I keep stumbling over this one issue when extruding/aligning studs in architectural framing models. Essentially, when I have an angled edge that I would like to extrude to make a beam of a particular thickness, I cannot figure out how to achieve that thickness while keeping the ends of the beam perfectly angled to meet the vertical walls on either side.
The gif below is one method of approach, extruding vertically to obey the vertical side walls. Note that if I input a value (say, four inches), that value will not result in a four-inch-thick beam, since the vertical extrusion is off-axis from perpendicular with the face:
So, logically, I hit Z twice, to extrude perfectly perpendicular to the face. In this scenario, however, the ends of my beam are not vertical, and most attempts at rotating or grabbing them into verticality result in altering the beam thickness (see below):
What is the best practice to do this simply? I find myself coming across this problem way too frequently to not have an elegant method. Thanks for your time!