for aprons, 81–82
Mortises Movement tools, 4, 6 164, 170 for carcase bottoms, 29
for back panel stiles, 44–45, 72, 74 Mullions, 122, 124–27 raised, 17 for carcase sides, 27, 28
for carcase tops, 73, 77–78 Muntins, 8, 138, 140, 143–47, 154–56 See also Back panels for chamfers, 84
deleting, 163 Pan Tool, 4 for dadoes, 49
for frame-and-panel doors, 13, 59, 60, N Parallel Projection feature, 157, 160–61, for door pulls, 93
61, 88–89 Nails, 13 178–79, 181 for door rails, 89
hinge, 157 Naming components, 27, 130 Partitions. See Dividers for dovetail joints, 33, 34, 98, 166
resizing, 161, 169–70 Normal view, 3 Patterns, 148 for floating panels, 46, 61
for table legs, 171 Nutting, Wallace, 9 PDF files, 11, 71, 114, 184, 185, 186 for fluted pilasters, 112, 114
through, 36, 38–39, 75 Pegged tenons, 128 for French cleats, 50
Mouse, multitasking with, 4 O Pekovich, Michael, 66, 83, 84, 87, 90–91, 93 for grooves, 47, 83
Move/Copy Tool Offset Tool Perspective View, 175, 181 for inset components, 77, 79
arrow keys for, 6 for floating panels, 45–46, 127 Perspective View Dimensions/Text layer, 181 for leaded glass doors, 92
for chamfers, 84 for shank holes, 55 Pieces. See Components for lengthening, 135
for creating Exploded Views, 177 for shelves, 119 Pilaster molding, 114–15 for molding length, 142
for door handles, 64 for tops, 133 Pilasters, fluted, 111–15, 135–36 for molding profiles, 123
for dovetail joints, 33, 34, 97–98 Open or Create a Local Collection, 148 Pine cupboard chests, 19 for mortises, 38, 44, 45, 78, 89
for drawers, 99, 100 Open shelves, 24 The Pine Furniture of Early New England for mullions, 125
for Exploded Views, 14, 178 Option key (Macintosh computers), 28, (Kettell), 15 for muntins, 144, 146
introduction to, 7 33, 134 Pine wall cupboards, 15 for rabbets, 58, 78, 89, 99, 108, 133
for lengthening, 135–36 Orbit Tool Pinned tenons, 84 for removing components, 163
for mirroring components, 28 for carcase bottoms, 29 Plinth, 10, 11–13 for resizing components, 156, 169
for miter joints, 117 for dimensions, 180 Plug-ins, 178, 186 for resizing joints, 162
for molding profiles, 115 for resizing components, 156 .png files, 71, 114, 186 for shank holes, 55
for mortise-and-tenon joints, 61 uses for, 4 Post-and-panel construction, 17 for shelf support holes, 108
for mortises, 39 Orthographic view Printing templates and scenes, 182, 184 for shelves, 119
for orthographic view, 178 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 68 Profiles, 7–8, 54, 114 for slats, 85
for recessed panels, 46–47 corner cupboard, 109 See also Molding for tenons, 36, 37, 43–44, 58–59, 64, 78,
for resizing back panels, 164–65 creating, 178–79 Protractor Tool 79, 82, 91
for resizing carcase components, 152, definition of, 175, 176 for angled guidelines, 35, 38–39 for thickness, 29, 73, 74, 79, 88
160, 162 table base, 173 for corner cupboard lower cabinet, 104 for wedged tenons, 39

