Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

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Doranwen
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by Doranwen »

I sent him your reply - I don't know how much he gets to checking this thread but he does get to the emails even if it takes him a day or two sometimes.
cday wrote: 08 Apr 2021, 08:20 A detail at this point, but it is probably easiest to comment on details as they come up.
Oh definitely! These details need to be plotted out so I know what to purchase, lol. The fewer emergency trips to the hardware store, the better. :)
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by cday »

To make progress, you need to identify if you haven't already done so all the parts you will need, particularly the lumber (if that's the most appropriate American word for wood or timber) including type, thickness and sizes. I am not familiar with all the details of David Landin's design, which for the updated 2015 version are spread across a number of videos, and in any case I much prefer written instructions!

You mentioned that you lived reasonably near to a Michael's: Googling 'Michael's Olympia Peninsular' or something similar, I found that it is a chain of craft rather than hardware stores and as such would be unlikely to stock much that you will need. I noticed that it sold picture frames and although I didn't see sheet acrylic mentioned it might possibly be a source for that. I noticed that Michael's had branches in, at least, Lacey and Sequim.

You should be able to locate hardware stores and lumber suppliers in your area easily with simple online searches, using those terms and the name of your location. When you are ready to buy the lumber you need, it would probably be an advantage to be able to buy the sheet pieces needed cut to size if possible; if you live near Lacey I see that TangleWilde Lumber Inc. offer that service for a reasonable charge. Another possible consideration is that you may only need quite small pieces of some materials, so ideally you would be able to buy exactly what you need cut to size rather than full sheets, or maybe your grandfather or someone else you know could have off-cuts that could be used. There may, of course, be other convenient suppliers, so some research online possibly followed by some quick phone calls could be worthwhile.

Beyond that, with the detail design of some parts such as the platen construction possibly still open, there is the consideration of the tools that will be available for the construction. In your first post you referred to your grandfather's tools, and to the possibility of borrowing others from friends or neighbours. You mentioned that your grandfather had a table saw which is a versatile tool, not a tool that I possess, but I have read that they do need to be used with great care. So unless your brother has prior experience using one, or someone experienced could make the cuts, it may not be practical to rely on using that.

Update:

Looking at the main part of David Landin's Instructables article, it looks as if the lumber required consisted of just three large pieces of 10 mm thick MDF, plus one strip of the same for the left book cradle retaining bar, make that two pieces for a 100º platen to also retain the right side of angle brackets, I would make those 1-1/4" wide. In inch sizes the nearest equivalent thickness would be 3/8", which would be just a little thinner. He referred to using MDF or ply, I would think MDF would likely be less expensive and do fine, there are many types of ply, and depending on the grade, ply might be a bit more flexible so 1/2" might be better.

MDF when cut produces nasty fine dust and also tends to blunt tools fairly quickly, so those would be further reasons to buy MDF cut to size of possible. Depending on how it is sold, some small off-cuts might be useful, 3/8" is slightly thinner than the calculated thickness for the 100º angle bracket support block if my calculation is correct, which might be useful.

I see that David used 21.5 mm plastic tubes: checking a pipe in my heating system, that would be the outside diameter, and looking at the U.S. HomeDepot website the nearest U.S. equivalent would be 1" (25.4 mm) outside diameter, so that should be proportionately more rigid, and I suspect but can't confirm that the 1" pipe would likely also have a greater wall thickness.

If the 1" pipes used for the two tubes which he reinforced in his build with thin metal tubes do need reinforcement, if suitable metal tubes aren't readily available, I suspect that round lumber bars of nominally 1" diameter, if available, or failing that maybe rectangular sections 1" high by maybe 1/2" thickness, with rounded corners and arranged vertically, could be an alternative.
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by cday »

cday wrote: 10 Apr 2021, 07:40I see that David used 21.5 mm plastic tubes: checking a pipe in my heating system, that would be the outside diameter, and looking at the U.S. HomeDepot website the nearest U.S. equivalent would be 1" (25.4 mm) outside diameter, so that should be proportionately more rigid, and I suspect but can't confirm that the 1" pipe would likely also have a greater wall thickness.

If the 1" pipes used for the two tubes which he reinforced in his build with thin metal tubes do need reinforcement, if suitable metal tubes aren't readily available, I suspect that round lumber bars of nominally 1" diameter, if available, or failing that maybe rectangular sections 1" high by maybe 1/2" thickness, with rounded corners and arranged vertically, could be an alternative.
I now have some more information on U.S. PVC pipe sizes and it looks good. :D

The pipes David Landin used were almost certainly sold for waste water use, such as an overflow pipe from a tank, and so were not required to withstand any significant load. The outside diameter is 21.5 mm and, although I haven't been able to confirm their wall thickness, it was likely about 1 mm which is quite thin.

