Scaled Rulers (Long shot)

Started by steve_holmes_11, 23 July 2021, 01:21:36 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

steve_holmes_11

Something I recall from drawing class in Engineering - Scaled Rulers.
I'm thinking these would be useful for reduced scale games on a small table, but would like alternatives to the "Convert inches to centimentres".

To date I play Black Powder at half scale (with distances converted on the QRS.
This is because the game's designers play on a 6' x 12' table - the sort of resource available to few outside directors of a massive wargames conglomerate.
Good luck to them, but my table (and figures) are smaller.

I'm contemplating testing a 3:2 or 2:1 shrinkage of other rules to make the games a bit smaller.

Does anybody know a supplier that provides close ratios like 1:2/3 or 2:1.
Westie has made his own, but I don't trust my own craft skills to create something as reliable.

Late add: The only thing I've located are architects rulers, but they do big ratios like half an inch to a foot.

mmcv

You could make your own measuring sticks to suit the distances you used? Or just make a new movement/range table for the QRS. I did that playing Hail Caesar at I think 2/3 scale. From memory, 6" > 4" or 10cm, 9" > 6" > 15cm, 12>8>20, etc. The cm values were a bit easier to remember and work with so just wrote out the new values and stuck them over the old ones on the QRS. Then use a standard ruler?

Though is this the sort of thing you're looking?
https://www.graphicsdirect.co.uk/collections/scale-rules-rulers

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

Got one in the mid 70's it does 1/20 or 200, 1/10 or 100, 1 to 5 or 500. For 1 to 2 the 1 to 20 should work. Probably easier to make your own though.
FOG IN CHANNEL - EUROPE CUT OFF
Lord Kermit of Birkenhead
Muppet of the year 2019, 2020 and 2021

Raider4


Raider4

Quote from: mmcv on 23 July 2021, 02:53:02 PM
You could make your own measuring sticks to suit the distances you used?

Or this. Bamboo skewers cut to size, and two alternating colours to mark out the divisions. Black/yellow, red/white, anything that look good.

Orcs

Lots of good idea here, but what Steve wants, is to pick one up ready made without the effort.

In the same way we pick up our figures already cast and don't buy packs of FiMo to make our own. 
The cynics are right nine times out of ten. -Mencken, H. L.

Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well. - Robert Louis Stevenson

Norm

A photo copying service can scale in percentages, so an ordinary ruler can be re-sized to whatever you want.

steve_holmes_11

Given that I don't have confidence to measure my own, printing / copying looks like the best option.

Many thanks for all the swift responses.

jimduncanuk

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 24 July 2021, 09:56:16 AM

Given that I don't have confidence to measure my own, printing / copying looks like the best option.


A photocopy of an image is usually slightly scaled down from the original.

Copy a copy of a copy and you'll see what I mean.
My Ego forbids a signature.

Raider4

Quote from: jimduncanuk on 24 July 2021, 11:48:03 AM
A photocopy of an image is usually slightly scaled down from the original.

And even printing can't be guaranteed.

I have a pdf of graph paper spaced at 4mm. On one printer at work it's perfect, on the one downstairs - exact same model - it's stretched ever so slightly in the horizontal. Annoying.

steve_holmes_11

Quote from: Raider4 on 24 July 2021, 11:56:43 AM
And even printing can't be guaranteed.

I have a pdf of graph paper spaced at 4mm. On one printer at work it's perfect, on the one downstairs - exact same model - it's stretched ever so slightly in the horizontal. Annoying.

I've encountered this before.
An old job involved setting printer configurations for invoices at a popular satellite television broadcaster.
The branes trust that installed the callcentre had acquired an interesting variety of printers, so when one of the telephone people changed team, a configuration file required a tweak.
3rd attempt usually got all the text on the paper, by the 5th run the margins were within bounds of acceptability.

So gentle reader:
1. Print your measure at the ratio you reckon will be about right.
2. Measure (if you're fussy about such things). Then scribble on the copy if it's wrong.
3. Adjust the ratio a bit.
4. Return to step 1.