[Gregor Low]

Hi everyone,

I've been watching a couple of videos relating to the Trend flexible curve and think it is a wonderfully simple idea.

If you haven't seen it, it is essentially a solid piece of plastic /rubber or similar, which is extremely strong, but also can be bent into various shapes, before being screwed down to your working piece and used as a template.

Personally i think it looks like a great bit of kit. I can imagine it would be great for creating templates, such as a radius curve or arch for the router to be guided along.

Wondering what other persons thoughts are?

Gregor

 

[DaninVan]

Hey, Gregor; welcome!
These used to be really popular...used mainly for boat lofting and draughting.
Tru-Flex II Flexible Curves for Drawing & Measuring Curved Shapes

 

[vindaloo]

@DaninVan Dan, I remember those draughting flexible things from my childhood. My dad was a draughtsman and when he began he used them. By the time he retired he had moved over to CAD. And he was the one who asked me why I wanted a computer! Go figure.

Those draughting ones don't screw down so it would be impossible to use them as a guide.

 

[TwoSkies57]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm says I.. Been thinking about these things lately..might make some of the stuff I try to do, easier...two questions:

1: how well do they maintain the shape? take a good bump? or as I suspect, ya just gotta be careful...

2: how tight a radius can you get away with

ok, a third question:

Draughting? drafting?

 

[vindaloo]

Draughting, Draughtsmen.... Draught

Pertains to drawing technical drawings and plans. Such as an architect. Or engineer. My dad drew blast furnaces and the like.

 

[TwoSkies57]

gotcha Angie,,, thank you kinda thought so, but ya never know

round here we call it drafting. My son is a draftsman..

 

[JOAT]

I won't be getting one. I figure it would take me less time to sketch out curves freehand, I'd be fine tuning my curves too, so just a gadget I don't need. Probably wouldn't be able to find it when I needed it anyway.

 

[DaninVan]

Old School!

@DaninVan Dan, I remember those draughting flexible things from my childhood. My dad was a draughtsman and when he began he used them. By the time he retired he had moved over to CAD. And he was the one who asked me why I wanted a computer! Go figure.

Those draughting ones don't screw down so it would be impossible to use them as a guide.

Battens and ducks, Angie!
30/08/2010, Monday, Drawing - Wei Shi's blog

 

[tomp913]

Battens and ducks, Angie!
30/08/2010, Monday, Drawing - Wei Shi's blog

Exactly, just how we did it way back then. I still have a couple of the Acu-Arc Adjustable Curves in their grey poly tubes and a Acu-Arc Ruler that could be used to draw a section of a large radius curve - all in a drawer with a pile of various templates that I bought over the years. And all obsolete as soon as they came out with CAD - bet I could buy a really nice router or two with all the money I've invested in them over the years.

 

[old55]

Welcome to the forum Gregor.

 

[Gregor Low]

Thanks for the welcome posts and replies.

Twoskies - there are a couple of videos on youtube but that's all i could really find. I wondered why they werent so popular, but for doing curves, and arc's I can't think of anything better if I'm honest, unless of course I'm missing something.

They are quite expensive for what they are, but for me being the casual woodworker, and with limited tools, i believe this would help me to create some quick templates very quickly for a couple of my plans.

 

[vindaloo]

Battens and ducks...............

You'd need really heavy ducks if you wanted to use it to guide a router!

Just thought, anyone looking at the above comment would think I'm mad.....

Not far out either....

 

[DaninVan]

When I posted that link, Angie, I should have said 'Take a gander'...

 

[harrysin]

Great for drawing, but for templates, I'm afraid not. When routing with templates the template guide fitted to the router is pressed hard against the template.

 

[DaninVan]

So; make a template. The objective is to lay out the curves; doing the layout AND using it as a template in one operation is maybe a bridge too far?

 

[vindaloo]

The one Gregor, the OP, posted about is the trend one seen here which can be screwed down every 1 1/2" and used directly as a guide for the router. It does look like it would work but I have no need of curves like that is possible of as yet.

 

[neville9999]

Hi everyone,

I've been watching a couple of videos relating to the Trend flexible curve and think it is a wonderfully simple idea.

If you haven't seen it, it is essentially a solid piece of plastic /rubber or similar, which is extremely strong, but also can be bent into various shapes, before being screwed down to your working piece and used as a template.

Personally i think it looks like a great bit of kit. I can imagine it would be great for creating templates, such as a radius curve or arch for the router to be guided along.

Wondering what other persons thoughts are?

Gregor

You could use it to set out your shape on, say 10 to 16mm MDF type material and then make a template out of that, if you think you can use an item like that to run a router against then you need to learn a lot more about routers before you do it as it will not work. N

 

[vindaloo]

Then the advertising they have is wrong, it shows someone, albeit in a still photo, using it as the guide for a bottom bearing straight bit. It even says that in the text blurb.

 

[tomp913]

Here's a link to US vendors.

Kurvenlinfix Flexible Router Guide

Not cheap, but perfect if you needed to make some accurate templates.

 

[Gregor Low]

Thank you to those of you who have read the initial post properly, and understand the product I am talking about.

It is not a drawing aid, as some have mentioned. It is a tool made by trend for routing curves. It physically screws down to your surface and is solid!

I noticed it is in their "New product" section of their latest magazine, so I was looking to see what the general opinion was.

I think I will buy it. I have limited resources, and this would be the most effective way for me to create a curve and arch type shape.

For those of you not sure what I mean, please look on you tube and you will see a video of a similar branded product being used.

Gregor