Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

If you have a profile that you really like drawn up on 8 !/2 x11 in paper, how do you transfer it to a larger sheet (cardboard or whatever), while making sure you have the exact profile? I want to cut it out of cardboard and stand it up on a trailer to make sure it's exactly what I want. How would it work to transfer it to graph paper and plot the XY coordinates?

I know this is a pretty basic question, but I wish to make sure which profile I like best after looking at them full size (Grasshopper, Weekender, a modified version of Rik Keller's Road Toad and Andrew's squared off tear) before I start making sawdust. I'm also drawing one up that has the feature's of all 4 that I like.

Hey Bill,

Bill_Storey wrote:If you have a profile that you really like drawn up on 8 !/2 x11 in paper, how do you transfer it to a larger sheet (cardboard or whatever), while making sure you have the exact profile?

I drew mine to scale on graph paper with each square equalling 4". Then I drew 4" squares on my plywood and drew it, square by square.

Joseph

You can also photocopy your design onto transparency paper(overhead) and borrow an overhead projector and project the image to your plywood. To keep it to scale, (if using 4' x 8') just blow the image up till it is the size of the plywood.

That's the way I plan on doing it, since I have a couple designs saved with AutoCad, I'm just going to go make transparency.

I drew mine to scale on the computer and took note what the radius dimensions were of each ellipse.
Then I used a formula I got from Andrew's page about ellipses that shows how to locate the loci points of the major axis of each ellipse.
In the next day or two... I'm going to lay this out on my plwood template material and use the string method (Non stretching string, if there is such a thing) for drawing my profile using the loci points.
Then I'll use a fairing batten to clean things up prior to cutting the template.
I'll take pics and post for you.

Joseph,
That is how I was thinking of doing it. I guess great minds think alike.

Ken,
The only places I know that have overhead projectors are schools, and after I questioned the principal's competency, I'm not real welcome there. I'm moving back to western OK this summer to get my daughter back in a better school system, and to help take care of my mother's honeydo's.

Dean,
Even after reading the manual, it took me 30 minutes to get the computer working! Not really, but I'm still not good enough to use a CAD program, so I draw on paper.

Any more suggestions??

This is a tough one, but...

Can you get a hold of a regular slide projector?

You can print your profile to a piece of acetate/transparency (sold at Office Depot) that's designed for either your ink jet or laser printer. You then simply have to output it at 35mm transparency size and stick in a plastic blank slude holder. (If you have problems finding them, I'll MAIL you some. I know I have a bunch in a box somehere.)

I forget the exact 35mm size because it's been so long since I touched film, but how to do this depends on the program you're using to create the profile. However, it's pretty easy to do.

You can also output like 20 of them on a single page, at different dimensions. Again, depending on the program you're using.

Now just turn out the lights, get your popcorn, stick the wood against the wall PERFECTLY perpendicular to that wall, and start tracing.

Not sure if I would want to do it this way, but to each his own.

You could put your profile on graph paper and then use the scale to determine points along the profile (x,y axis) and write down the two measurements (x= from front and y= from the bottom). You can then plot these measurements onto a piece of plywood and connect the dots with something that is long and flexible. (like a 1/8" dowel or something plastic and as long as you can get it) Just make sure that it touches each point and draw the line. This is the basic method that the Kuffel Creek plans use to get your profile onto the wood and should work for any profile as long as you can get it on graph paper with the correct scale so you can get acurrate measurements.

Good Luck!

IRARAT,

The dimensions of a 35mm slide are 24mm x 36mm.

Chris C wrote:IRARAT,

The dimensions of a 35mm slide are 24mm x 36mm.

How did you remember THAT!? I would have had to launch QuarkXPress in order to convert that to INCHES!

--Ira

P.S. What a country. We STILL refuse to be suckered into this millimeter thing.

I made my living for 27 years as a photographer. That's how.

If you see somebody's tear that you really like ask them to make you a tracing of the profile on a roll of paper and pay for the paper and postage. Wouldn't cost but a few dollars and I think most anybody would be willing.

I drew mine out on a large sheet of 3-ply and marked out the door and the location of the internal cupboards. When I was happy with the shape I then cut it out with a jig-saw and smoothed off with sand paper and then used that to trace onto the sheets of ply that would form the side walls.

The advantage of using a sheet of 3-ply is that it gave me something fairly strong that I could clamp to the chassis and check whether I liked to shape or not.

Chris C wrote:I made my living for 27 years as a photographer. That's how.

Sigh--I miss Ektachrome and doing E-6 processing in my bathroom sink.

Everything's crappy digital now.

(oops! I still can't figure out all these buttons!)