The HomeDepot pipes on the other hand are 1.3" outside diameter, 33.4 mm, so are a usefully larger diameter, and as they are intended to withstand pressure as in a pumped system, they have substantially thicker walls, and so should be substantially more rigid. So simply upgrading from the type of pipe used by David Landin might eliminate the need for the thin-wall steel tubes he inserted for the two counterbalance weight tubes.

Should using those tubes, known as Schedule 40 pipes, still not provide sufficient rigidity, there is a thicker wall version intended to withstand greater pressure known as Schedule 80 pipes: as those pipes have the same outside diameter, they fit into the same connectors used for the Schedule 40 pipes. The pipes David Landin used were joined using a 'solvent weld' which once made can't be undone, so if a similar joining system is used for the U.S. pipes it would be necessary to either check the rigidity before joining permanently or use new pieces.

In the probably unlikely case that rigidity really is an issue, or the cost impact would not be not great, it would of course be possible to construct everything using the next size 1 1/4" pipe if they are readily available.

The following table gives data for different types of pipe:


PVC pipe data.png
PVC pipe data.png (59.47 KiB) Viewed 5057 times

Further thoughts:

If smartphones are used and they are significantly lighter than the cameras David Landin used, then the counter balance weights could be correspondingly lighter too, reducing the potential rigidity problem, although there would still be the weight of the platen to balance.

And in the U.S.possibly there are lighter PVC pipes available than those that showed up in my search, which would be less expensive if cost is an issue?

I noticed in my search that HomeDepot also sell a 1" steel tube which I think should fit into the Schedule 40 pipe if needed, but the wall thickness seemed rather large and it would be heavy and an extra cost.

And an intriguing thought: the counterbalance weight(s) could potentially fit into the balance weight crosspiece tube which I think I can see in the first image in the Instructables article: that could be a neat solution, and the above steel tube if it were used could be progressively shortened until the desired balance is obtained. Or, possibly the cross-tube could be filled with something else such as steel washers, or even sand or grit as a simple balance weight??
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by dpc »

You could also build that cradle lifting arm assembly from another, more rigid, material instead of small diameter plastic pipe.

For example the Home Depot has 1"x2" (0.75" x 1.5" actual) hardwood poplar boards at $1.48 per linear foot. It's easy to work with and would easily take the sort of load you'd be experiencing without bending. They have a miter box and saw (hand-powered) in the aisle where you can cut the pieces to length too if you don't have something like that at home.
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by cday »

dpc wrote: 12 Apr 2021, 16:33 You could also build that cradle lifting arm assembly from another, more rigid, material instead of small diameter plastic pipe.

For example the Home Depot has 1"x2" (0.75" x 1.5" actual) hardwood poplar boards at $1.48 per linear foot. It's easy to work with and would easily take the sort of load you'd be experiencing without bending. They have a miter box and saw (hand-powered) in the aisle where you can cut the pieces to length too if you don't have something like that at home.
Agreed, I have long thought that David Landin's design could likely be easily constructed using timber, given a way to cut lengths accurately at 90º so that they can be screwed together easily. And his use of thin-walled metal tubes to reinforce the the cradle lifting arms might not be easy to reproduce generally, relying as it did on inexpensive components available on eBay at the time when he constructed his prototype.

But having looked in detail at the PVC tubes available in the U.S. and having compared them with the very light PVC tubes available in the U.K. that he used, I think that the Schedule 40 tubes should be so much more rigid that the best option is to use those and otherwise follow his design. Should there still be significant flexibility, the thicker-walled Schedule 80 tubes could easily be substituted as they fit into the same connectors: I've established that the tubes can be expected to be a close fit in the couplings so there should be no rush to cement them in, if it will ever in fact be necessary.

While writing, I'll mention that whereas the U.K. tubing David used are joined using a 'solvent bond', the U.S. tubes are normally joined using a primer followed by an adhesive, to ensure a watertight join.
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by Doranwen »

Yeah, my brother's thinking we'll probably be OK as far as the PVC pipe goes. He'd rather stick with the pipes since we can use the thick-walled version if need be. The only thing he suggested calling ahead to check on were the T brackets that were used to suspend the platen. He's not sure if Home Depot would have that…

The one consideration he mentioned is all the conversion back and forth between metric (on the plans) and imperial (everything we'll be able to find in stores) measurements. He pointed out that the acrylic is probably not going to come in 3 mm thickness, which is approximately 0.11 inches thick. The closest typical imperial measurement to that is 1/8 (0.125) of an inch and is hoping that the extra thickness won't hurt? I was waiting for his response before I called the Michael's store to find out what they offer, as I wanted to be sure I was asking for the correct dimensions. I won't know what they have till I call, so I probably need to do that and just find out all the details before I make any decisions.
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by cday »

On the question of the T-brackets, they are the sort of thing you would find in a hardware store, along with angle brackets and things like hinges which you don't need, and screws. I think they would also very likely be stocked at HomeDepot and similar stores.

