Anybody use a centered rule or tape? At woodcraft.com, they sell a 24" center finding rule for about 12 bucks. I find it a real time saver and it keeps things simple… less confusing at times. Don’t know how to cut or paste(?) to show product.( Dealing with limited intelligence.) They also make tapes with the same concept, but I prefer the steel rule.
We use the small 12" ones for skateboards and the larger ones for other boards.
A couple of the 24" Indian metal rules (English/Metric) butted and adhered to a thin strip of PVC with a layer of epoxy/glass is the marking ruler/guide for 4’ X 8’ sheets.
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Anybody use a centered rule or tape?
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Yes.
I glued mine to a piece of acrylic and made a '0 center' T-Square kind of thing. Nice for laying out dimension marks and checking symmetry.
Are most out there homemade?
Howzit John,I put a protracter on the center of mine so could line it up exacly perpendicular to the stringer and I used it mostly for marking fin layouts. Aloha,Kokua
I’ve always had a couple of homemade sticks laying around but this metal rule is better and will last forever.
ps, I also added a protractor element to mine.
love to see a pic
That’s the one S’Ding. Mine has a little bolder print (why can’t I read anymore?)
Greg, I don’t have one of those gizmos to post photos, but if you imagine the pic. with a protractor set at the top center, that’s what my homemades look like.
The outline would resemble a hat. I’d glue a tape strip (graduated type tape) on the horizontal part and tape a clear protractor @ zero= 90 degrees.
I know Greenlight makes a pretty handy Lexan layout sheet, but I wish they would finish the producton by doing their own holes. Without that, $50 is a really expensive piece of plastic.
ps. S’Ding, How you do dat wit da photo?
OH, now I see. Clever. More clever with the protactor. I like it.
Make a file called Shaping Tools
save all your pictures as jpeg and store them under your directory.
The photos you download from the internet are already to post.
If you have some high resolution photos you will need to make them web ready. I use Photoshop however you can use many other programs.
When writting a post attach your jpeg file pertaining to your subject and your in business.
I have the other plastic ones sold by suppliers but have not used them in many moons. My home made acrylic one below works best for me. Perfectly square, easy to read down to 16ths, nothing unnecessary
Very Nice Bud!
what do you guys think of the versa-square that green light sells? i was thinking of getting one as the wife will be in the States visiting family in a month and she can bring it back here to NZ
antony
I have one and find it very simple and useful to measure board width, symmetry, and fin placement. You have to poke the holes yourself (no biggie). Use a small drill bit and then razor blade clean.
Versasqare looks good to me. I've seen the video on it and talked to one guy that uses them. The big plus is the quick set-up for quads. I've used Pleskuna protractors for years and still like 'em. The versasqare Just has a few extra bells and whistles. Even at $50 It will save you time per board and pay for itself. Before Pleskuna I had a hell of a time marking thrusters and sidebites. Much more accurate.
S’Ding, I don’t even have any LOW resolution photos…you guys are way ahead of me with this computer stuff.
Also, why not make an acrylic or plastic sheet that have the different fin layouts cut into them already so you just trace the cuts. I don’t do too many multi- fin setups, but if I did this is what I’d do. Have marks or references for positioning, ( center line, tail, rail) and have one for each set up. Just grab the right one, flop it on the blank, line it up and trace away. Each fin would have a hole drilled fore and aft and cut a kerf to connect the holes. Then it’s a matter of sticking the pencil in and dragging it along. One sheet for each system. No?
I made one years ago that I still use today. With a cad program you can make your own ruler.
it's 12" tall x 24" wide
As far as the computer stuff goes come by the shop and I'll show you how useful they can be. There just a tool like your planner.
