The Origin: Part 2 – The Trade
From measuring rough openings to calculating a finished opening, laying out appliances, windows, doors, trim, hardware, the list goes on. We have our hands full with items that require accurate measuring and calculation. Proper measuring is a huge part of our jobs as cabinet makers, builders, designers, etc. Mis-measuring can cause a world of issues. Compound that with the complexity of converting fractions to decimals and one slip up could mean hours of rework and additional costs in materials.
For me, with cabinet making, it often starts with checking the dimensions of the drawings against the dimensions of the physical space, making any necessary adjustments. Repeating this after large milestones (think framing or board and plaster), making sure everything is still correct. During this process I’m adding up each individual piece of cabinetry to make sure everything is accurate and fits into the physical space while considering design throughout. I’m adding up so many fractions that converting them into decimals and punching them into a calculator makes it fast and easy. But wait, if I’m in the middle of a long equation and I’m not sure off the top of my head what a fraction is in decimal form, how do I get it? This can lead to some very complicated math. Adding this, dividing that, wait did I already add the whole number?
To help make these long calculations easier I began writing out the decimal equivalents to the fractions beforehand. This eventually led to jotting down the conversions into a small notebook so I could quickly reference these at any time. This streamlined the overall process of confirming dimensions and helped to keep the numbers accurate without losing my place or having to start over.
On the cabinet making side, we use a lot of European products that are of course, all in millimeters. Our cabinet boxes and plans are all in imperial. Again, confusing conversions needed to be made. Luckily, punching it into a computer would turn out the answers quickly but still required an additional step. Furthermore, in the shop we didn’t always have a computer handy. So, I went back to my little notebook with fraction to decimal conversions and added a bunch of millimeter equivalents to it.
There is a magic number out there for this. A number that would have saved me a ton of time when converting millimeter s to inches. I had worked in cabinet shops for years without knowing this. How is that even possible? So, what is this number and how will it help you? That number 25.4. It is the millimeter equivalent to one inch. It is the number that will help you to quickly convert inches to millimeters or millimeters to inches. Simply multiply inches by 25.4 to find the millimeter equivalent or divide millimeters by 25.4 to find the inch equivalent. It’s that simple.
That little handy reference book I made became a crucial asset and my go-to source for tackling measurement conversions. This ‘cheat sheet’ was so helpful to me that it became the catalyst of combining those notes with the durability and sustainability of stone paper into what is now Hive.
Now that we have covered the idea conception of Hive Notebooks, we will started to dig into process of how to get started on building a notebook company. I will share how I designed and sourced the notebooks, the packaging, and the website all with little knowledge of any of it.
