Ruler and Compass: Practical Geometric Constructions

Wooden Books

by Andrew Sutton

Since the earliest times, mankind has employed the primary geometric forms of straight line and circle, in art, architecture, and mathematics. Originally marked out by eye and later by use of a stretched cord, in time these forms came to be made with the simple tools of ruler and compass.

This small book introduces the origins and basic principles of geometric constructions using these ancient tools, before going on to cover dozens of geometric forms, from practical fundamentals to more challenging constructions.

Genres: Art, Mathematics, Science, Reference, Geometry, Spirituality, Drawing

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2009

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly dense book, it is meant as a reminder & reference for those who already understand geometric constructions. The book recommends doing the actual constructions. I agree. The more I do, the more comfortable I am with the various rules & pieces. I use them fairly often in my woodworking*, but I had to read the small print quite closely at times. (Pun intended.)

It's not always easy for me to find exactly what I want as the book is broken up by shapes & I often want specific angle constructions so I have to figure out which shape that would be under. Still, it's really useful & becomes more so as I go through the book & get more familiar with it. I never knew I could calculate harmonics this way!

I was quite disappointed by the inaccuracies of constructing a pentagons based on a circle. The drawing for making one inside is incorrect, having 2 points off the circle that should be on it. It's not accurate, so it's far easier just to draw a base line, use a protractor to make one line at 72° & pace it off with calipers from there, the way I've always done it.

*Woodworking today is often based on measurement with a ruler & protractor, but that wasn't the case before the middle of the 19th century. For most of our history, construction was done By Hand & Eye ( reviewed here) using constructions & proportions. Since I usually use nonstandard sized wood (rough wood direct from the tree, not commercially sold) I find the old methods work better for me. They also fit in with Roy Underhill's wonderfully instructive books.

Highly recommended, although older folks like myself should have a magnifying glass handy.

[Elentarri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small, illustrated book that shows you how to draw geometric shapes with only a ruler and compass. Easy to use and a good reference book.

[Kate Samworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother with this cute novelty item. There's nothing of use in it. This very small book is full of geometric drawings with no description of how to get from one point to the next. Also, the tiny font is printed against a grey background pattern, which makes it very difficult to read. If you're looking for instructions or hoping to deepen your understanding of geometry, find another book.

[Hunter Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like all Wooden Books it is short (this one is really, really short-like read in a few hours even looking things up). It is dense as all these books are, but the writing is particularly poor and lots of references to things that seem obscure to me (lot so of looking up info). The descriptions and writing really drag this down.

[Stephen Bown · Rating 1 out of 5]

No bloody use at all

I cannot see the purpose of this book, it is of no help to someone wanting to share the wonder of geometry with students. I should have stuck to Elements. Waste of money and time downloading it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a book to help me with drawing and calculating geometric shapes and this fit the bill perfectly. Well organised and concise, the only issue I had was the diagrams are a little on the small side but as the book is 20cm odd it's no surprise.

[Jason Baldauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book that provides step by step details on how to construct Euclidean geometric forms with a ruler and compass. You would be hard pressed to find this information consolidated anywhere else.

[Judith the Book Gobbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reference

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruler & Compass is a nice but short book full of amazing geometry tricks from dividing a rectangle with a harmonic series to producing a golden spiral / golden section. I enjoyed learning the techniques for producing all manner of geometric shapes using only a ruler & compass and was surprised to learn that it is impossible to produce a seven pointed star with only those two tools.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got out my ruler and compass, and (when I can keep them away from Sam) am really enjoying constructing some geometry! This really could serve as a jumping point for higher math and geometry for a visually- or hands-on-oriented child, OR adult. Fun stuff.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to the largely unappreciated art of compass and straightedge geometry. It has 177 mathematically described constructions!

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read but this time slowly and with a compass and ruler in hand.