1: My four drafting triangles. The three at the bottom are
30º/60º triangles, while the one at the top is a 45º triangle.
1
adjacent to the 90
o
angle. Whether you use 45
o
or 30
o
/60
o
tri-
angles doesn’t make much difference in modeling. However,
I prefer the 30
o
/60
o
triangles since the small side can some-
times fit into spaces better. Drafting triangles are available in
both clear and colored acrylic. I prefer the colored acrylic ones
since they are easier to find on a cluttered work space. Photo 1
shows my set of triangles.
While I always use a machinist’s square when making square
cuts on sheet styrene, I use a drafting triangle when making
angled cuts. One problem I had in the past with using the typi-
cal metal scale ruler for guiding a hobby knife when cutting sty-
rene is that its narrow width made it difficult to hold steady. A
triangle has a large surface area, making it easy to hold. Photo
2 shows how I typically hold a triangle while making these cuts.
The tool shed - 2
MRH-Aug 2013
