I really have no idea how to measure a radius etc, ive looked it up, and just cant comprehend it. Are there any good resources out there that will allow you to print out pieces to make a certain radius etc? Thanks!
One of the old tricks is to tie a piece of string to a tack or nail, measure the radius you want, and tie a pen/pencil at that distance. Handy tool, easy to make, and lets you draw in the curve.
I use a stick to make what I think is formally called a "radius bar." Could be a yardstick, but it could also be a piece of 1x2. I put a nail through one end that I can stick on layout surface, or on big piece of paper. (Painter's floor covering paper comes in big rolls...) Swing that stick around. And I drill holes at various lengths along the stick, holes big enough to insert a pencil in. Swing the thing around to draw circles of various sizes. How to find the radius of a circular curve- use a square with one side laid along the tangent of the curve at a point near one end of the curve and a perpendicular side toward what looks like the center of the curve, and draw a line on that perpendicular. Doesn't need to go all the way, just across the area where it looks like the center is going to fall. Then do that again on another point on the curve, say close to the other end of the curve. Where the two lines cross is the center of the curve. You can measure from there to the center of the track and find the radius. If you are trying to lay out or measure a curve in a computer drawing or drafting program, that is another thing.
