Bamboology homework

how to take close-ups and what parts of the plants to get photos of for ID.

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David
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RE: !!!!!!!!!!!! A Contest A Contest A Contest !!!!!!!!!!

Post by David »

The contest is an intellectual exercise (for fun). The question is how many ways, means, processes, or devices can we come up with to measure a (one at a time) culm diameter. The culm must be standing, because that's the way most culms are. You know sticking up out of the ground with roots on the bottom and leaves on the top.

I see your point Roy I wasn't thinking like a tropical bamboologist.

The conversation would go something like this.

I wonder how big around those canes are? I do not know by looking. That is why I always carry my Handi-Dandy Bamboo measuring Thing-a- Bamboobob Robert. Hey. That is neat. Where did you get such a thing? I made it myself after reading an E-book from the ASB on how to build a variety of single culm measuring things. Oh. That is neat, but would it not just be easier to use these here calipers? Yes, but it would not be as much fun! Oh. I see. What you are saying is that you did it for fun. Yes. That is correct. I did it for fun, and I also won a great prize. Oh. What was it? It was a brand new TBA. Oh wow! I can't wait till they come out with the sequel How to Build a Variety of Height Measuring Things. Sounds exciting. I'm all aquiver!
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RE: !!!!!!!!!!!! A Contest A Contest A Contest !!!!!!!!!!

Post by Iowaboo »

and I also won a great prize. Oh. What was it? It was a brand new TBA
When you talk about a TBA, is that one from the 1990's? And if its a newly issued one, how can you afford to give away such a big prize?
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RE: !!!!!!!!!!!! A Contest A Contest A Contest !!!!!!!!!!

Post by bambooweb »

How about a ruler printed along the edge of the pamphlet calibrated to change circumference to diameter. For example if it takes 3.1415 inches of the page wrap around a culm the ruler shows that the culm is 1 inch in diameter.

Bill
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RE: !!!!!!!!!!!! A Contest A Contest A Contest !!!!!!!!!!

Post by David »

You mean like this Bill?

Image

I wanted a small easy to carry simple to use culm diameter measuring device. Well come to find out they make a tree caliber tape but they are fairly pricey. I went to the local fabric store and bought this tape for pocket change. This tape has inches on one side, and centimeters on the opposite side. I wanted to have an easy inches to centimeters conversion so I laid out 3.14 inches of circumference per diameter inch on the centimeter scale side with a steel rule. Now I can wrap the tape around a culm and read centimeters and inches simultaneously.

Cost was less than $2.

It's simple, cheap, easy to carry and use, and fairly accurate with accuracy increasing as diameter increases, and it will measure up to a 12in culm if I ever grow one. :lol:
Last edited by David on Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Boring Calipers that you can Purchase

Post by foxd »

David wrote:Ladies and gentlemen bamboologists,

The contest is cancelled d/t lack of interest.
LACK OF INTEREST!!!?

Well here was the entry that I was working on.

My basic idea was based on PI tape which is used to measure the diameter of round objects. By adjusting the spacing of the markings, a tape could be designed that when wrapped around a culm a mark on one edge would line up with one of the markings on the other so that the diameter of the culm could be read off. I came up with the formula for spacing the markings which is displayed in the image. I was going to add more markings to get a more accurate reading, but the contest was canceled. *sigh*

Image

The image has five tapes printed on it that can be printed on an 80 dpi printer, cut out and used. But make sure the image does not get re-sized in doing this.
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RE: Boring Calipers that you can Purchase

Post by David »

Foxd,

My apologies. You and Bill were the only ones that seemed to understand the spirit of the contest. When the thread got hijacked I just lost interest.

Your idea is very creative! I see that you even compensated for the paper thickness. Very nice work. Don't let an old wet blanket like me stiffle your creative juices. I think you should finish your project.

Bill's idea of a scaled pamphlet would fit right in with your work.

I had a similar idea using an existing centimeter scaled cloth tape.

