Post #4297998

2026-08-01 00:06 UTC

@W6KME@mastodon.radio @autolycos@beige.party @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @iris@neuromatch.social @douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org fun side story. the place i learned to build guitars had had a patternmaker in the class before me. these were folks that made prototypes in wood then used as guides to mill valves, precision parts, etc. they were expected to be accurate within 1/10,000 of an inch. when he was doing some of the joinery, he ask the instructor how close his measurements needed to be. when told 1/64", he joked that it felt like total "slop" work to only be that accurate. the instructor said that his guitar, his first, was mostly flawless.

Replies (3)

@autolycos@beige.party 2026-08-01 00:08

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @W6KME@mastodon.radio @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @iris@neuromatch.social @douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org lol You're going to talk me into looking at my local community college, aren't you

Open ##4332746
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org 2026-08-01 00:08

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @W6KME@mastodon.radio @autolycos@beige.party @iris@neuromatch.social @douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org 😂

Open ##4332748
@W6KME@mastodon.radio 2026-08-01 00:10

@paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @autolycos@beige.party @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org @iris@neuromatch.social @douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org Traditional wood instrument making involves a lot of shape-to-fit though, so even though you may only measure to the 64th your final fit could be down to thousandths or less. I remember learning that in boatbuilding, nothing is ever measured past 1/8", but again, *final* fit is often spectacularly close. I made several sets of bagpipes and a clarinet without anything fancier than a pair of calipers and a ruler.

Open ##4332749