Well, woodworkers are very fond of fractions divisible by powers of 2. 1/2 x/4 x/8 x/16 are the common ones. Tape measures and rulers are marked this way.
So if the Bear Mountain plans called for 11 *1/5* inches that would actually be quite a bit harder to deal with, because I don't have any ruler marked in fifths of an inch. But since I need to bend over and peer at the paper with the columns of measurements on it, find the right column and the right row in the column, read the measurement, carry the measurement in my head to step up to the drawing--measure it out on the drawing and mark it... well, it just seems complicated. It did get quicker when I quit trying to read the measurements out of a book, and just photocopied that page and taped it to the drafting table next to the drawing I was working on. Something about not having to move as far between the page and the drawing made it faster and easier.
But oddly enough I remember lofting the Wee Lassie II as being much easier. Instead of columns of numbers, Mac MacCarthy had little pictures of each station--too small to use, but the numbers were marked next to the points drawn out as they would be on the final stations--knowing roughly where your next point was made measuring it out easier, somehow. Maybe it was engaging the "shapes" part of my brain to help the "numbers" part of my brain. I guess the Bear Mountain folks didn't go that route because it takes about twice as much room on the page.
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Re: "If it's true to a plus mark it's true," doesn't have the same ring.
Date: 2010-11-16 11:41 pm (UTC)So if the Bear Mountain plans called for 11 *1/5* inches that would actually be quite a bit harder to deal with, because I don't have any ruler marked in fifths of an inch. But since I need to bend over and peer at the paper with the columns of measurements on it, find the right column and the right row in the column, read the measurement, carry the measurement in my head to step up to the drawing--measure it out on the drawing and mark it... well, it just seems complicated. It did get quicker when I quit trying to read the measurements out of a book, and just photocopied that page and taped it to the drafting table next to the drawing I was working on. Something about not having to move as far between the page and the drawing made it faster and easier.
But oddly enough I remember lofting the Wee Lassie II as being much easier. Instead of columns of numbers, Mac MacCarthy had little pictures of each station--too small to use, but the numbers were marked next to the points drawn out as they would be on the final stations--knowing roughly where your next point was made measuring it out easier, somehow. Maybe it was engaging the "shapes" part of my brain to help the "numbers" part of my brain. I guess the Bear Mountain folks didn't go that route because it takes about twice as much room on the page.