Amazing! Now, let’s say that your table saw fence was off by a 1/16", which can be common in many shops, would you tell your students that your table saw is cutting wrong and they should always keep in mind about the offset? Or would you rather fix the problem?
Personally I would show the students how to fix the problem. And if they were apprentices I would chastise them for not fixing it before I found it.
The idea that the “problem” can be fixed is a figment of your imagination. Born from an understandable ignorance of how modeling software works. It not like the software is broken and needs a fix, rather it’s a bit like you are asking to fix the pesky gravity problem this planet has so we can call fly around as we wish to, or wishing the table saw was a router. In order to maintain accuracy a modeling system must pick a range of scale to limit to, SketchUp is designed around real world architecture scale. It cannot handle -1/1000 of an inch and it cannot handle 100 miles across, computer mathematics prevents this from being possible, it has necessarily picked a reasonable range for most 1:1 sized real world objects. It can be made to accept smaller measurements and greater accuracy with a few simple workarounds that have been described to you early on in this thread. Other modeling software packages have chosen different methods and scales to work at, and some work well at small scales, some at giant geotechnical scales. Many of the answers in this thread come from users like yourself who have been designing and 3D printing small precise objects in SketchUp for many years, they have explained the best methods.
But if you have to calibrate your table saw every time and keep an eye on it, wouldn’t you feel down about the quality of that table saw? Wouldn’t you call the manufacturer and tell them that their calibration needs attention because other brands have improvement? Or wouldn’t you ask them to at least put a caution label on their table saw “calibrate the saw fence each time before use.”?
Not sure why you have singled me out on that, but no, sketchup is accurate, I spend far too much time aligning real life tools and seconds aligning drawings.
It’s not the same.
SketchUp isn’t broken or mis-calibrated. You wouldn’t try and cut a jigsaw puzzle out with the table saw… you’d use the right tool for the job. In the case of your follow me ‘issues’ - it’s just how the tool works - to make really small things you need to make them larger so the tolerances don’t get lost and cause issues. Many people don’t know this, but most, once they learn about it accept that this is the way this particular tool works and they find ways to use the tool to get their work done (like cutting cove mounding on a table saw, or cutting a circle on a table saw…).
This is supposed to be a nice reply and I am the asshole here… ![]()
keep digging
You know, if you actually wanted some help you would get off you high horse and explain your issues.
Thank you! But a warning from sketchup while using follow-me tool would be important, because many people don’t know this and consider it as faulty product. I considerED it as a faulty product, then I came to realize that the SketchUp cult can be bitter sweet. I learned my lesson.
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When I posted my question, it was late and I had to go home because my wife needed help as she’s pregnant and she’s almost due. The modeling problem really drained me, then when I saw Dave’s Method as a solution in the morning, I felt down that such issue was not solved by SketchUp and that Dave’s Method was the only solution. And when some of you started scolding me, I returned the favor. Anyway, it was wrong of me to do the same, so from now on it’ll be different ![]()
Cheers
The first time the table saw kicks back a piece at you you’d definitely consider it a faulty product… but then you’ll know where to stand, how to secure your work, etc. etc.
Glad you are seeing that 99% of us here are here to help. Trimble employees from the SKP team drop in sometimes, and in any case I’ve had serious issues they’ve been super helpful.
I rarely use power tools. I’m a hand tool woodworker for the most time. But yes, you could get a kickback from a table saw even if you relied on a helper to pull the large board—my grandfather died from a table saw kickback, because his helped didn’t hold the large board they were cutting in the 1950’s. He got internal bleeding and doctors didn’t know…
Well, I do hope that Trimble employees do see this issue and at least recommend Dave’s Method when follow-me tool start acting up weird.
All this and you seem to have missed the point. I imagine others will explain far better than I can and you’ll get there in the end, but too late for me.
I was replying to someone else. Please ignore me.