enlarging plans

Does anyone know who does plan enlarging? I have an old plan from a magazine that I would like to have enlarged to full size. Thanks, Bud

HI. Just this summer we took some plans to a photo copy store and had them made in different sizes. worked ok They did it while we waited.. Keith V

Keith Varley

Someone like Kinkos can probably do it, although you will probably have to go through several sizes to get there. You will have to enlarge it once, and then again. The biggest problem is going to be to get the exact enlargement at the very end. It gets tricky to match the exact measurement, and you will lose a lot of detail in the process.

While I have never started with plans from the pages of a magazine, if possible the process goes a lot easier if you can simply draw the simple structure on a big piece of paper and limit the enlargement work to things like the airfoil, tip shapes, etc.

Do take notes as to the percentages the original is being enlarged; makes it so much easier to get parts which actually match one another...

I've done this a fair amount. What works best for me is to play around with a regular copier until the scale on magazine plans hits something even, usually 1/4" = 1". It'll usually still fit on one page. If not, just make sure all the parts you need to make patterns for are complete and not across a border, will take several copies.

Then cut out the parts (just cut around them) and copy at 200%, twice (if it's 1/4 = 1). It's easy to pull rib spacing, moments, stuff like that off the original 1/4 scale page with dividers or whatever.

Could have kinkos 4X the 1/4 scale copy also. That's pretty easy. Giving them something that requires math and fiddling doesn't always work out so well, know what I mean?

As for getting the detail right, it'll work out pretty good if you use the whole scale on the page. If it shows 6" say, make sure that you fiddle with the enlargment until the 6" = 1 1/2", not just that the 1" = 1/4". You'll get an idea of where in the big fat line you need to be in order to be accurate.

Tools

You don't have to go through several sizes! All you have to do is to figure out how many percent larger you need to make the final copy. This can worked out using a known dimension like the wheel size etc. If this can be done in little old New Zealand (at the end of the world), I am sure it can be done in the US. The quality will be acceptable, but obviously not as good as the original copy. Certainly good enough to build from.

Lars

"If this can be done in little old New Zealand (at the end of the world), I am sure it can be done in the US"

Ok, let me qualify where I learned this process, BEYOND the end of the earth in little old USS Carl Vinson! They can fix nuclear reactors, nearly build a jet fighter, but can't enlarge plans like that or get a soft serve ice cream machine (we called it auto dog-don't know why) to work.

Tools

I've also soaked the page in mineral oil and used an overhead projector, drawn the million tiny squares, then drew a million small squares...the one step process sounds good.

Mike,

My reply was to the original post, but somehow it ended up below yours! Oh, the wonders of computers!

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-03 AT 02:35 PM (CST)
 
I can do it for you for FREE ....if you can scan it in and e-mail it to me I can get it done for you....I might ask for a donation for shiping....if you want it rolled up.....if folded is OK..I can send a copy of it to you for nothing.

I can enlarge/reduce any image to any size...from postage stamp to LIFE size....

E-mail me if you are interested.

Wynn

BTW Lars is right....I do plans for people over here ( including Lars )

It is easy to figure out % sizes, and I can just print to media size as well.......have scaled many a plan up form magazine pages.....it is a piece of Cake. The quality is as good as you wil get elsewhere.....have image sofware to clean stuff up too.....

Hey Wynn,

Aren't you supposed to WORK?

I am working.....on my control line stuff....you still in Asia??

I haven't tried Kinko's recently, but I use a company in the Cleveland Suburbs called "Academy Blue". They are able to duplicate my full sized plans in B & W and have done enlargements to nearly 200% for me, although I don't know their limit or distortion in very high magnifications. I'd expect that modern "blueprinting" shops can probably do similarly good black on whites of these sizes.

I have to stress to them that feeding straight is a priority. Since their calibration error seems to be + or - 1%, more than 1/2" in span on a full-sized stunter, I measure their first copy in key places (also sight down any long straight lines) and then compute an amended magnification factor, to the nearest .1% (.001), which their machine can handle. This will get the result to within 1/16" in a 50+-span wing. I would think that the digital equipment these guys use is available elsewhere and probably typical. There is an significant "set-up" charge at my place, but additional copies are cheaper.

SK

Kinko's can do it. I go to a blueprint type shop in Youngstown, OH caled En-Ser Reprographics. You hand them the page out of the magazine, tell them what you are doing. A few minutes later you have as many sets of full size plans you need. They do it in 1 step. $7.00 for the enlargement, $4.00 for copies. This is for SV big piped ship plans. Easier then going to the Mall. Less painfull to.

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-03 AT 02:59 PM (CST)
 
>Does anyone know who does plan enlarging? I have an old plan
>from a magazine that I would like to have enlarged to full
>size. Thanks, Bud

I have enlarged many magazine plans at KINKOS without any difficulty at all. Most KINKOS have a digital enlargement scanner that can go up to 400% with a proportion tool to help you figure the required percentage enlargement. The final product is topnotch. And KINKOS only charges for the final enlargement even if you have to do two or three step. Most enlargements only require two step. Good luck.

HI Bud. Lots of good advise, but let me ask a question> What are the plans of? They just may be available. It seems someone always has a set of something that was in a magazine. Allen Hunt of WV has many magazine plans available full size.

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-03 AT 09:06 PM (CST)
 
Us'ns in the South Seattle area go to Royal Graphics, a place that does engineering blueprint copies, etc, for engineering companies. They can make really big prints, and we give them an exact wingspan or other dimension to match, and they do it...may take a couple of tries, but they're good to us. If you check around your area, you can probably find a company that will do the same for you. Steve

PS: Ty, please provide contact info for this Allen Hunt....

If there is a Kinko's near you or some other copy shop you can enlarge it yourself. If your not sure how to do it I am willing to do it for you. I can get it right on the 1st copy by calculating the % enlargement needed to get the wing span I want. Kinko's here has a copy machine with a continious roll of paper. I can enlarge a print from a magazine or any plans you have to any wing span you want. The copy machine will print out a paper what ever size it needs to be to get it all on there. I made 5 copies yesterday 12 feet long each. I will have to charge you for the printing costs at kinko's plus postage. Printing cost depents on how large the copy is. A 4' print is about 80 cents postage up to 8' is about $1.25 postage.

Thanks to everyone for the many replys to my request. Bud

Ron B.
F4Fguy

Find a local engineering "blueprint" shop.They can scan it and blow it up to exact scale in one go.They are also,usually,less expensive than Kinko's or the like.In addition they can do it on vellum instead of bond paper,giving you a much more stable print.