Taking a project from concept to presentation using SketchUp and LayOut. After some stumbles, some test plots and some thought about work flow – I have to say I’m happy with the results. These float somewhere between traditional CAD drawings and hand work – and I love being able to add some color and 3D elements to otherwise lifeless building section details. I published these to a PDF set of drawings and tuned the textures, line weights, and fonts to work as color or black and white prints. Full size is 24×36 – and these are JPGs from PDFs.
SketchUp + Layout
March 7th, 2010TFG Eastern Conference
October 20th, 2009
Virtual joinery, shop drawings, and the core of using SketchUp for timber frame design.
I’ll be teaching a SketchUp preconference workshop at the Timber Framer’s Guild Eastern Conference. I’m stepping in for Clark Bremer who had some last minute plan changes and will not be able to make the trip. The course is filling fast – sign up with the TFG – I hope to see you in Saratoga!
Embedding SketchUp
July 15th, 2009This is a test post using the SketchUp Web Exporter. Pretty simple way to embed ‘3d’ SketchUp into a website… and there’s more in the works with a simple hack to replace the images generated by the script with images saved as scenes. Currently it seems to run a bit cleaner in IE and Google Chrome. FireFox gets ’stuck’ and it sometimes lurches between images…
Way Back
June 10th, 2009I found a few pics scanned from slides to CD of my formative timber frame years. The snap below is from a barn repair and conversion I collaborated on outside of Columbus, Ohio. The hewn oak swing beam is 12″ thick and 24″ tall at the center. The posts are gunstocked in the direction of the plates and there was an interlocking tie / plate / post joint to bring everything together.

Swing beam - typical of Bent 2 and 3. Hewn white oak.
Recent Work – Salina, KS
May 29th, 2009
Private Residence in Salina, KS.
Architect – David Exline
Builder – Bill Davis of Davis and Associates
Timber Frame – Mike Beganyi / New Energy Works
Timber Frame Materials – Douglas Fir and RF Dried Douglas Fir
Photos courtesy of David Exline.
SketchUp for Timber Framers and Designers
May 11th, 2009
SketchUp for Timber Framers and Designers 2008 class photo.
There are still a few seats remaining for the SketchUp for Timber Framers and Designers at Heartwood May 25-27, 2009. Contact Will (will (at) heartwoodschool (dot) com for more details, or visit the Heartwood website.

Traditional joinery and shop drawings...

...and tricks and tips for modeling compound joinery.
Interesting Tree – SFO
May 10th, 2009
Spiral trunk...
Interesting tree found on the Land’s End trail in San Francisco. Whipped by the wind and living in the fog it reminds me of another tree that lives in a very different environment back east. Turning north we had a great view to the bridge.

View to the bridge...
Roof Carpentry
May 8th, 2009Found via a link from the Timber Framer’s Guild Design Forum.
Happy Earth Day
April 22nd, 2009
Its the only one we've got...
Life on Two Wheels
April 6th, 2009
North Light on the Burlington Waterfront.
A recent snap from one of my early morning rides. Spring is slowly showing itself… life on two wheels returns to form.























