Shopsmith Forums

dusty wrote:I guess learning where to put the nails is the trick.

The quicky method is described here.

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/Articles/Ellipse/stringellipse.htm

shipwright wrote:I have always just used two nails and a string. (well slightly more technical but not much) The only drawback with this method is that if someone like Mickyd mic's it, it won't be accurate to his standards. that said no one has ever noticed on anything I have ever made and elliptical is one of my favorite shapes.

It's cheap, only takes a minute to set up and doesn't take up shop space. What can I say?

Paul M

Tight, non-stretchable string is the trick.

Now who would be insane enough to measure an ellipse?

RonKlein wrote:...in the Lee Valley Newsletter I received today.
It is just what you are asking about.
Ron

And the next day I got that newsletter in my email. I guess even email takes longer to get to Hawaii.

Thanks again.

shipwright wrote:I have always just used two nails and a string. (well slightly more technical but not much) The only drawback with this method is that if someone like Mickyd mic's it, it won't be accurate to his standards. that said no one has ever noticed on anything I have ever made and elliptical is one of my favorite shapes.

It's cheap, only takes a minute to set up and doesn't take up shop space. What can I say? Paul M

But, but, well, gee, it's not a Gadget!

Thanks, all, for the info, sources and links. The definitions alone didn't do it for me.

In the "Learning Something New" Department:

Ellipse: the path of a point that moves so that the sum of its distances from two fixed points (foci) {if you change these the originals become a bunch of old focis} is constant;
closed curve produced when a cone is cut by a plane inclined obliquely to the axis and not touching the base.

Oval: (yada, yada, slice an egg); elliptical. [Apparently an oval is a possibly imprecise ellipse.]

Now, translating all this into a physical machine is the fun part.

mickyd wrote:Tight, non-stretchable string is the trick.

Now who would be insane enough to measure an ellipse?

Monofilament fishing line.

Paul M

The new spool of cord you bought for that old weed whacker right before it quit.

dusty wrote:The new spool of cord you bought for that old weed wacker right before it quit.

You gots weeds in AZ??? I would think y'all would need a rock whacker!:D

I have no weeds that can be cut with a weed whacker and that is why I have mono-filament line that can be used for other than in the weed whacker.

dusty wrote:I have no weeds that can be cut with a weed whacker and that is why I have mono-filament line that can be used for other than in the weed whacker.

STOP DUSTY!! THOSE AREN'T WEEDS!! They're saguaro cactus!!