Shopsmith Forums

I stumbled on to a huge amount of information by Matthias Wandel the other day after following a link in another thread on the SS Forums....looking at a modular marble machine.

Here's a link to his video collection.

Here's his web site.

Here is the BigPrint program he wrote that will let you take a picture, enter a known dimension, and scale a set of drawings. I'm always taking a pic of a piece of furniture that interests me; and then getting frustrated trying to come up with a set of drawings (SketchUp) to get the proportions right. I'm really excited about this one...... Take a look at his "Watch it in action" link.

He's quite a guy. He has 2 characteristics common in successful people. Creativity and energy.

I have two comments:

1)He also has the genius quality to explain complex tasks at a basic level so that all of us can clearly understand and visualize the concept. It so natural and effortless. He knows where we are compared to where he is, and takes time and effort to explain it. A top quality teacher.

2)I really wish that program worked with a mac.

I read an email from American Woodworker this morning that gave me an "Oh, DUHH" moment....
Taking Dimensions From Photos

It's been way too many years since geometry class.....
Now, where did I put that architect’s rule that I've had for 40 years.....

One woodworker I used to watch on tv a lot explained how he got the dimensions of furniture from museum pieces. The museums would not let people take measurements so he got his wife to go with him and wear a piece of clothing that had some element that they knew the exact dimension of. Like a stripe that was 4 or 6 inches wide. Then he would use a set of dividers after the photo was printed to scale the print to the plan.
I thought that was clever.
Bill V

One woodworker I used to watch on tv a lot explained how he got the dimensions of furniture from museum pieces. The museums would not let people take measurements so he got his wife to go with him and wear a piece of clothing that had some element that they knew the exact dimension of. Like a stripe that was 4 or 6 inches wide. Then he would use a set of dividers after the photo was printed to scale the print to the plan.
I thought that was clever.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:One woodworker I used to watch on tv a lot explained how he got the dimensions of furniture from museum pieces. The museums would not let people take measurements so he got his wife to go with him and wear a piece of clothing that had some element that they knew the exact dimension of. Like a stripe that was 4 or 6 inches wide. Then he would use a set of dividers after the photo was printed to scale the print to the plan.
I thought that was clever.
Bill V

Many museums I have visited won't allow photographs of the items on display. Perhaps it is for this reason.