Lego Baseplate Jigs
Because Lego blocks are machined to extremely high tolerances, you can use them for quick, cheap but very accurate jigs, perfect for gluing, squaring, molding, etc. Here is an example of how Jef Raskin, who taught me the trick, used them. (Sadly Jef died of cancer last week). He built up the exact jig positions by stacking bricks of various thicknesses. In the case shown below he built up a jig to square up wings on his radio control model airplanes. All you need is the large Lego baseplate glued to a heavy duty flat foundation.
-- KK
(Jef Raskin was the leader of the original Macintosh computer team, also a fabulous connoisseur of exotic musical instruments, a pioneer of radio control planes, and he had an amazing workshop. His site is still up and very useful.)
The largest Lego Baseplate is Gray, 15 inches (38 cm) square.
$13
Available from Hobbytron
Or $15 from Amazon
Favorite (15)
Mathew
My five-year-old uses LEGO baseplates to build toy cities and the superstructures on some toy boats...I screwed them down on plywood bases or crudely roughed out wood boat hulls cut from scrap 2x4 stock -- makes a neat bathtub toy.
But what glue do you use to glue them? They're ABS, so you need a glue that bonds to both ABS (plastic) and wood, and is (hopefully) non-toxic to use since I'd be making the units for, and probably with a toddler.
PS: Listen up, LEGO!
What you need to make is an affordable roll-up-able strip with a 6" black roadway down the middle and 6" LEGO baseplates running along each of the two sides. Kids can build a street scene and then run their toy cars (Hotwheels, etc.) on the road in the middle. Could be more elaborate, but this is the basic idea. Sell it by the foot and provide some sort of connector and cross street system so it can grow.
Spam Fodder
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