Scratch building guru's needed


Davidfd85

Davidfd85

Member
I have an idea in my head for building a two track flood loader for the quarry area of my layout. It may sound odd but I can see it in my head how I want it to look. I have an HO scale ruler at home but I also have some slack time at work so I thought I could draw up plans here at work ( quieter here, two grandsons at home).
Well I use architect and engineer scales all the time here and I would like to know if there is a correct scale using an architect or engineer ruler that would equal an HO scale ruler.

Thanks
David
 
Well, David, HO scale is 1:87, so the closest you can get is the 1/8" on your architect's scale. HO scale is still about 10% larger than 1/8"=1', though, so if you wanted something that was, say 10' long in HO, you'd need to draw it about 11' long at 1/8" scale. If you have a calculator handy, multiply all of your dimensions by 96/87 to find out how long to make a line.

Jim
 
If you are using a CAD program on a computer that only works in architectural & engineering ratios I'd just bring the HO scale ruler to work and use that. No conversions needed. Just a draftsman table, a square, and the scale ruler.
 
Thanks for the information.

I use the scales for reviewing plans of buildings for fire protection features and systems, don't do any of the drawing. I know how with a table and square and triangles, haven't done it in years and no CAD on my office computer. All I have is my desk, scales and normal printer paper but I make it work lol. I just didn't really want to carry the HO ruler back and forth everyday because its not everyday I get some slack time for me to work on stuff for myself.
 
Make a copy of the scale ruler on a copier. Glue it to a paint mixing stick or a piece of styrene or other semi hard material and leave that at work. Paint stick being wood is maybe the simplest but not the most durable. The paper copy can be stuck on with a thin coat of Elmers. Or else buy a second scale ruler. Just a couple of ideas.
 
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