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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=020444900-20112004>Mark,</SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=020444900-20112004></DIV>
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<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>A good way to measure flatness /
trueness (is that a word?) is the "winding stick" method:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial>Take two perfectly straight
bars or rods, each painted lightly<SPAN class=020444900-20112004>
on </SPAN><SPAN class=020444900-20112004>one edge</SPAN> - one white, one
black. Lay them on your bench <SPAN class=020444900-20112004>with the
colored edges facing you </SPAN>and sight from a distance. You should see one
color only at first, then the other color should appear evenly as you stand
up<SPAN class=020444900-20112004> slowly</SPAN>. If you see it more on one end,
that is the "high" side.<SPAN class=020444900-20112004> T</SPAN>his will show
you any twist. To check overall "flatness" you can use a long straight edge or
the string method.<SPAN class=020444900-20112004> My bench is 8' x 27" and this
method works for me. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
class=020444900-20112004>As far as 2x4's being "overkill" for the bench frame -
well yes, maybe they are but it's kind of like having too much money or too much
horsepower...</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial size=2>John Pavlick<BR><A
href="http://www.idseng.com/" target=_blank>http://www.idseng.com</A><BR>
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><BR> </P></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> discussion-request@nsrca.org
[mailto:discussion-request@nsrca.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Mark
Grabowski<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 19, 2004 11:21 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
'discussion@nsrca.org'<BR><B>Subject:</B> Measuring Surface Flatness (was
"Cabinet Grade Particle Board")<BR><BR></DIV></FONT><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<P><FONT size=2>We've seen some great ideas from several folks. However, a
common element to this discussion is that you need to measure how flat the
surface winds up. What tricks are you guys using to actually measure how flat
the surface is of the bench you just built?</FONT></P><BR><BR><BR>
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