Fibonacci gauge

[Jeff]

A follow-up to a post by pviser on 5-30-12 about a new Woodpecker product: Fibonacci gauges.

It is an interesting topic that got my curiosity...like "what are these and what are they used for?" Too cheap to spend $50 for a 24" gauge and even cheaper to not spend $2 for a plan out of my monthly allowance from LOML! After a lot of looking and review of basic geometry and trigonometry the concept became clearer so it was time to make one.

SketchUp was immensely helpful to me, but it played a lot of mind games with me because of the angles, etc.



And the result is...





The actual measurements over a full 24" span are (14 7/8"/9 1/4") = 1.608 vs 1.618 theoretical. Close enough for guvm't work.

I'd round the actual measurements up or down for convenience anyway. So a 6' long tabletop would be (72"/1.618=44.5") wide theoretically. It'd probably end up at 42" or less in my hands. That 1.618:1 is a guideline, but not a rule.

 

[MikeH]

That's great Jeff. Could you possible share your sketchup drawing in the downloads section?

 

[Mike Davis]

I'm working on a small one out of brass for the lathe.

May be a while, got an order for 8 sets of chop sticks and 6 spoons. That'll keep me busy.

 

[Jeff]

I'm working on a small one out of brass for the lathe.

May be a while, got an order for 8 sets of chop sticks and 6 spoons. That'll keep me busy.

Chop sticks remind me of the old fashioned black gum tooth brushes, just a little heftier.

 

[Jeff]

That's great Jeff. Could you possible share your sketchup drawing in the downloads section?

Can't do it because our site only supports downloading specific file extensions and .skp is not one of them. Also can't save SketchUp as a .pdf. Here's a new view that clarifies it. The critical dimensions are point to point o/c for drilling the holes (ganged up, taped together and drilled at one time). Easily scaled to a specific need.

 

[Ben325e]

You could upload it to the sketchup 3d warehouse and tag it with appropriate key words.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

 

[SteveColes]

...... and .skp is not one of them. Also can't save SketchUp as a .pdf.

You can now:gar-Bi

 

[toolferone]

I saw right away that the 1.618 is the "golden ratio" or "golden mean" I use all the time as a starting point in my designs.

 

[Jeff]

You can now:gar-Bi

Thanks Steve. The gauge is in the "Project Plans" folder in the Downloads window so members can retrieve it and customize it to their individual needs. :thumbs_up

 

[DWSmith]

I do not know what this gauge is for and have never seen one before. Can someone educate me as to what it is, what it is used for and how it is used?

 

[ehpoole]

I do not know what this gauge is for and have never seen one before. Can someone educate me as to what it is, what it is used for and how it is used?

It is basically a Golden Ratio divider. The relationship between the two sections (points AB and BC) will always be the Golden Ratio as you adjust the divider over its effective range.

 

[Jeff]

I do not know what this gauge is for and have never seen one before. Can someone educate me as to what it is, what it is used for and how it is used?

David,

Ethan is correct. The ratio is 1.618:1 and it represents the visual appeal of just about everything including architecture, art, music, and woodworking. It's a guideline but not a rule so your common sense and intuition should lead you.

http://lumberjocks.com/David/blog/1639

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xgw84Kwrh8

For example. Suppose your want to make a jewelry/keepsake box. So a 5" x 3" or 13" x 8" box would be about 1.6:1 as you view it from the top. The height of the latter box would be about (8"/1.6 = 5") so the visually appealing vertical ratio has been maintained at 1.6 too.

You really don't need the gauge. A pencil and calculator work fine so a 66" long table top becomes (66"/1.6 = 41.25" wide +/-).

 

[Jeff]

My apologies to all members. My last post in this thread came across sounding like I'd known all about the Golden Rule forever and you should have known too. But, I only found out about it a few weeks ago which prompted my curiosity to try building the gauge.

We're all learning and sharing our experiences so that's a good thing. :thumbs_up

 

[MikeH]

My apologies to all members. My last post in this thread came across sounding like I'd known all about the Golden Rule forever and you should have known too. But, I only found out about it a few weeks ago which prompted my curiosity to try building the gauge.

We're all learning and sharing our experiences so that's a good thing. :thumbs_up

No need to apologize Jeff.

 

[ehpoole]

My apologies to all members. My last post in this thread came across sounding like I'd known all about the Golden Rule forever and you should have known too. But, I only found out about it a few weeks ago which prompted my curiosity to try building the gauge.

I see no need to apologize for enthusiasm.

I would be far more concerned if our members showed a lack of enthusiasm... this site is all about promoting and encouraging woodworkers.