index
R doors, 153–57, 168–70 Screws, 13, 55, 108 Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture and
Rabbets joints, 153, 157, 161, 167, 169–70 Scroll cuts, 115–18, 134 Woodenware, Volume III (Handberg), 19
for back panels, 11, 13, 31, 72, 77, 78, 163 video tutorial for, 150 Section view, 175 Sideboards, 18
for corner cupboard carcase, 104, 105, Rotate Tool Select Tool Sizing. See Scaling
106, 108, 133 for hinges, 65 for arched cutouts, 124 SketchUp
in door rails, 90 introduction to, 8 for cove molding, 54–55 free version, 2
in door stiles, 88–89 for molding profiles, 115 for dimensions, 180 introduction to, 1, 3–8
in drawer sides, 99 scanned images and, 71 for door rails, 57 plug-ins for, 178, 186
in frame-and-panel doors, 56, 57, 58, 61 for splined joints, 106 for fluted pilasters, 114 SketchUp Pro version, 2, 175
mitered, 56 for French cleats, 50 Slats, 84–85, 152
pine wall cupboard, 15 S for molding length, 142–43 Sliding dovetail joints, 16, 78, 81
resizing, 154, 170 Saw kerfs, 36–37 for resizing components, 151–52 Sliding-glass doors, 20
stopped, 147 Scale Tool for saw kerfs, 37 Southern huntboard cabinets, 18
Rails for fluted pilasters, 111, 112–13, 114 for tenons, 37 Splined miter joints, 105–106, 108, 129
arched cutouts in, 122–23, 124 introduction to, 8 Shaded With Textures, 4, 179 Standard toolbar, 4, 5
back panel, 43–44, 164–65 limitations of, 148, 149 Shaker press cupboard, 159–74 Stickley, Gustav, 66, 151
carcase frame, 106, 122–23, 124, 132–33 for resizing, 148, 168, 170 assembled view of, 171 Stickley #525 Bookcase, 150–58
display cabinet, 20 vs. Move/Copy Tool, 148, 149, 158 frame-and-panel doors for, 168–70 Stickley Brothers, 102
huntboard cabinet, 18 Scaling resizing wall-mounted cabinet for, Stickley large O-drawer pull, 93
table, 171 doors, 168 159–70 Stiles
See also Door rails drawers, 149 table base for, 159, 167, 170–74 back panel, 43, 44–45, 72, 73, 164–65
Raised panels, 17 fluted pilasters, 113 Shaker-style wall cabinet, 2 carcase frame, 105–106, 132
Rare-earth magnets, 93 imported plans, 70 Shank holes, 13, 55 door handle, 64–65
Rectangles vs. stretching, 130 Shelf pins, 83, 108 stretching, 132
drawing, 27 See also resizing components Shelf support holes, 107, 108, 134 See also Door stiles
reference, 88 Scanned images Shelves Stopped rabbets, 147
Red axis (X axis) Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 71–73 adjustable, 118–19 Stretching, 130, 132, 135–36, 150
alignment to, 5, 6 importing, 71 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 68, 83 See also Resizing components
for mirroring components, 28 of molding profiles, 114 corner cupboard, 118–19, 134 Stub tenons, 75, 78, 146
scaling on, 149 rotating, 8 dadoes for, 11, 49, 165, 167 Styles dialog box, 3, 4, 5, 179
scanned images on, 71 scaling, 70 open, 24 Styles toolbar, 4, 5
Red command, 28, 39, 89 of shelf scroll cuts, 134 removable, 83
Red Scale about Opposite Point, 168 See also Import function resizing, 165 T
Reference rectangles, 88 Scenes utility spacing between, 24 Table base, Shaker press cupboard, 159,
Remote control, 17 for component scenes, 181 Stickley bookcase, 165–67 167, 170–74
Removable shelves, 83 for drawings and views, 176 for wall-mounted cabinet, 48, 49 Table legs, 170–71, 172
Rendering options, 186 Layout software and, 185 Shiplap joints, for back panels, 12, 13, 16, Tablet computers, 22
Replace Selection with Component, 57 minimized clump format for, 4, 5 84–85 Tangent at Vertex, 72
Resizing components, 148–74 standard, 176, 178 Shoe molding, 118 Tape Measure Tool
carcase, 151–53, 159–67 updating, 179 Shop drawings, 1, 2, 175–86 for carcase sides, 27