I don't think there should in practice be much of a problem with the metric and imperial measurements: the difference in thickness on the acrylic sheets is minimal, and when you build the platen, however you do that, you will build to the actual thickness. Acrylic in 3 mm thickness might possibly be available in the U.S. so purchase whatever is easily available.

On the tubes and various connectors required, quite a number in total, purchased in the U.S. as Schedule 40 parts they will all automatically be compatible, and for other dimensions the conversion is simple: 1 inch = 25.4 mm exactly, and there are online converters that should make conversion easy. You could also make a spreadsheet with columns showing each part, the specified metric size, and the converted inch dimensions calculated automatically. It should just be a question of attention to detail!
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by dpc »

You can get T brackets at Home Depot. On HomeDepot.com you can view the current inventory at your local store.
Everbilt 3 in x 3 in Zinc Plated T Plate.

You might find that 1/8" acrylic sheet flexes a bit too much when used as a larger sized platen pane. Here's a link to 1/8" sheet at Home Depot: 12 in x 12 in 1/8 in thick acrylic clear sheet

Don't worry about using the PVC primer before you glue the joints together. If you were trying to create a water-tight seal and the pipe was inside the wall of a house you'd want to use that because it creates a stronger joint. For what you're doing though, you'll never need it. Just cut an dry-fit everything before you even open the cement bottle. Put alignment marks on the joints once you get things square with your dry-fit so that you can quickly align them properly once you apply the cement. There's plenty of YouTube videos showing the proper technique if you've never done it before.
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by Doranwen »

Our Internet quality has returned to terrible with such a vengeance that I can't get the Home Depot page to load properly, so I can't see the price listed there. But I did call Michael's this morning and they provided me the following information.

They do have both glass and acrylic, and can cut it to exactly the sizes needed. It's 1/8" thick, which is what I thought it would be - slightly thicker than the 3 mm.

For an 11"x14" panel
regular glass: $12
anti-glare glass: $18
regular acrylic: $15
anti-glare acrylic: $30

If the acrylic flexes too much, should I be trying to go for glass instead, and just ordering extra weights to add to the counterbalance? It'll add some weight overall, but given the whole thing's being done with PVC pipe with much thicker walls than the original design, it might still be just fine as far as structural reinforcement…
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Re: Archivist Quill Kit Plans vs. Archivist Book Scanner Plans?

Post by cday »

It's good that you can source acrylic locally, so no shipping charge to pay, and probably not worth going to much if any effort to check other possible local sources such as sign makers. Or source glass if you decide there would be an advantage in using that.

David Landin used acrylic, and no doubt dpc can give advice on the relative merits of each material. I wouldn't think that flexing of the acrylic would be a significant issue, although some ways of constructing the cradle could be more rigid than others. David suggested using those small plastic blocks which he thought would be adequate.

Checking online, glass is approximately 2.1 times the weight of acrylic of the same dimensions, so as you say that would increase the counterbalance required; in that respect it would be interesting to know the weight of the cameras David Landin used, I haven't tried to check. But a more important consideration could be that glass probably couldn't be drilled easily, which could impact attaching the T-brackets and restrict the options available for constructing the platen.

You also will have to decide whether to use a 90º or 100º cradle, considering the increased cost of anti-reflective versions of either platen material, and the options for fixing the two sheets at the required angle given the resources likely to be available, such as whether a (preferably power) miter saw will be available to cut accurately at a desired angle.

Adding additional complexity, I have been taking another look at the Schedule 40 tubing options: in fact the most direct translation of David Landin's design for construction in the U.S. would be to use the smaller 3/4" tube size. That tubing actually has a greater outside diameter and a quite significantly greater wall thickness than the U.K. tubing, so should be quite a bit more rigid. Looking at HomeDepot prices for the tubing and fittings required, the total cost for those parts could be something like 30% lower than the cost using 1" tubing. The uncertain question of rigidity would remain, but assuming Section 80 tube would be available either for the initial build or an upgrade if required, that would look a low-risk option.

So you decide, my personal feeling would be to use acrylic, knowing that it would be lighter and likely easier to work with, and could be replaced later if necessary. Whether to use a 90º or 100º cradle angle to some extent depends on the facilities you will have, I would use a 100º angle because I am confident I could devise a suitable mounting method, and anti-reflective is more expensive and possibly could affect the quality of small text which would be important to me, possibly more so than to other people.

P.S. Without making any commitment, I am thinking that I might be able to make two 100º platen mounting blocks, better than those tiny blocks David Landin suggested, from some plastic board I have, probably light enough to airmail easily in a thick envelope. Or maybe dpc could cut some mounting blocks from plywood or other board for you?
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