Popular Woodworking Practical Shop Math

Book excerpt: Multiply your woodworking talents There's no getting around it: woodworking involves math. If you don't know how to do basic calculations, you'll be at somewhat of a disadvantage as a woodworker. On the other hand, if you know how to work with fractions, decimals, angles, and geometric shapes, you'll expand your capabilities in the shop many times over. Don't worry if you've struggled with shop math in the past. You hold the solutions in your hands. In these pages, you'll discover simple approaches for everything from adding fractions and decimals to laying out ellipses, octagons, and other shapes that will expand your design repertoire. You'll learn: how to easily calculate the proper amount of wood and finishes you'll need for projects how to convert a furniture photo into a dimensional drawing how to adjust the speed of a machine by combining the correct sizes of pulleys, and lots more Add it all up, and it makes for a great buy in a shop book.