Tangram puzzle layout........

Most of my lunch time was spent playing with the Tangram puzzle layout. I didn't neglect filling the pie hole, that took longer than normal. In the end I got the food storage bag filled and I figured out how to do the layout. But it was on paper, without a ruler, dividers, or a 45° layout gizmo to help me. The proof of what I thought at lunch I found out tonight in the shop.

second piece from last night

I didn't know how well my thought process would work on this but to my thinking, the size of the square means nothing. Whether it is big or small, the key is doing a proportional layout. I started by making this square and removing the chipped out edge here.

it's square every way I checked it

I had just enough potato chips to keep my energy level up to do this.

a pencil , a ruler, and dividers

The first step was to mark the square in half by going from opposite corners. After I got done with this, I eyeballed it to make the sure the 4 triangles looked all the same. I double checked that the two lines ran out of the corners.

dividing the space

I picked which side I wanted the 5 smaller pieces to be on (a coin toss). I used the dividers to divide that half of the square in half.

laying out the middle size triangle

At the half way point I used the 45 saddle square and marked what will be the middle sized triangle.

layout for the first small triangle

The layout for the first small triangle was easy. Using the 45 saddle square, align it on the left side where the middle sized triangle ends. Mark the small triangle. The next layout is the second small triangle. The square is already laid out. The line from the very first layout line is the right leg of the square.

time to check my proportions

The base of this small triangle should be the same as the base of the other small triangle. The base of the small triangles should also be same length as the sides of the square.

layout for the second small triangle

Once this layout was done, it automatically does the layout for the last shape in the puzzle. I didn't measure this last one but I'm willing to bet dollars against donut holes that it is a parallelogram. With the dividers I made tic marks for the second small triangle and I verified them against the the first small triangle.

knifing my pencil lines

I found the knife line easy for my carcass saw to track in. I did not make a knife wall, I sawed on the knife line.

much better looking than yesterday's

first proportion check

I'm off about a 16th. The two small triangles are laid together on the square and it's off in the upper left on the left side. I don't think it'll show when these are sanded and painted.

2nd proportion check

The two small triangles are almost a perfect match with the middle sized triangle. It's not dead nuts but I think it's more than close enough for this as a puzzle.

3rd check

I'm am so happy about this proportion check coming out that I could wet myself.  The last check was putting the 5 small pieces on the two biggest triangles. Again it wasn't perfect but it will work for this as a puzzle. The last check made me feel stupid because it took me 4 tries before I got it.

side by side

Today's puzzle is on the left and yesterday's is on the right. I was doing a little trimming and I blew a corner off on one of the small triangles. I won't be using puzzle #2  for a xmas gift. I think for puzzle number #3 I'll try maple.

I got the layout figured out and I don't have any issues with sawing out the pieces. I'm ready to make a couple of these for xmas. I was hoping that there would be something I could make to help Santa out this year.

accidental woodworker

trivia corner
What was the site of the Empire State Building before the site it was erected in 1931?
answer - the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

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