Workshop Tips - Measuring, Marking & Math

This week i documented some of my most used tips to avoid math in the Workshop.

If you like what i do you can support me at:

For more Infos visit

[laurakampf]

Sorry for the Audio...my Lav mic broke and i had to use the sound from the camera... hope you still enjoyed the video

[mediter]

Math teacher here! (Specifically Geometry) these are awesome tips, but secretly it's still math! You're avoiding arithmetic mainly, and doing what humans have done long before numbers became a part of Mathematics! Classic constructions don't use numbers at all, and they look really similar to the things you were doing!!

Just spreading the geometric love 😊 if you like this stuff then you might secretly love math after all! (Just ditch the numbers...)

[jcsackett]

This video was awesome—I would love more tips & tricks vids!

[ThedwarfsizedWorkshop]

When you drew out that banana, I legit thought this would end with a "banana for scale" joke, because that would have totally played into the "use natural proportions instead of math" theme. :D

[kelidungan]

Great video! As an elementary math specialist, I try to get the students to reason through problems and then help them find the math (calculations). Students are often afraid to make mistakes, so much that they don't know where to start. I will be using your videos and have the students find the hidden math in your short cuts.

[GrahamDallas]

Some great tips in there, I love the post-it note mitres, this I will use. One of my favourites is probably the oldest, the 3-4-5 rule for working out right angles.

[davidroessler]

Thanks Laura, I just learned more in the last nine minutes watching your video than I had in 20 years of messing around in the shop. I can’t believe it, I’ve got to share this one with my friends. Great work! Keep the videos coming. 👍

[nixhixx]

That washer to expand the circle is BRILLIANT!

[gardenfork]

Laura It’s good to see that in both our worlds gut feeling rules the day - Vielen Dank, Eric

[FigmentsMade]

There are some fantastic tips here! I love the tip about using post-it notes to determine the miter cut for a random angle. One tip I use to figure out how to divide up something evenly is to cut a piece of paper the same size and then fold the paper however many times you need to.

[mattmiller]

Laura, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE videos like this. Please do more. You are the best

[charlier]

The audio was fine and the tips were great! Any help to work smarter and more efficient is tremendous! Thank you!

[macexpert]

One thing that helped me a lot was by getting rid of the stupid “imperial system” of inches and feet and use METRIC tape measure and rulers👍

[ughtentide]

Awesome video! My favorite measuring trick is to use two compass arcs from two parallel and square endpoints to find the exact center of anything. If you have a board with one factory edge, draw a perpendicular line across it with a framing square, set the compass on each endpoint, draw a nice big arc in the "middle-ish" area from both endpoints, then connect the two points where the arcs intersect with a straight edge to get a perfect center line. (It takes longer to explain it than to do it!)
Banana trick: when they get to the perfect ripeness, peel them, cut them into slices, dump them on a wax paper lined tray, freeze them, then bag them. They don't turn brown, and they'll last a month or two that way, and won't get overripe. Also, frozen bananas are nice in the summer! (Grapes will freeze well, too, as will oranges, if you peel them.)

[larry]

Watching and learning from you is the reason I keep watching everything you publish. Will also rewatch to make sure I get the tiny details that you take so much time to record. Your ability to present everything with precision, clarity, and beauty is just amazing

[chrismarquardt]

Das ist ja wohl mal das nützlichste und beste Video zu dem Thema, das ich seit langem gesehen habe. Bin jetzt noch mehr Fan als eh schon.

[valulea]

Unbelievable ! I'm not bad at math and still I think your tips are so helpful to gain time and avoid unsolicited calculations !! Thanks :)

[ElizabethFranquiEsq]

Wow. It's a relief to know that a maker as expert as you also tries to avoid math. My math skills are awful, but I can let it go. Thanks!

[Chiselsplay]

Yup!!!! I can totally relate on eyeballing the proportions instead of measuring everything thoroughly. There's almost no round numbers in nature, everything is just proportions in between the objects. Why should furniture and building stuff be any different. Precise numbers are for machines, proportional and aesthetic view at the project are for humans. Great content, Laura!

[ADBBuild]

The trick for dividing something into 3 or more pieces by rotating the tape measure is BRILLIANT! Will definitely use this in the future.