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:45 pm Post subject: RE: !!!!!!!!!!!! A Contest A Contest A Contest !!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You mean like this Bill?

http://www.bambooweb.info/resize_image3 ... Small).JPG

I wanted a small easy to carry simple to use culm diameter measuring device. Well come to find out they make a tree caliber tape but they are fairly pricey. I went to the local fabric store and bought this tape for pocket change. This tape has inches on one side, and centimeters on the opposite side. I wanted to have an easy inches to centimeters conversion so I laid out 3.14 inches of circumference per diameter inch on the centimeter scale side with a steel rule. Now I can wrap the tape around a culm and read centimeters and inches simultaneously.

Cost was less than $2.

It's simple, cheap, easy to carry and use, and fairly accurate with accuracy increasing as diameter increases, and it will measure up to a 12in culm if I ever grow one.

Perhaps we can continue working on ideas as we come up with them it still sounds fun to me. I've got three more ideas that I would like to build.

So once again my apologies.

Regards

David
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David
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RE: Boring Calipers that you can Purchase

Post by David »

Actually my tape would only measures diameter in inches. The centimeter scale would indicate circumference.

Lance, I should included you with those who got it. You got an idea? I'm sure it would be clever.
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RE: Boring Calipers that you can Purchase

Post by Iowaboo »

You got an idea? I'm sure it would be clever
Might be clever, but far from accurate. My first thought was something that would be rounded to the nearest half inch or inch. And since I was chewing on a pen when I first viewed this topic, I thought a pen would work. A pen has about 4.5 inches of white space to work with. And when someone is in the field, they need to write down the measurements, so one would have a simple tool they could write down estimated measurements. 8) that was the most my brain could come up with.
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RE: Bamboology homework

Post by rfgpitt »

*** :wink: Helpful Tip!!! - Make sure to go all the way around the culm with the calipers since most bamboo are not perfectly round.
Going with Loonies pen idea.... For us sissies (for women it's ok), and especially for this time of year, a tube of chapstick is just a hair over 2 and a half inches and the cap alone is a bit over a half an inch. Unfortunately, some lucky folks would have to take a few different flavors into the field. For me at this point, the cap would just about be enough!

I could use something that measures down to the eighth or sixteenth with most of my bamboo :( .
Rick
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David
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RE: Bamboology homework

Post by David »

Where you been Rick?

Lance, Did you feel the power to edit?

So what you two are proposing is an optical/ visual reference estimator, or perhaps a comparator.
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RE: Bamboology homework

Post by foxd »

David: My further plans on the project was to find a durable material that could be printed on with an ink jet printer and print the scale on it. That way cheap durable versions of my measuring tape could be made.

I will go ahead, finish the scale and look around for a durable material.
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RE: Bamboology homework

Post by Iowaboo »

Lance, Did you feel the power to edit?

Yeah, I decided to use our super power and split the topic in half. The caliper discussion can be found in bamboo discussions.

So what you two are proposing is an optical/ visual reference estimator
Yeah, its like using your eyes, but with guidance, so you don't overestimate what size bamboo you have. The pen would be marked every half inch up to 4.5 inches, so it should be accurate within a half inch of a culm. But like Rick said
I could use something that measures down to the eighth or sixteenth with most of my bamboo
My bamboo fits in a smaller category. If I estimate within a half inch on mine, most will be 0 inches in diameter.
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RE: Bamboology homework

Post by foxd »

I haven't found a durable material yet, but here are a couple of pictures of my device in action. Please excuse the sloppy camera work, I didn't have enough hands.

http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts ... 20_014.jpg
Culm is less than the lower limit of the tape. (<0.25 inches)

http://www.bambooweb.info/images/crafts ... 20_016.jpg
Culm is 13/16 inch diameter (0.8125)
(Okay it isn't standing, but you get the idea!)
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The legal issues that will arise when the undead walk the earth are legion, and addressing them all is well beyond what could reasonably be accomplished in this brief Essay. Indeed, a complete treatment of the tax issues alone would require several volumes.
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