Batch run v single piece

[Jacob]

OK but you couldn't do that for a stack of sash windows!

 

[MikeG.]

OK but you couldn't do that for a stack of sash windows!

Indeed. But you could of course do it to make an MDF template. Say for chair components, for instance.

I've even done it for site joiners trying to make a reception desk in-situ that I designed, who couldn't work out how to make something that curved in 2 different planes. I simply printed it out full size on a series of A1 or A0 sheets of paper, and they Prit-Sticked it to the material and started cutting.

 

[Jacob]

The first time I ever heard of "the rod" was a shop fitter who said they'd be given full size drawings on a roll to lay out flat on site, in situ infact, and work everything from them - no scrabbling around with tapes, pencil marks etc.
Then I learned about them on a C&G course - probably the single most important thing: full size sectional drawing on a bit of board, drop your components on it and take marks off, for everything; lengths, mortices, haunches, hinge pockets, every detail. No measuring involved, no error (if the drawing was right to start with), easily repeated (in a stack if possible) and so on.

 

[doctor Bob]

I still do rods for unusual designs with difficult or compound angles, or curves.
But 95% of our projects can be straight forward cutting lists. If your familiar with the project a list is sufficient usually. Especially when you can pull up drawings so easily of a PC.

 

[tomatwark]

OK but you couldn't do that for a stack of sash windows!

Actually if you had a plotter it would be easy to do.

And if you set up a dynamic component in sketchup if would be really easy to do and resize.


That said if I was making an occasional sash window I would still make a rod on a scrap bit of mdf