Q-talk 150 - Missing Template

Missing a Template

by Rick Hole

[Editor's Note: I didn't put Rick up to writing this, but I appreciate the endorsement! Glad you got it working. Just remember that if you choose to print only a portion of the template pages that you must turn off all scaling options when you hit the PRINT button. Simply print everything at 100% scale and you should be fine!]

It started with a good economy, a terrific deal on a Q2 5% done kit, and a project partner. When the partner moved away to marry his high school sweetheart and the economy slowed I came to the decision to sell the project. But that hardly got me out of the Q-community. With work to do on N1711Q, Scott Swing’s Q200 now back in his hands I am still building.

Then I was offered a project to build a Q2-Waddlow layup schedule main wing. Great. I can do that. I still have a digital copy of the manual. I borrowed a set of hot-wire and jigging fixture templates and got started. Well, almost started. Two templates were missing. What to do? I knew I could buy the templates at www.quickheads.com but honestly I did not look forward to finding someplace nearby where a 36” x 60” print could be made.

Dan at Quickheads made it simple by sending me a PDF of those prints. Perhaps, I thought, I could extract the parts I needed and print them on my own letter-legal size printer.

These are the same templates as in the original plans but reformatted to 36” paper. Each of the six pages is supplied as a separate PDF file. I opened one page and found one of the templates I needed. To get that to print on standard sized paper I zoomed in so the part needed filled most of the screen. Then I selected the print option with print range set to “Current View”. Depending on the part needed, the Auto-Rotate or Auto-Center check-boxes can be sent. And for larger parts page orientation can be set at Portrait or Landscape as needed, or select a larger paper size. I checked to be sure the document would print at 100%.

The printout was perfectly sized and ready for use. And without the bother of finding a print shop and expense of the large format prints. The PDF pages have a ruler frame so checking the accuracy of the printout is easy. Just lay a ruler on the print and see it match the printed ruler. (I used Foxit Reader. Other PDF readers may work differently).

The ease of use and not having to store a roll of large prints made these files a very nice option. Dan’s price is reasonable and you can have access to them in minutes.

Preview: coming soon, Building a wing table suitable for dancing elephants.