Imperial Journey - a Restoration Saga

[Ohmthis]

Freaking slide rules and compasses to the rescue!!!! When you said drafting set, I said the **** is getting real! My dad has a ton of drafting tools that I have used and keep in my tool box. That was a great idea to make a series of radii to match what was there. I may make a set on poster board and keep with my fab tools!

 

[rdoty]

I still have my first slide rule <digs it out of drawer> - a Pickett N4-ES Vector-type Log Log Dual Base Speed Rule... Slide rules make nice decoration, but I don't miss using them at all!

I find it fascinating how much modern solid modeling CAD systems are built on drafting style geometric construction. Almost everything I do while building complex solid models is based on drafting techniques I learned <way to many> years ago! Plus drafting based design really forces you to get good at visualizing parts.

While CAD is great you need physical tools to measure physical parts. And there is still a place for manual layout and classic Cardboard Aided Design!

 

[dscheidt]

Freaking slide rules and compasses to the rescue!!!! When you said drafting set, I said the **** is getting real! My dad has a ton of drafting tools that I have used and keep in my tool box. That was a great idea to make a series of radii to match what was there. I may make a set on poster board and keep with my fab tools!

There are adjustable radius gauges, which you adjust to match the radius you're copying, and and then read the result off the scale. They're not cheap, and you need an inside and outside, but they're very handy.

 

[Ohmthis]

There are adjustable radius gauges, which you adjust to match the radius you're copying, and and then read the result off the scale. They're not cheap, and you need an inside and outside, but they're very handy.

Yep, my late stepdad (a tool and die maker) had radius gauges. A few minutes and some card board and I could make several. It’s an idea I guess. Thank you for the info.

 

[rdoty]

There are adjustable radius gauges, which you adjust to match the radius you're copying, and and then read the result off the scale. They're not cheap, and you need an inside and outside, but they're very handy.

Interesting! I wasn't familiar with them and had to look it up. Fascinating, elegant, and somewhat complex gadgets. The people who made the industrial revolution weren't dummies! I've got a huge amount to learn about machining, fabrication, and metrology. Thanks for the reference!

 

[dscheidt]

This is the sort I've used. (I don't know if they were this exactly, but they were similar). different from the fixed sort of radius gauges that machinists use.

RG-750, Arc Master Small Radius Gauge Set

This pair of small inside and outside radius measuring gauges are great to measure bent tubes ranging from a 2.5 inch to 30 inch radius.

www.trick-tools.com

Interesting! I wasn't familiar with them and had to look it up. Fascinating, elegant, and somewhat complex gadgets. The people who made the industrial revolution weren't dummies! I've got a huge amount to learn about machining, fabrication, and metrology. Thanks for the reference!

No kidding. The number of amazing machines and mechanisms that came out of the 18th and 19th centuries are mind boggling, as are the ways they figured out how to make stuff with pretty basic machine tooling.