How can I locate the center-line on one of the flat sides of an oblong piece of wood?
- posted
11 years ago
Locating centerline
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11 years ago
Assuming the side is a rectangle, draw diagonals (lines from alternate corners); the point of intersection will be the center of the side.
There are several ways to extend it to the length of the side--using a compass to "bisect an angle" comes to mind.
I imagine that construction is explained in more than one place on the web.
Bill
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11 years ago
Depends on how important the exact center is-- If 'close enough' is close enough then take your ruler and find the longest axis through the oval. draw a line. Go roughly 90 degrees from that one and find the 'long spot' - draw another line. X marks the center.
If you need to be exact then- (x - a)2/p2 + (y - b)2/q2 = 1 [I have no idea what that means- it is a copy/paste from
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but it looks like it might work.]
Jim
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11 years ago
piece of wood?
That's too easy, I like the formula better.
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11 years ago
Balance the board on a thin straight-edge.
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11 years ago
I guess that depends on your definition of center-line. Your method would find (the line through) the center of gravity, which may or may not be the same as the mid-point of a side.
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11 years ago
Draw lines from each corner to the opposite diagonal corner. The intersection is the center both ways.
Joe
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11 years ago
Draw lines from each corner to the opposite diagonal corner. The intersection is the center both ways.
Joe
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11 years ago
piece of wood?
Where are the corners on an oblong piece of wood?
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11 years ago
At the intersections of the edges?
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11 years ago
On Sun, 1 Jul 2012 20:37:24 -0700 (PDT), Joe wrote in Re Re: Locating centerline:
An oblong shape does not have "corners". An oblong shape is a rectangle with the corners replaced by curves.
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11 years ago
g piece of wood?
Huh?
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11 years ago
Define "oblong".
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11 years ago
That's not a definition of "oblong" I've encountered.
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(blông, -lng) adj.
- Deviating from a square, circular, or spherical form by being elongated in one direction.
- Having the shape of or resembling a rectangle or an ellipse.
- Botany Having a somewhat elongated form with approximately parallel sides: an oblong leaf. n. An object or figure, such as a rectangle, with an elongated shape.
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11 years ago
I'm not Moe, but "oblong" always meant a rectangle (with four corners) when I was very young; it was only later that I saw it referred to as an elongated form of a base shape. I think some of the posters are assuming the OP meant an oval (although they make mention of a flat side, so maybe not?) and others are assuming a rectangle...