Measuring Surface Flatness (was "Cabinet Grade Particle Board")

[Larry Caldwell]

A flourescent light tube works well to check for flatness.

Larry caldwell

John Pavlick wrote:
> Mark,
> 
> A good way to measure flatness / trueness (is that a word?) is the 
> "winding stick" method:
> 
> Take two perfectly straight bars or rods, each painted lightly on one 
> edge - one white, one black. Lay them on your bench with the colored 
> edges facing you and sight from a distance. You should see one color 
> only at first, then the other color should appear evenly as you stand up 
> slowly. If you see it more on one end, that is the "high" side. This 
> will show you any twist. To check overall "flatness" you can use a long 
> straight edge or the string method. My bench is 8' x 27" and this method 
> works for me.
> 
> As far as 2x4's being "overkill" for the bench frame - well yes, maybe 
> they are but it's kind of like having too much money or too much 
> horsepower...
> 
> John Pavlick
> http://www.idseng.com <http://www.idseng.com/>
>  
> 
> 
>  
> 
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: discussion-request at nsrca.org
>     [mailto:discussion-request at nsrca.org]On Behalf Of Mark Grabowski
>     Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 11:21 AM
>     To: 'discussion at nsrca.org'
>     Subject: Measuring Surface Flatness (was "Cabinet Grade Particle Board")
> 
>     We've seen some great ideas from several folks. However, a common
>     element to this discussion is that you need to measure how flat the
>     surface winds up. What tricks are you guys using to actually measure
>     how flat the surface is of the bench you just built?
> 
> 
> 
> 
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