this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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[–] hydrospanner 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's just so wildly not true that I can't believe you didn't work it out for yourself in the time it took you to type that up.

To test your theory, envision a floor that is a perfectly level pane of glass. Then picture a 4 legged table where one leg is just an eighth inch shorter than the other 3.

You can spin that table all day and there's never going to be a position where it doesn't wobble.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yep, it works the other way around. Even legs uneven floor.

[–] hydrospanner 2 points 1 month ago

Interesting that it works the other way...I assume that in that scenario, there's also no guarantee that the table would be anywhere close to level in whatever position eliminates wobble?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

@[email protected] is citing a mathematical proof that basically states if you have a table whose feet form 4 points on a flat rectangle, that table can find a stable resting spot anywhere on an uneven surface only by rotating the table, you do not have to translate the table, only rotate it.

Your example, while practical, breaks that model because it only works if the continuous surface is uneven and the four independent points are coplaner. If you make the reverse true, with a table that has 4 even legs and put it on a floor that can be described as two triangles (what you would get if you connected 3 even length legs and one shorter) you could rotate the table to find somewhere all four legs touch.

This is why it is very important for us woodworkers to make table and chair legs the same length, or failing that, add adjustable feet, becasue us carpenters don't know what the fuck we're doing.