center finding: ("Thales Theorem")

 

take your ruler and place zero inches on one edge....
move the ruler diagonally across the piece till you read a number at the other edge easily divisible by two...
divide...
that number is is the center... find it on the ruler and make your mark...

to find that IRL measure of center...
measure from the edge to the mark w/ the ruler perpendicular to the edge...

 

no measure...

say the stock is 3/4" thick/wide...
put a 3/4" fostner bit in the DP..
slide the fence up to the bit and lock it down...
presto... center of stock all done...

 

finding spacing...

Do your diagonal measure only instead of dividing by 2 divide by the number of pieces you want...

example..

you want 5 pieces from stock 12±'' wide...

diagonal measure 15'' and divide by 5.. quotient is 3...

every 3'' make your mark.. (3, 6, 9, 12)..

center finding ruler...
lay the ruler on the piece and shift left or right till the measures are the same to both edges...
mark the zero...

Edited August 31, 20187 yr by Stick486

Or, T&E with a try square. Sneak up on it. Not for the impatient, though.

Edited August 31, 20187 yr by Gene Howe

Thanks for the reminder Stick. I like #1. If I am on the TS I test the cut and flip the board and adjust if needed.

On ‎8‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 5:52 AM, Gene Howe said:

Or, T&E with a try square. Sneak up on it. Not for the impatient, though.

This is my fav'.  The eye is pretty good at finding the center of a small (up to 1/2") distance.  Make four lines (two in each direction) and find the center of the resulting square.  That should be well within the accuracy needed for wood (in which holes drift a bit with grain anyway).

Yeah, well try it on a 1x48 strip, 12 locations, end clearances not the same as the interior intervals.  The graphic methods are OK, but limited to fairly simple layouts.  If it was easy, anyone could do it, including me.  Hence, the calculated approach.

Finding the center is easy.  I can balance the piece on a finger and get pretty close!  But all you talented people don't need crutches!