I’m a little tired of making a template for every single board.
Any of you guys Know HOW DO I ENLARGE OR SHRINK A TEMPLATE.
EXAMPLE: i HAVE A TEMPLATE FOR A 6’0 12"X 18"X14" HOW DO I ENLARGE IT TO A 6’4 OR MORE AND HOW DO I SHRINK IT TO A 5’10" OR 5’8" AND KEEPING THE SAME OR SIMILAR DIMENSIONS.
if you like the curve of your existing template, and want to adapt it to a larger or smaller board, try marking off key points on the blank for the board that you want to make, and then use your existing template to connect the dots. it’ll take a little practice to keep everything even, but you’ll get it.
All you do is mark centerline on the existing template. If the board to be shaped is wider, pull the template off the stringer and keep it parellel to the stringer and keep the centerline centered on the new outline. pull the nose and tail in appropriately. This is good for boards within 6 inches in length either way.
One rule of thumb: 1/4" width for every 2" in length if you keep the nose and tail dimensions the same. Longer = wider. Shorter = narrower. Another rule of thumb: 1/8" narrower nose, 1/4" narrower tail for every 2" increase in length if the width stays constant. Works sometimes.
I have a few templates that are set at the “max” size. I can shrink the board by drawing the curve from the nose, marking a point about 2/3 down the rail, bringing the template up and continuing the curve.
I ALWAYS (!!!) practice on a peice of butcher paper first, but I’ve had great success with this method.
Another idea is make a template that has the nose to 2/3 down on one side and tail to 2/3 up on the other. Then, just flip the template around and connect the curves. It works kind of like a french curve (old drafting tool, pre-CAD).
Or, I have used tail and nose templates that you can mix and match. Not as good as either of the aboce methods.
I’m new to this forum and need lots of advice about shaping my new minimal blank BUT…
If you have a mate who has a CAD program (Autocad, solid works, maxsurf) you should be able to easily plot your template offsets and then you can play with the scale to your hearts content. TROUBLE is you will then need access to a large format plotter.
I’d be happy to plot it onto Autocad and send you the results if you send me the offsets at say 6 stations.