Nifty layout puzzle.

One simple solution is cut the board diagonally from corner to corner, slide the two pieces along the cut edge until the width of both pieces equals 2'.

You should then have your 2' x 12' board.

Correction, inadvertently left out a few words in that last sentence:

"You should then, using the two cut off excess triangles on each end, have enough material for your 2' x 12' board."

Cut the 3x8 so that you end up with 1, 2x8 and 1, 1x8. then cut the 1x8 into 2, 1x4. Put those at the end of the2x8 piece. I e-mailed you a DWG.drawing.

But then you would have cut the 3' x 8' board into more than 2 pieces.

Only 2 pieces are allowed. *S*

My e-mail with the solution drawing bounced back to me.

I posted on a.b.p.w.

Oups 2 pieces, not 2 cuts... Please disregard all my posts to the solution,, LOL

(best viewed in fixed-space font e.g. Courier)

Cut thus:

__________________ | _________| |________| | |_________________|

||

and reassemble thus:

___________________________ | _________| | |________|_________________|

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

My mistake. I keep forgetting to mention "remove BULL" from my addy.

If I understand your picture properly, I thought of doing it the same way. But for all practical purposes, it's impossible to make a 90° turn while continuing the same cut. And if it could be done, then in actuality, then the puzzle could be done with one cut.

??????????????????????? ??????4'????? ? ? ?????4'?????? ???????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????? ? ???????????? ? ???????????????????????????????????

Arrrgggg. Details, details ... that's what you get for working and fartin' off at the same time.

I haven't done, and don't have the time at the moment, to do the little bit of math required to answer if my diagonal cut would allow you stretch out, as I described, to 2 x 12' ... apparently it doesn't?

If not, I'm with Leon ... ignore my previous posts on the subject. ;>)

You can make as many cuts as you like, as long as you only end up with 2 pieces.

Rob

Is the more than 2 pieces?

Nope, it is more than two cuts, but only two pieces if I correctly read the ASCII art.

Simple, The 2' hole is round. 2' in diameter and 12' deep. A guy cuts a 2' circle out of the board and it fits perfectly in the hole.

Dave

Not hard at all with a saber saw or a scroll saw.

Well, yes.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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View it in a fixed-space font as I suggested when I posted it, and you should have no difficulty understanding it.

scroll saw band saw saber saw keyhole saw

Obviously it can, on both counts. Note that the statement of the problem specified two *pieces*, and placed no restrictions on the number of cuts.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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Maybe in your world you can make a sharp 90° cut with those tools, but my world doesn't allow for it.

Well, there I misread the rules of the puzzle. I thought it had to be two cuts which I couldn't figure out.

So it's a problem of semantics? To be absolutely accurate about this, Doug's solution will not work in the real world. All his suggested methods of cutting are going to leave a kerf and the two boards will no longer be two feet across but will be 1/8 inch or so shy.