index
for corner cupboard lower cabinet, 104 3D view, 1, 5, 175 for dovetail joints, 31 Waste
for corner cupboard upper cabinet, 132 Through dovetail joints, 11, 96, 98–99 for drawers, 95 from dovetail joints, 33, 34, 98
for dadoes, 49 Through mortises, 36, 38–39, 75 for Exploded Views, 13, 14 Eraser Tool for, 8, 34
for dividers, 80 Through tenons, 57, 75, 77, 84 for fluted pilasters, 111 from tenons, 36, 37
for dovetail joints, 32, 97 Toolbars, customizing, 3–5 for resizing components, 150 Wedged tenons, 36–38, 39, 157
for floating panels, 46 Top camera view, 160–61 for templates, 183 Welcome screen, 3
for grooves, 47, 61 Tops for turning a table legs, 172 Wilson, James, 9
introduction to, 5 Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 73, for the wall-mounted cabinet, 26, 31, 42 Windows printing, 182
for mirroring components, 28 75–79, 84 View Dimensions/Text, 181 www.delphiglass.com, 91
for mortises, 38 corner cupboard, 108, 133 Views www.horton-brasses.com, 93
for saw kerfs, 37 resizing, 161–62 changing, 179
scanned images and, 71 wall-mounted cabinet, 29, 30–34 layers of, 180–81 X
for stiles, 44 Tracing lines, 71–72, 117 normal, 3 X axis (Red axis), 5, 6, 28, 71
for tenons, 43 Traditional cabinets, 9–13 types of, 175–76 X-Ray view
Templates Translucent_Glass_Gray material, 92, See also Exploded View; Orthographic of dividers, 79
component, 178 147 view; X-Ray view of door hinges, 65
creating, 181–82, 183 Turned components Views toolbar, 4, 5 of dovetail joints, 33, 97
customizing, 3 door handle, 63–64 of extraneous lines, 74
definition of, 176 Follow Me Tool for, 7–8, 62 W of fluted pilasters, 114
full-size, 148, 184, 185–86 table legs, 171 Wall-mounted cabinet, 16, 21–56 of leaded glass doors, 88
Layout software for, 185 Tutorials. See Video tutorials back panel for, 16, 41–47 of mortise-and-tenon joints, 35, 39, 44,
printing, 182, 184 TVs, 17 carcase for, 25–40, 51 50, 61, 82, 106, 133
video tutorial for, 183 cove molding for, 52–55 for removing components, 163
Tenons U cut list for, 22 for resizing components, 152, 153, 161,
for back panel rails, 43–44 U channel, 91, 92 design considerations for, 24 162, 169, 170
chamfer on, 84 Undo/Redo toolbar, 4 door handles for, 62–65 of scanned images, 73
for door handles, 64 Update Style icon, 176 dovetail joints for, 30–34 for stretching components, 132
for frame-and-panel doors, 13, 58–60, drawing package for, 176–86 styles settings for, 3
61, 90, 91 V Exploded View of, 16, 23, 40, 43, 51, 177 of tenons, 78, 79
pegged, 128 V-cut, 145 frame-and-panel doors for, 56–61 wall-mounted cabinet, 25
pinned, 84 Vertical axis. See Blue axis French cleats for, 21, 22, 41, 43, 46–47,
resizing, 153, 154, 157, 161, 169 Video tutorials, 2 48–50 Y
saw kerfs in, 36–37 for arched cutouts, 139 hinges for, 51, 62 Y axis (Green axis), 5, 6, 27
stub, 75, 78, 146 for the Arts-and-Crafts display cabinet, 70 mortise-and-tenon joints for, 35–39
table base, 173 for back panels, 42 orthographic dimensional view of, 24 Z
through, 57, 75, 77, 84 for carcases, 26, 31, 70, 75 resizing, 159–70 Z axis (Blue axis), 5, 6, 27, 71
waste from, 36, 37, 60 for coped muntins, 140 shelf for, 48 Zinc U channel, 91, 92
wedged, 36–38, 39, 157 for cove molding, 53 templates for, 183, 186 Zoom Tool, 4
See also Mortise-and-tenon joints for creating Exploded Views, 177 video tutorials for, 26, 31, 42
Thickness, 29, 73, 74, 79, 88 for crown molding, 137 X-Ray view of, 25

Fine Woodworking's Google SketchUp® Guide For Woodworkers Traditional Cabinets (PDFDrive)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fine Woodworking's Google SketchUp® Guide For Woodworkers Traditional Cabinets (PDFDrive)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fine Woodworking's Google SketchUp® Guide For Woodworkers Traditional Cabinets (PDFDrive)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Guide Atfor

the time of publication,

All rights reserved.

Editor: David Heim

1 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

2 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

3 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Views Toolbar The six icons represent

4 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

5 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

6 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

7 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

8 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Cabinet Types and Structures

Cabinet? Cupboard? What's in a Name?

9 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Carcase The carcase or case (Figure 4) con-

10 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

11 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

12 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Back Panel Figure 8 shows the exploded Additional Cabinet Varieties

13 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

14 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

15 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

16 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

17 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

18 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

19 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

20 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

21 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

22 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Figure 3. An exploded view of the cabinet parts.

23 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Figure 4. Front, side, and top orthographic dimensioned views.

24 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

25 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

26 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 1 As shown in Figure 7, arrange the

Step 2 If you have drawn the rectangle cor-

27 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 4 Now you will begin creating a mir-

28 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 6 As you can see from Figure 6, the

Step 7 The top component is created in the

29 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

30 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

31 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 8 Use the Tape Measure Tool to cre-

Step 9 Use the Tape Measure Tool to place

32 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 11 Switch to X-Ray from the Styles

Step 12 When you have placed all the

33 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 13 Use the tails in the side component

34 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

35 F IN E W O O DW O RKING SKETC HUP GUID E FO R W O O DW O RKER S : T R AD I T IO NAL C ABIN ET S

Step 14 Begin by making the tenons on one

Step 15 Place parallel vertical guidelines on

Step 16 Next, you will add the saw kerfs