Adirondack Chair
May 19th, 2008
I spent more time than I care to admit designing this Adirondack chair in Sketchup:
I then built a prototype, which consumed an entire weekend.
Unfortunately, my chair is not remotely comfortable. Maybe I should stick to tables.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. The adirondack chairs I bought aren’t too comfortable either. Nice sketch though!
I only hope you used bamboo for wood.
I just downloaded Sketchup now. I was surprised to see a Ruby Console under the Windows menu, but seeing the Wikipedia article, it was originally written by a startup. Presumably, they already had the Ruby plugin system?
Sketchup seems comparatively easy, but clearly it is a hardcore app. Having just messed around very briefly without the training lesson, I agree that your drawings look really sharp.
Dude, New Yankee Workshop has plans for Adirondack chairs /ottomans that really are comfortable. It’s all in the angles. Norm went to some upstate NY lodges to measure the real thing. Nice SketchUp work though.
Didn’t know you were in to woodworking, but check out http://www.garymkatz.com - Gary is a woodworker/pro trim carpentery bud of mine who uses SketchUp for everything. He has some good articles on his site, and a killer set of DVDs if you’re in to how the pros do it.
Lastly - there is a ton of SketchUp stuff on YouTube. Since Google owns them both - it’s a natural.
PS - SketchUp has been around since the late ’90s. They’ve always had a scripted extension to their interface, but the early versions weren’t Ruby. The “start up” was @Last software - it was started by a couple of architects who wanted to create a CAD-type tool that “drew” the way designers do it with paper and pencil. If you’re willing to pop for the ‘pro’ version, you can do a lot more with Ruby - extending SU into other CAD apps, automating stuff like bill-of-materials take-offs, etc.
The free version is pretty great though - import/export and some of the more advanced layout features are really all that’s lacking.
For a really good adirondack design do a Google for “Jake’s Chair”. HTH