General questions

[Sidney Schwartz]

Originally Posted by aansorge

I am sometimes afraid that I'll mess up a model that is complicated.

I now keep a mental note of where sub assemblies can be cut out or cut off. So 'print and start over' doesn't have to mean from the very beginning.

I figured that much out for myself. Turns out you can open pdf files in Gimp and copy/paste just the bits you need to a new document.

[Sidney Schwartz]

Originally Posted by -Jim G

Instead I get my models laser printed at my local FedEx store. The finish is semi gloss, and is very durable. I spend about $1.50 per sheet. I don't need spray finish. The toner does not fleck off like lasers that I had used a few years ago.

I'll keep that in mind. I'm just starting out, and more interested in developing skills than in polished results. As I get better and more confident, though, having the sheets laser printed as you suggest will make more sense.

Nice Beaver! I got into computer flight simming in the mid 1980's and pursued it for about 30 years. Flew pretty much everything at one time or another and developed a particular fondness for DeHavilland's wonderful bush planes. They were popular in the flight simming community and there were some very nice models available.

[Sidney Schwartz]

Next question. I'm thinking I should get something to help with cutting accurate right angles. Any reason not to go with a standard carpenter's square?

[Laurence Finston]

Originally Posted by Sidney Schwartz

Next question. I'm thinking I should get something to help with cutting accurate right angles. Any reason not to go with a standard carpenter's square?

No, that's the right tool for the job. For cutting, you'll need something made of metal. For measuring, you should get set squares for drafting. Usually, they're made of acrylic. However, if you try to cut with them, you will slice material off of the edge. I know, I've done it.

On the second page of this article, I included a photo of some of my set squares (the smaller ones): https://www.tug.org/TUGboat/tb43-3/t...on-ellipse.pdf

[Laurence Finston]

The metal ruler and the set square I mentioned for scoring are the same ones I use for cutting most of the time. However, I like to use artists' papers, in particular watercolor paper. Partly for their appearance and working properties and partly for the sake of permanence. 100% rag paper doesn't contain acid and won't turn brown and fall apart. There is also non-acidic paper that isn't 100% rag. I use different grades of paper depending on the purpose.

The point is, with these kinds of papers it's often better to tear rather than cut. The result often looks better and it saves on x-acto blades. It is essential to score the paper thoroughly and to tear carefully. A folding bone or something similar is also essential, fingernails don't do a good enough job. I always tear toward the middle; if you try to tear past an edge, it's very easy to tear off a corner.

[Laurence Finston]

Originally Posted by Sidney Schwartz

I figured that much out for myself. Turns out you can open pdf files in Gimp and copy/paste just the bits you need to a new document.

This is, of course, possible. However, you can use pdfdetach to extract the images in a PDF file:

pdfdetach - Portable Document Format (PDF) document embedded file extractor (version 3.03)

SYNOPSIS
pdfdetach [options] [PDF-file]

DESCRIPTION
Pdfdetach lists or extracts embedded files (attachments) from a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

pdfdetach is a utility that comes along with others such as pdfunite and pdfseparate, which I use more often. I think they're included in TeXLive but they may have come from somewhere else. They should not be hard to find, though.

[Laurence Finston]

Originally Posted by Laurence Finston

On the second page of this article, I included a photo of some of my set squares (the smaller ones): https://www.tug.org/TUGboat/tb43-3/t...on-ellipse.pdf

I've got some others, including a pair of larger triangles which are entirely clear. However, mostly I use the drafting triangles (not for cutting!), known as "geo" triangles in Germany, for some reason. They have lots of markings on them and are very good for drawing parallel lines.

[mbauer]

Originally Posted by Sidney Schwartz

Next question. I'm thinking I should get something to help with cutting accurate right angles. Any reason not to go with a standard carpenter's square?

Might be a good idea to add some thin anti-slip matt to stop it from moving around. My quilting ruler has some drawer liner, anti-slip, matt that is Super 77 glued to stop it from moving on the long cuts.

Most metal rulers have cork material on the bottom side to stop movement.

Since I use a rotary quilt cutter for the long cuts, don't worry about cutting the plastic, the additional height of the plastic helps guide the cutter. I do use my Xacto knife with the plastic, once again the vertical height of the plastic insures a 90degree cut, not angled which can mess with edge gluing in certain joints.

Mike

[Laurence Finston]

Originally Posted by mbauer

Might be a good idea to add some thin anti-slip matt to stop it from moving around. [...]
Most metal rulers have cork material on the bottom side to stop movement. [...] Mike

Paper or measuring tools moving when I'm trying to measure or cut it is the bane of my existence. I often draw 90° angles by holding down two set squares or a ruler and a set square pressed against each other and it's difficult to keep them from slipping. One just has to learn to press down hard and spread the weight evenly. It often takes a couple of tries. I always use a cutting mat, which also helps.

The carpenter's rulers I use are solid stainless steel and don't have any cork or other material on them to prevent slipping. However, they are very heavy, which helps a lot. I have two, 40cm and 60cm. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any comparable products in a long time.

I bought a rotary cutter recently but I haven't tried it out yet. I'm not sure I could cut as accurately with it as with an x-acto knife.

[mbauer]

Originally Posted by Laurence Finston

I bought a rotary cutter recently but I haven't tried it out yet. I'm not sure I could cut as accurately with it as with an x-acto knife.

The larger one is rather difficult to get the line cut correctly, however there is a small finger style from Fiskars that has a smaller diameter blade approx. 20mm size, that allows much more accuracy.

You'll enjoy how smoothly the rotary cut! Stays sharp forever and doesn't cut as deeply into the cutting mat like you can with the X-acto when using to much force.

Mike