There was a time I struggled with numbers . I never enjoyed Maths at school and could never run a business but for the invention of the calculator and the spreadsheet. When I came to make furniture marking out was always a struggle for me. That was until an old craftsman told me about dividers. “Don’t bother about number” he said “use these” and off he walked.
It was like someone has just switched on a light bulb in my head. This was how proportion was maintained. All things, dammit ALL things from Rouen Cathedal to Gimsons great cabinets. Makers did not fool with number. They took a base measure from the two points and stepped eight out one way and thirteen the other. No wonder the symbol above the door of the Masonic Lodge was pair of dividers.
There is a wonderful book in the library at Rowden that is always in use by my students. By Hand and Eye by Walker and Toplin This is indeed forgotten knowledge that Lost Arts Press have saved for civilisation. If you do not know it and struggle for proportion in your work read this.
So what do we put in the box. At the top of the page is my pair of nine inch Starrett dividers they always get used in preference to the whole bundle of dividers that I have. They have needle sharp points which makes them vulnerable to damage. You will need at least two pairs of dividers, one quite large and one small
You can get much cheaper dividers, and get great old ones on Ebay. Spend a little time on the points, and you have wonderful useful tools. These below are still pretty dull and un pointy they will go in the box I am not giving away my Starretts.
