Given the number of engineers in this thread -- I have learned 1 thing (OK re-learned!)
"Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in the mud -- After a while you realize that the pig enjoys it!"
Member
Given the number of engineers in this thread -- I have learned 1 thing (OK re-learned!)
"Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in the mud -- After a while you realize that the pig enjoys it!"
Member
I think everyone on this forum is an engineer.
Member
It sure seems that way...or a self proclaimed expert. Sure doesn't leave much room for opinion or good old fashioned speculation.
Guest
Oh, plenty of room for that, Joe. Besides, the reaction you'd get for speculation is just the same as it would be for fact (disagreement)
Member
I am not an engineer,but it seemed like I was the one they always came to when there was a special problem In Williamsburg.
Moderator
George, In spite of what you think, you are an engineer. It's a mindset, not a function of in what or how much you were educated. I have always liked the 19th century meaning of the word mechanic. Essentially it meant a practical engineer.
Dave Anderson
Chester, NH
Contributor
Not an engineer here, just a lowly IT worker that goes off the principle of KISS.Originally Posted by george wilson
The Barefoot Woodworker.
Fueled by leather, chrome, and thunder.
Member
You know you have a good thread when you get this many responses. I agree with and understand and appreciate Stanley's ideas and intent about truing up our tools. There are variables in every activity, some removable, some not. We eliminate as many as we can and live with the rest. I've been in the millwork business for 35 years, building mostly doors and windows and running wood molding. I learned many years ago that seemingly small inaccuracies can lead to real problems. If the opposite sticking flats or the tenon shoulders (or both) are off a few thousandths on a 3-0 x 8-0 hard maple door, then be assured you will have a warped door, or worse 30 or so warped doors. This is not a matter of aesthetics; it means they're not acceptable. By the way, don't discount the accuracy of the ancients. Remember the old hundredths scale on a rafter square? But this is another topic.
Member
Why do you want to insult that man like that?
Member
I agree,I am an engineer of sorts. When I need to know something,I know how to research it. When we were building the working replica of the 18th.C. fire engine,I had to figure out about how much air pressure 8 crankers and 2 treadlers could generate. Then,how thick to make the copper air tank,and how wide to make the soft soldered seams(which the original had),so it wouldn't blow up. They had little regard for safety in the 18th.C.,and more regard for how much the copper cost. Plus,likely a limited selection of gauges back then. Old tanks being demonstrated sometimes blow up,so they are usually wrapped in chicken wire to prevent injuries.
I think they might have been limited to using copper sheathing for ship's hulls in the original engine,and went with that as it was available. The silversmiths were not happy when I recommended 10 gauge copper,but these days we want a safety factor of 6,IIRC,and the public would be cranking the engine. Plus,it would be used daily,not just for the occasional fire as it was used in the old days. We have to avoid injuries and lawsuits!!
Quite true but, many beautiful antique items are very asymmetrical. The aren't made by the dozen, nor do they have to conform to someone else's hardware, installation site, and so forth. My stuff doesn't often have to either ;-) I do however like to know that as I am fitting one thing to another and I need 7/64" off the length of something that I can get it with reasonable confidence.
A buffet would look tragic built to Home Depot kitchen cabinet standards and a mandolin would probably fail to please if built to my bookcases tolerances. What we do and how we do it determines our needs and satisfaction levels. No matter what the tolerance that the end product will tolerate, I still like to know that 90* is 90* plus or minus an amount that I am comfortable with. To each their own, Ford / Chevy, Tastes Great / Less Filling, etc..
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Member
I've read that earlier Ferrari's bodies are far from symmetrical,being hand formed.
Member
I was pretty much raised working wood with my father. Some of the earliest lessons I learned were:
- Always use the same tape measure for an entire project. Even if it is slightly off that will be ok because everything will be off by the same amount. That may seem perverse but true; precision is repeat-ability, even if not accurate.
- Dial Calipers - we always had those handy
- Micrometer - had those too
- Precision squares - you betcha
- Starrett squares - I would never trust anything less
My personal belief is I will screw something up, I know I will. I will be off at some point but, if I am off I want to have nothing to blame in that chain of events and my ineptitude.
Member
My dad was a carpenter; he was the guy who taught me that a stack of 2X lumber was a kit to make a house. We knew things would be off, too. He didn't blame the ruler or the square. He (and I) blamed the guy driving the ruler or the square. I know where in the chain of events that things go wrong, usually me. That's not as important to me as knowing how to fix them.
Member
Dale,I trust OLD Starrett stuff. And then,I still check them against my known standards,like my granite squares,granite straight edge,or granite surface plate.
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