Shop Mysteries

[Guest]

Riddle me this

Why do I have a notepad on the shop bench inscribed:
Start – 4”
Stop – 19”

What the hell was that about? I cannot for the life of me remember what those measurements were for. Something recent, but I am at a loss.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Assuming that the measurements indicate symmetry, can we conclude that the item was 23 inches long? Does that jog your memory?

 

[recped]

Maybe this will jog your memory....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(symbol)

The prime symbol ′ is commonly used to represent feet (ft), and the double prime ″ is used to represent inches (in).[SUP][2][/SUP] The triple prime ‴ as used in watchmaking represents a ligne (about 2.26 millimetres or 0.089 inches).[SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][a][/SUP]

Primes are also used for angles. The prime symbol ′ is used for arcminutes (​[SUP]1[/SUP]⁄[SUB]60[/SUB] of a degree), and the double prime ″ for arcseconds (​[SUP]1[/SUP]⁄[SUB]60[/SUB] of an arcminute).[SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP] As an angular measurement, 3° 5′ 30″ means 3 degrees, 5 arcminutes and 30 arcseconds. In historical astronomical works, the triple prime was used to denote "thirds" (​[SUP]1[/SUP]⁄[SUB]60[/SUB] of an arcsecond)[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][7][/SUP] and a quadruple prime ⁗ "fourths" (​[SUP]1[/SUP]⁄[SUB]60[/SUB] of a third of arc),[SUP]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(symbol)#cite_note-10[/SUP] but modern usage has replaced this with decimal values of arcseconds.

Primes are sometimes used to indicate minutes, and double primes to indicate seconds of time, as in the John Cage composition 4'33", pronounced (and the composition itself lasting) 4 minutes 33 seconds. This notation only applies to duration, and is seldom used for durations longer than 60 minutes.


You might enjoy this Quora discussion on the topic......

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-s...es-and-seconds


NOTE: a funky copy/paste thing the "?" above are supposed to be single, double and triple quote marks..........
Update: When I edit and save they now show up as they should be.......

 

[Patrick Corry]

Uh, maybe you were routing a closed dado 15" long on your 23" long workpiece?

 

[dougd]

Maybe my Kydex project!

 

[boatstall]

I would have thought you might at least remembered, if it had been a Viagra incident.

 

[goonstroke]

Riddle me this

Why do I have a notepad on the shop bench inscribed:
Start – 4”
Stop – 19”

What the hell was that about? I cannot for the life of me remember what those measurements were for. Something recent, but I am at a loss.

Maybe 4" is a pee wee deckplate, and 19" is the mundo deckplate you'd like to have? Measured along a rail.

 

[frozentripper]

Maybe the height of a marijuana plant growing on the windowsill, growth from starting out as a seedling to stop with harvest. That would explain the memory loss as well. I myself cannot remember large portions of the sixties and seventies... j/k...

 

[Guest]

All good suggestions, but nope.

I have measured everything I worked on in the past few days and nothing comes close. Still waiting for the Viagra to arrive.

Deepening the mystery is that it must have seemed important. Important enough to write down, on a fresh, otherwise blank notepad page, and to carefully print legibly, so I was probably sober.

My usual hand writing is often an indecipherable scribble that leaves me wondering what the hell “grifnarz der unrdorj” might have meant.

The start – 4”, stop – 19” just adds to the mystery. If it was a rectangle I would have simply written 4” X 19” and if it was a triangle or etc I would have sketched the shape with adjacent numbers and arrows, 4” -->, 19” -->.

Whatever it was I either made it, or don’t need it.

 

[sweeper]

I tried to Google it, but all it brought was Covid

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

To me, it sounds like the space between two horizontal members along a gunwale or fabric. Not sure what you’ve been working on recently.

Bob

 

[alsg]

Something to do with heat sealable cloth.

 

[scoutergriz]

"The start – 4”, stop – 19” just adds to the mystery. If it was a rectangle I would have simply written 4” X 19” and if it was a triangle or etc I would have sketched the shape with adjacent numbers and arrows, 4” -->, 19” -->.
Whatever it was I either made it, or don’t need it."

sounds like the way I write when I'm cutting a groove or stopped dado, invariably it turns out to be some project I was planning but got pushed off to do something else. If you're like me, in a year you'll finally get to the project and say" I know I wrote those measurements down somewhere" as you root through notepads, drawers, boxes, and scrap lumber piles...

 

[Chip]

That'll teach you for writing things while sober!

What have you been working on lately? The note wasn't dust-covered and dog-eared, and you are somewhat compulsive in putting things away after use, so it must have been something worked on pretty recent. What were the last things you put away?

An area of damage to be repaired ? Position of something 15" long to go on or under a deck or spray cover? The range of motion for something to be levered? Area of a belt for belt holes? Depth of dust in your cyclonic collector? Location of foot pedal rails relative to a bulkhead? Distance traveled by a turtle during the Maryland game?

This is a fun game, but how are we supposed to know? Take a photo of it, then throw it away.

 

[DaveO]

Start – 4”
Stop – 20”

If it was this, I would have a guess.

 

[Guest]

That'll teach you for writing things while sober!

Hey, I’m trying my best to avoid the curse of shop sobriety.

Take a photo of it, then throw it away.

Way ahead of you; once I was thoroughly bewildered by what that note could have meant I tossed it. The measurement are recorded for eternal posterity on Canoe Tripping, and I’ve started making notes on a fresh page, including some scrawl that looks like “Chip & ?i!!e 2012-2013”. I know that refers to something about you. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Of course that fresh note pad page has 390, 465 and 475 (?) written down, as well as me trying to math-challenged scribe out Imperial fractions, with notes reading “¾. 6/8, 7/8, 12/16, 13/16.

Whatever that was I’m glad it’s done. Metric measurements would be so much easier, but

I'm proud to be an American, despite those god dam fractions
I won't soon forget Jimmie Carter, who failed to get much traction
And I'd gladly stand up, next to you, and have just this to say
Centigrade sucks as a human temperature way

Seriously, in terms of human comfort, 15c (59F) is comfy, 35c (95F) is roasting? Just no, gimme more un-fractioned distance between freezing and boiling dammit.

And, apologies to Sammy Hagar, I can’t drive 55 (KPH)

 

[Alan Gage]

Were you doing something with a 15 minute timer window? Start at 1:04 and stop at 1:19

Alan