K&E Mark.I Proportional divider

[modeller_masa]

After I read a post about an interesting tool, I bought it for pleasure.

 

Made in U.S.A in 1966. It seems like a genuine K&E proportional divider. There are lots of junk metal dividers on eBay and Amazon. Also, a cheap plastic one for artist is not reliable.

 

Here is a quick guide for proportional dividers. Simple and fast.

It was amazing that I could use the 56 years old tool to determine the width of planks when I did hull planking.

 

..... As I said, I bought the proportional divider for pleasure. There is no reason to pay $50 for the genuine K&E proportional divider. At least I can make a ship when the battery of the digital veneer calipers run out.  

[Dsmith20639]

I use mine quite frequently when planking a hull. I still use tic strips to adjust for the curvature of the bulkheads, but I find marking off the strake positions  on the bulkhead edges with pencil or pen less accurate (and prone to error) than using the proportional dividers. Plus if I gradually reduce the proportions by one (5, 4,. 3, 2 e.g.) when applying each strake it helps to compensate for accumulated error that may have crept in while installing the previous strakes in the current planking belt.

[DelF]

7 minutes ago, Dsmith20639 said:

I use mine quite frequently when planking a hull.

I got an old Staedtler set years ago but only used them for the first time on my current build. They were a revelation - like you I found them more accurate than tick strips - and much faster. They'll be my goto planking measuring tool from now on.

 

9 hours ago, modeller_masa said:

There are lots of junk metal dividers on eBay and Amazon. Also, a cheap plastic one for artist is not reliable.

Very true. You can't beat the genuine tools. I think I paid about £30 for mine on ebay. Here's a link to how I used them.

 

Derek

[Bob Cleek]

Yes, indeed. Proportional dividers are invaluable modeling tools. They are also very handy for scaling plans. Rather than worrying about getting copies that are accurate to a different scale, you can simply take up the measurement from the plan you have at whatever scale (or better yet, if you are an accuracy wonk, take the measurement indicated on the plan from a rule and then let your proportional dividers translate that to the scale you desire with exact accuracy. (Of course, alternately, the same can be accomplished with a regular divider and a scale rule.)

 

I'd urge anybody who is interested to spring the extra few bucks for the Keuffel and Essser Paragon (model) ten-inch rack and pinion decimally scaled proportional dividers, rather than the less expensive 6" or 7" proportional dividers. The rack and pinion 10" dividers are easy to set with a high degree of accuracy and are adjustable with Vernier adjustment to .001. The beauty of the decimal scaling is that you can accurately set the instrument for any proportion, expressed as a decimal equivalent. The less expensive models only give you proportional scaling of 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and so on. (You can adjust them "manually" by setting the points to known measurements without regard to the scaling on the instrument.)

 

The 10" proportionally scaled dividers are also sold by other instrument makers, such a Post, Bowen, and Dietzgen. All of these are the same instrument made in the same German instrument factory and branded as required. the Keuffel and Esser Paragon models seem to bring a higher price on eBay because K&E is recognized as a top end marque (although they offered a wide range of quality at different price points.) A ten inch decimally scaled geared adjusting proportional dividers in decent shape can usually be had on eBay for less than $100. (Highly collectable "mint in the box" examples often sell for much more.)

 

An example sold by Post now listed on US eBay for $89.99:

 VINTAGE POST #931 10" PROPORTIONAL DIVIDER W/ ORIGINAL BOX GERMANY | eBay

 

An early Keuffel and Esser model listed for $109.99 Vintage K&E Paragon 10" Proportional Dividers Drafting Set Drawing Instruments | eBay

 

Very late production (1980's?) K&E in apparent mint condition asking $269.99 and will probably never see that. KEUFFEL & ESSER PARAGON UNIVERSAL PROPORTIONAL DIVIDER TOOL W/ CASE GERMANY | eBay The "end of an era" "Mark I" line of K&E instruments were of a lesser "fit and finish" than the earlier K&E "Paragon" line, which was their highest quality model line. Much of the older Paragon stock was packaged in "Mark 1" boxing, as is the case with this example. Still a fine example, but not as "elegant" as the earlier hand-fitted matched serial number instruments of the "Golden Age."

Later production K&E case with "cheat sheet" plate on bottom of case listing common settings and equivalents:

These price points may be a bit steep for some, I realize, but this instrument will last you for a lifetime and many more if given reasonable care. You will never wrestle with the math of calculating proportional measurements or dividing a line of a circle into any number of equal segments, plus loads of other stuff you'll probably never need or understand if you are mathematically challenged like I am. And you'll never have to fiddle with dead batteries! These are the finest and most versatile proportional dividers ever manufactured and they aren't making any more of them, so the prices keep going up as time goes on. Compare these to the junk MicroMark is selling for $165! Proportional Divider, scale drawing up or down, moveable pivot point adjusts ratio one end to the other (micromark.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bob Cleek