posted
I'm standing by my table, cutting out a bunch of 12x24" mags with my trusty T-square, and thinking......I wonder if the little marks are really 1 inch.....who decided what 1 inch is?
When the guy who made the ruler made it, did he use another ruler to measure the 1" marks?
If he didn't have a ruler, how did he measure it?
What if the ruler he used is wrong, how many other rulers would be wrong because he used the wrong one?
Yep, it's finally gone.....
-------------------- Carper's Signs 594 Union School Rd. Mount Joy, PA 17552 carpersign@earthlink.net Posts: 157 | From: Lancaster, PA, USA | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
And where do you mark one inch at? In the middle of the one inch mark? The right or left side of the one inch mark? They print those marks kinda wide on some rulers.
-------------------- Dana Blair Blair Signs Wooster, OH www.blairsigns.com
If sign makers go on strike, is there anything written on their picket signs? Posts: 835 | From: Wooster, OH, USA | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
LOL Ron!! It sounds like you're ready for that vacation. Take a week off and go to Florida to enjoy the sign show
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
posted
Just don't use more than one ruler of different brands or you'll really go nuts!!! LOL...
-------------------- Kelsey Dum Dum Designs Sherwood, AR 72120 501.765.2166 kelsey@dumdesigns.com Posts: 827 | From: Sherwood, AR | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
That reminds me of the time that my part time guy and I were installing some gemini letters. It was a big, really long pattern. We were using tape measures of different manufacturers. We couldn't seem to get it level. When I would measure his end to double check, it was off by a quarter inch! We finally realized that the two tapes were in different incriments (and who knows which one was right)!
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Who on earth decided that a right angle is 90 degrees? Why is a circle 360 degrees? Shouldn't it be 100 degrees with then a right angle being 25 degrees?
Uhm, wherever you lost it, I'm evidently there looking for it with you.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Subject interested me enough to query guys at raceshop as to their opinions of this and first thoughts went directly to actual measurement. Having toolage to accomodate almost any type of test, we measured line thickness' of different brands of steel tapes and wooden yard sticks, to get a comparsion base to start with...results will astound you!!! Every tool of measurement aside of ultra-thin lined machine tools had a different width factor and when total of all these widths were added up, they ranged from 1/32" to 1/8" longer than standard inch, measured by a thin lined slide caliper...this suggests a error factor of almost a 1/8th", give or take some....wow...next test was for overall accuracy...all were different from each other, steel tapes such as Lufkin, Craftsmen were the most accurate, but not dead on...none were dead on and largest variances were in the wooden yard sticks.....but that's ok because most "signees" know the most popular measurement out there is width of yardstick, heheheheeheh......
Chris, you like to read, pick up anything on Galieo(spl?), that will go long ways in explaining factors that decided how many degrees there were in an arc or circle, also very interesting read, seems majority weren't all that keen on his notions and for most part made his life miserable until proved wrong and then he became a hero, sound familiar? the sign business; ring a bell? heeheheh
-------------------- Frank Magoo, Magoo's-Las Vegas; fmagoo@netzero.com "the only easy day was yesterday" Posts: 2365 | From: Las Vegas, Nv. | Registered: Jun 2003
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That's why when you have to call somebody on the phone with a measurement like replacing broken glass in a window, you always give them a measurement that is a hair smaller -- less you want to cut again ... but then what's a hair.
That's why they invented caulk!
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
I use aluminum metre rules made in USA. They also come as a yard stick in feet and inches. They are lightweight and marked from both ends both sides so whichever way you pick them up you can measure from either end.
Problem is the markings wear off eventually with use and paint thinners on you hands. But, they are cheap, so I buy them buy the dozen.
Anyway, one day I was using one from a new batch. Couldn't figure out why nothing fitted when scaling lettering onto a wall. Everytime I double checked I got a slightly different measurement. Not much but enough over a long wall to added up to nearly 1/2 metre(18")
Had to be the new rule. So I checked it. Exactly 1000mm = 1 metre. BUT the 1st 10mm mark was actually 13mm from the end of the rule! AND the last 10mm mark was actually 7mm from the other end!
Evidently they must print a continuous aluminum strip before cutting it up, and had not "zeroed" it to start with. Yep .. the other 11 sticks were the same!
posted
Years back I remember reading about some senator I think was from NY that presented a bill wanting to change PI to 3 for simplicity in the schools.
Needless to say, it got shot down quickly, but I wonder if he understood why?
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6712 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Jon's comments on meter sticks brought back an old memory. I was laying out a wall job one time and going crazy cause nothing was falling into place. After quite awhile of fighting it, I noticed the new "free yardstick" I picked up, was actually a meter stick This was back in the seventies when the "converting to metrics" was just starting ( boy, that one really took off Anyways, I was measuring out the length of the sign like most folks would, using the "yardstick" to measure off 3 foot increments, then using the inches ( yes, this thing had them THIRTY NINE of them ! ) to figure the letter placement. The meter stick soon became stir sticks.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
posted
How thick is your plotter/cutter blade? Does it measure from the left, right of the blade... or is it centered. Does a couple mm really matter? hmmmmmm...I never thought of them expanding/shrinking according to weather. You guys are starting to freak me out! LOL...
-------------------- Kelsey Dum Dum Designs Sherwood, AR 72120 501.765.2166 kelsey@dumdesigns.com Posts: 827 | From: Sherwood, AR | Registered: Oct 2005
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when i hired the guy to do my concrete for my building...he showed up with a 100 foot FABRIC TAPE!!! when i asked what he gona do with that... he said lay out youre concrete...i FREAKED....axed him if he realized that thing strecthes? he siad yea but it wont matter!!!!!! i went to home depot and bought a 35 FOOT METAL TAPE...showed it to him and TOLD him THIS IS THE ONLY THING YOU MEASURE WITH...from now on!!!!!
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Frank, my personal measuring device does (from Sienfeld: Elaine: "It shrinks? Why does it shrink??", George (in a tone of defeat): "It just DOES!" lol
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I almost forgot what this post was about. Oh yeah ... Anyway, have you ever shown a customer a sketch and then they want to know how big the letters are -- because they thought ahead of time the letters should be 4 or 5 inches tall. I usually look on Corel's property bar and tell them that no actually I have shown the letters at 3.8992 inches tall and then tell them -- we go for what looks right.
But if I want to have some fun and (I've been known to be a we bit mischievious around the anal knit picking customers), I should simply tell them that there is no such thing as an accurate measurement and refer them to this post.
From now on out I'm referring to all work measurements in terms of "cubits" and see if I can have some fun. When somebody orders a 4 X 8 I'll simply correct them and tell them it is 33 cubits by 66 cubits. I'll explain that the sign industry has gone to cubits and that the aeronautical engineers at NASA found that the cubit was a more accurate measurement and the federal government has been encouraging the service sector of the economy to follow their lead.
I don't think no cubetted yard stick will ever end up as a stir stick.
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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