View Full Version : It's all triangles
app-ironworksllc
06-11-2009, 12:01 PM
Life loves Irony.
-rant on-
In school I hated math. I wasn't very good at it, even early on learning multiplication tables was tough.
Now, building lots of handrails and gates and stuff, every thing uses trigonometry. I don't know the definition of a cosine from a stop sign, but I can tell you how to get the slope for a set of rails. It's still trig, even if I don't know and use the proper terms.
Some times I think the whole universe is all about triangles.
what time is it- what's the azimuth of the sun
how tall is that mountain- how far and what angle to the peak
how do I get the slope of these stairs- 3 things rise, run, and diagonal
how do I keep this corner square- 3.4.5.
how do I make my cj roll cage strong, or keep this tower standing- it's all triangles
-rant off-
weldbead
06-11-2009, 12:07 PM
a fine observation
Broccoli1
06-11-2009, 05:16 PM
I thought is was all just fu*king Magic:drinkup:
steve45
06-11-2009, 06:43 PM
Yea, tell me about triangles! (But I love math and trig). Here's my little project. It seems that almost every piece is cut at an angle, or a compound angle.
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=27992
Interesting. You thought of a few use I knew but wouldn't have considdered right away. Rather than retype the whole thing I'll just post the link (i't's got a lot of parts and picts). Here is a thread I did else where which talks about angles and loads as it relates to trusses and bridges. Basic structures all based on angles, sin, cos and Tan and how loads transfer in a truss.
http://microzone.us/weldingforum/index.php/topic,2104.0.html
JC'sWelding
06-11-2009, 09:43 PM
This is precisely why I wear a foil covered triangle on my head. It keeps me centered to the universe and help me to be located when the aliens come back to get me once my mission on this planet is done.
But seriously... This is why trig was always my favorite subject in school. Many things can be answered by making the same observations.
app-ironworksllc
06-12-2009, 01:33 AM
This is precisely why I wear a foil covered triangle on my head. It keeps me centered to the universe and help me to be located when the aliens come back to get me once my mission on this planet is done.
But seriously... This is why trig was always my favorite subject in school. Many things can be answered by making the same observations.
Any signs of intelligent life yet?
I really think I'd have aced most math classes if I had been able to figure out how to apply it in a practical physical sense. Think of a class set up as "Practical, physical math lab" where you use whatever type of math you're studying to build something. When I started fabbing is when all that math started making sense to me.
For example my mother in law (who has a PHD) is amazed at how quick I can figure fractional equations for her. It's simply from years of using a (imperial) tape measure.
neat-o
06-12-2009, 10:46 AM
Trig was the last math class that I was able to understand and use in the real world. I had a lot of math after that, and I know those, too, apply in the real world, but I'm not smart enough to make the connection. But triangles rule.
Hey Brian, I make it up to Hot Springs pretty often. Mind if I drop by and see the shop sometime?
chenry
06-12-2009, 10:51 AM
neat little free program for triangle figurin, some other stuff too
http://www.cwattsdesign.com/Sidekick.htm
free as well
app-ironworksllc
06-13-2009, 03:36 PM
Thanks for the link. It looks very useful at first glance.
app-ironworksllc
06-13-2009, 03:39 PM
Trig was the last math class that I was able to understand and use in the real world. I had a lot of math after that, and I know those, too, apply in the real world, but I'm not smart enough to make the connection. But triangles rule.
Hey Brian, I make it up to Hot Springs pretty often. Mind if I drop by and see the shop sometime?
Sure come on by. Call the shop first, if no answer call the cell.
-Brian-
LarryO
06-14-2009, 01:07 AM
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