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How to measure first cut width

Ed Korsberg

PRO Member
I have a simple question. In Laminate Pro there is a key setting for First Cut Width.
Is that a measurement parallel to the long side of the laminate strip or is it perpendicular to the angle cut across the strip? Hopefully this picture will explain to the two interpretations of that number.

Title: Imgur

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Lloyd can correct me if I am wrong. In older versions of LP the "First Cut Width" was called the Lamination Cut Width.

From the help file in LP :
The Laminate Cut Width pertains ONLY to the cutting of the laminated board. The measurement you select is the actual width of the strips you cut from that board and saw kerfs are not considered at this point.

Changing the cut width will cause the design of any generation to become larger or smaller, depending on your new selection, but the pattern created will be the same, regardless of the cut width you select.

Cutting angles can make subtle or dramatic changes to your design. Generally speaking, smaller angles will soften the design, create less waste, and reduce the amount of lineal laminate needed to create the design whereas angles more that 30% will tend to make the design more dramatic.

Hope this helps.
 
Lloyd can correct me if I am wrong. In older versions of LP the "First Cut Width" was called the Lamination Cut Width.

From the help file in LP :
The Laminate Cut Width pertains ONLY to the cutting of the laminated board. The measurement you select is the actual width of the strips you cut from that board and saw kerfs are not considered at this point.

Changing the cut width will cause the design of any generation to become larger or smaller, depending on your new selection, but the pattern created will be the same, regardless of the cut width you select.

Cutting angles can make subtle or dramatic changes to your design. Generally speaking, smaller angles will soften the design, create less waste, and reduce the amount of lineal laminate needed to create the design whereas angles more that 30% will tend to make the design more dramatic.

Hope this helps.

My question still remains as to the orientation of the width. Is it a measurement along the original length of the laminate strip, or is the width perpendicular to the angle of the first cut. Hopefully this picture illustrates those two choices. Title: Imgur
 
Clipboard01.jpg


I did a quick test in LP. First Cut Width = 1/2", Cut Angle set to 0 for 1 and 2. The Repeating Unit comes out to 1". So my guess is the measurement is on the original length. When using LP you want the repeating unit to be as close to the segment edge length that you need to make your ring.
 
View attachment 3835


I did a quick test in LP. First Cut Width = 1/2", Cut Angle set to 0 for 1 and 2. The Repeating Unit comes out to 1". So my guess is the measurement is on the original length. When using LP you want the repeating unit to be as close to the segment edge length that you need to make your ring.
but at 0 degrees both possible lines of measurement would be the same.
if you look at this picture there are 4 potential interpretations of a measurement length.
Title: Imgur
 
It has been a few years when I made chevrons. All I can tell you is I set the cut width so the repeating unit was close to the desired segment length. It worked. Looks like you Lloyd will have to answer your question.

The shortest distance between two parallel lines is the length of the perpendicular segment between them. imo, that is the cut width of the repeating unit.
 
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It has been a few years when I made chevrons. All I can tell you is I set the cut width so the repeating unit was close to the desired segment length. It worked. Looks like you Lloyd will have to answer your question.

The shortest distance between two parallel lines is the length of the perpendicular segment between them. imo, that is the cut width of the repeating unit.

let me attempt to clarify this again. If you look at this picture I can see 4 possible interpretations of what the cut length is in reference to.

Title: Imgur

Thus if the angle is 30 degrees and the hypotenuse is 1 inch, then the base cosine(30) would be 0.866 inches
Title: Imgur
 
Guess Lloyd will have to answer the programing.
My experience if the "first cut" says it needs to be 1", I set the saw fence to 1" and rip. Have not had a problem
 
The cut width should be the measurement of "C" in your picture. It is the actual width of the piece when cut, perpendicular to the cut edge. It can be tricky to dial in, but will make a big difference in the final designs. Of course, each error adds up quickly when making the second and third cuts.
 
The cut width should be the measurement of "C" in your picture. It is the actual width of the piece when cut, perpendicular to the cut edge. It can be tricky to dial in, but will make a big difference in the final designs. Of course, each error adds up quickly when making the second and third cuts.
Thank you for the clarification and that is what I would have expected. I did try my first hand at using the software and preparing a feature ring as if I was using WoodturnerPro. However the dimensions right from the Gen 1 cut did not seem to match the predicted value in the southwest design view. I think for my starting data the cutting instructions said the width of the board should be 3.56 inches. However my width seemed closer to 3.3 or 3.4 inches (I don't remember the exact value). But I figured this was practice anyway and continued to make the length cuts as instructed. Again the resultant pattern did not quite seem correct.
Next time I will be more precise on the cuts (I just bought a zero tolerance table saw insert for the thin pieces not to drop into the saw). I am looking forward to actually producing something that looks close to the perfection the LaminatePro screen shows.
 
Another mistake I made the first couple of times- a repeating unit is two parts that make the chevron, and that equals one segment width in WTP. I had a couple of bowl feature rings that turned into thin vases because I only cut half of the total parts needed. That led to the lesson of making a feature ring first, then designing the rest of the bowl to fit it.
 
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