There is a certain element of hubris in setting up a document and project numbering/encoding system as if I was some major industrial organization when in fact I'm simply me, playing about in my home shop. Still, it might be good to bring some order to my home shop.
Any system other than just sequentially numbering everything is going to fail, eventually - and given the diversity of my interests it's going to fail sooner rather than later. So I'll try for a system with minimal structure. We're not talking about ISO 9001 certification here.
Every CircuitousRoot item identifier (such as a drawing number) will begin with the two-character prefix "CR" (case-independent, though I'll usually write it in uppercase, and sometimes use small caps).
Occasionally I'll don another hat and make some of these projects for sale, under the LemurType, LLC name. When I do that, I'll keep most of the item identifier the same, but change "CR" to "LT".
These CircuitousRoot projects are open source hardware, and so you're welcome to make them yourself. If in doing so you distribute modified versions of these projects, please replace the "CR" with some prefix of your choice (other than "LT"). It is in everyone's best interests if forks of projects are identified distinctively.
Note also that "CircuitousRoot" is a registered trademark. If you make or modify any CircuitousRoot project, it is ok to use "CircuitousRoot" to identify the original source of the project, but it is not ok to use this name in any way which implies that CircuitousRoot endorses your version of or your making of the project. This is just common courtesy as well.
If you do make one of these projects, or fork one of these projects for your own development, you do not have to tell me about it (you just have to comply with the details of the Creative Commons and/or GNU licenses under which they are distributed). But it would be nice if you did let me know, since obviously we share common interests.
My workshop/hobby life is based around a set of projects - constantly shifting, but all oriented around old machinery and typefounding. The defining characteristic of a "project" is a collection of sticky notes on my computer reminding me about what I haven't finished.
I tried in an earlier version of this organizational system to give projects code numbers and bring some order to them. It didn't work.
Now I just accept this disorder. Projects will be indicated simply by a name, and although I'll try to be consistent, I won't guarantee consistency of names.
Note: Not all of the links in the table below will work. Some of them (especially in the Buildings/Workshops list) link to local material on my own computer. The CircuitousRoot website really is just a public subset of my own Notebooks.
Project List 1 (Buildings/Workshops):
| Name | Description | Status / as of Date |
| Type Foundry | Rebuilding my Barn into a Type Foundry, etc. | Ongoing / 2015 |
| Machine Shop | Benches, lighting, etc. for my Machine Shop | Ongoing / 2015 |
| Wood Shop | Layout for the Woodworking Shop (garage) | Not started / - |
| Machine Shed | Mezzanine shelving for the Machine Shed | Not started / - |
Project List 2 (Type Machinery):
| Name | Description | Status / as of Date |
| Thompson | Drawings & 3-D digital models of the Thompson Type Caster | Ongoing / 2015 |
| Barth | Drawings & 3-D digital models of Barth Type Casters | Ongoing / 2015 |
| Pivotal | Drawings & 3-D digital models of an early Pivotal Type Caster | Ongoing / 2015 |
| Typefounder's Hand Molds | Drawings & 3-D digital models of Hand Mold (plain & lever) | In Process / 2015 |
| Electroforming | Matrix electroforming fixtures. | Not started / - |
| Linotype 5F | Drawings, 3-D digital models, and assembly illustrations for a Linotype Model 5F of circa 1945 | Not started / - |
| TF Tools | Type Foundry tools and accessories | Starting soon / 2015 |
Project List 3 (Composing Room, Presses & Printing):
| Name | Description | Status / as of Date |
| Pearl Trucks | Compatible Roller Trucks for Golding Pearl Presses | No. 1 Done / 2012 |
| Hammond | Hammond Glider Centering Gauge | Stalled / 2013 |
Project List 4 (Machine Shop Tools):
| Name | Description | Status / as of Date |
| Colchester | Parts for my Clausing-Colchester 13" lathe | Nothing yet / - |
| Setup Blocks | GD&T drawings of setup (1-2-3) blocks, with a historical study of them | Nothing yet / - |
Project List 5 (Miscellaneous):
| Name | Description | Status / as of Date |
| Jarno | Jarno Taper study | Finished / 2012 |
For drawings of existing parts which (a) had part symbols (aka part numbers), (b) for which these are known, and (c) for which these are sufficiently distinctive, I'll use the original part symbols. So the Lanston Monotype Machine Company called the Vertical Mold Blade of the Thompson Type-Caster a 47TC1, and so will I. The parts schemes that I have or presently expect to encounter are:
But note that not all parts in these schemes were given symbols. For example, the Lanston Monotype Machine Company never gave a symbol to its cellular matrix storage box. So my version of it has a CircuitousRoot parts symbol (MBA, for Matrix Box, type A).
For drawings of existing parts where the nsymbols are known but the symboling scheme is not sufficiently distinctive (e.g., they just numbered them), I'll have to figure something out. At present I know of, but have not had to deal with, such situations.
For parts which may not have had a part symbol originally (e.g., in 19th century pivotal type casters) or where the part symbol is not known to me (e.g., the Tǒngyī Jīxīn ("Unified Movement," aka " Chinese Standard Watch Movement"), I'll invent my own. My tendency will be to use an analytic (rather than simply enumerative) parts symboling scheme along the lines of the one described by Bancroft and developed for the Lanston Monotype Composition Caster. This system employed a three-part basic scheme. In the center was an alphabetic code. I'll use this code to designate the machine. So for example the Thompson Caster is "TC" (just as it was for Lanston Monotype), my first typefounder's hand mold project will be "HMA", and so forth. This Machine Code is prefixed by a number indicating a particular Group of parts within the machine. It was suffixed by another number itemizing the particular part within the group. (There wer further prefixes and suffixes for special purposes; see the Bancroft article for more information.)
This means that I need to keep an overall list of the Machine Codes used. Here it is. An 'x' indicates an arbitrary character to distinguish one project from another of the same type (thus "HMx" signifies "HMA", "HMB", etc.)
(Note on Barth Caster designations: Rehak identifies the following twelve sizes of Barth casters: No. 1, No. 1 1/4, No. 1 1/4 Wide, No. 1 1/2, No. 1 1/2 Wide, No. 2, No. 2 Wide, No. 2 1/4, No. 2 1/2, No. 3, [he does not indicate a 3 1/4] No. 3 1/2, No. 4. Examples of all types do not survive (e.g., no No. 2 machines and no "wide" machines now exist). I have coded thirteen sizes (leaving space for a No. 3 1/4, which may never have existed) using the letters A through M.)
Drawing numbers are integers which are prefixed with "CR-". They started at 1 and contain no leading zeroes.
I've decided against assigning numbers to technical illustrations. The very complexity of good engineering drawings limits their number. By way of contrast, I hope to have innumerable illustrations.
All portions of this document not noted otherwise are Copyright © 2012 by David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
Circuitous Root is a Registered Trademark of David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons "Attribution - ShareAlike" license. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ for its terms.
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