On Tue, Feb 5, 2008, Duncan Midwinter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: >> At 06:37 +0000 5/2/08, Duncan Midwinter wrote: >> >Is there a method for drawing the teardrop shape of a lute soundboard >> using >> >circles? I've been messing around in Adobe Illustrator drawing different >> >sized circles and can almost get there -- but not quite.
compass, dividers, straightedge are traditional drafting tools which were certainly used in the renaissance. A thin piece of wood (batten) is a common way of making a smooth curve whose mathematical shape is, well, probably best left to a mthematician to puzzle out. The lines drawn on wood then must be realized using hand tools to accomplish a mold or some template; the intended shape is not always realized, but something good enough emerges, and is then used to guide the lute body's construction, again, an approximation. The human eye is a wonderful thing, sometimes its best to trust it and be happy. -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
