As a journeyman machinist, I must over complicate things using advanced mathematics because this proves we learn ever day. Simpler is better. Well done and thanks for the humbling lesson.
Another quick trick/tip for finding 1/2 of a fraction is to just double the bottom number.....half of 3/8 is 3/16....or half of 3/4 is 3/8.....etc.....
Im a boilermaker from Australia and so of course I think I know everything about fabrication but you sir have opened my eyes. Im slightly ashamed I didn't know it.
yes, very impressive works. Actually I'm not into metal staff but geometrical and artistic stuff always charming to me. Thanks again, looking for the new videos :)
I had to watch this 3 times to get it. Its so simple, my mind refused to get it. Maybe you were puzzled too? Prove it out: Try it on a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 Normal letter. No matter the diagonal you choose, it will be exact. So - the Middle of an 8 1/2 Letter, is 4 1/4 of course... that is easy. Try a diagonal on the letter like 5 and 10. You will be exactly on 4 1/4". I needed this to find the center of a post 4"x 4" pressure treated wood. As we all know, its not really 4x4, so you cant just center the posts using 2" (on center). There will be some fraction to account for. (A 4"x4" post standard 4x4 measure is actually 3-1/2" x 3-1/2") I needed this trick because math fritzes my brain. THANK YOU KEVIN - YOU HAVE SOLVED ONE OF LIFE's MYSTERIES !
Seeing your video on finding centers and thinking how easy that would be, the next day I had to make 3 rows of holes middle and both sides and it worked great. Thanks for the great tip!
Rather a useful tip, Kevin. Thanks. Just tried it and it worked! (Finally, some practical use for all that maths I was forced to learn growing up in the U.K.!)
measure across and divide by two. Turn 90 degrees and repeat. Or get a caliper and scribe an arc from two or three sides and look for the center point.
When I was working in the printing industry I was shown that trick because sometimes you need to fold something into 3 or 5 equal parts. Simply use your technique and find a number that is evenly divisible and the job is done. I have done that a lot in wood work because things are seldom an easy size to divide evenly. Keep up the good work. ;)
awesome tip!! I remember my shop teacher telling us that. And one of the "not so gifted kids" telling him it wasn't right. Then he had us find things in the shop to measure. Like an old sign, a piece of angle iron and other things. He had the kid measure it his way (I guess normal) then he did it the way you said and he proved it was the fastest easiest way.
Great tip. One of those things id think of when hanging a door but not measuring on a table. Centering rulers are nice too. They have a zero center and measure out to each side. You can get them as a combo with one side as a normal ruler too
This technique is also handy for splitting widths into multiple parts. Say you want to split a width into 5 equal parts. Find the diagonal mark that is easily divisible by five and mark off. Easy as pi.
The piece he is working on in this video does NOT have parallel sides, but the method still works. The commenter below that convinced him to add that annotation at the beginning was wrong.
what also works is if you want to divide up equal pieces for instance if you want to divide up a board in to 3 pieces. Using that technique you can start at 0 and pick a number that is divisible by 3 and mark your board.
It works when the lines are parallel. If they are not parallel you will be off center. The example you showed, the lines were not too far out of parallel, so you didn't notice that you were off center. Try it with lines that are at a few degrees or more angle to each other and you will see that you missed center by a considerable amount. The amount of error you get is magnified by the angle you have with your ruler. Using the 9" and 4.5" marks, you'd have been closer, but still off center.
@ColtDeltaElite10mm Thanks for posting. If you get the chance please stop by my site and check out the rest of my work. I also have a newsletter so you can stay up to date on what's happening.
So its the same thing as measuring from one edge, you can do this straight also as long as you only go from one edge. Notice he measured from the same edge. i am not bashing your video at all in fact i like i like how you got the wife involved! Thanks for the video.
@2LateIWon Well you see, I learned after that class and that was a lesson I never forgot. Just joking. Glad you stopped by. Come back often, we update about once a week.
