You would think you could make a shape and push/pull it to make a hole, but the method outlined below is more foolproof.



Making Holes
  1. Open SketchUp

  2. Create a base:


  3. Select the Circle tool (C) and create a circle


  4. Select the Push/Pull tool (P) and extrude the circle up


  5. Select the spacebar to choose the Select tool and triple click the cylinder


  6. CTRL+click on the cylinder and select Make Group from the Context Menu:


  7. CTRL+click on the group and select Align Group/Component from the Context Menu:


  8. Click where you want the origin point to be:


  9. Click where you want the end of the X axis:


  10. Click where you want the end of the Y axis:

  11. The popup will appear. Click on No to move the cylinder to the selected spot:


  12. Select the Move tool (M)


  13. Hold the up arrow while dragging the cylinder down:


  14. CTRL+click on the cylinder and select Explode from the Context Menu


  15. Select the Select tool (spacebar) and select both entities:


  16. CTRL+click and select Intersect Faces>With Selection from the Context Menu:


  17. Delete and delete all parts of the cylinder:
            

  18. Select the interior of the hole with the Selection tool (spacebar) and CTRL+click on the selection and choose Reverse Faces from the Context Menu:


  19. Et, viola, you have a hole
    .



Now what?

  1. Create a model with some holes.