Golden Ruler Grid™
If you have a printer and transparencies, you can print the “Golden Ruler”© grid below and use it to see the golden section and phi in various objects. Simply hold the transparency in front of you and match the lines up to the object to see if its design is based on the golden section, as shown below.
Here’s a small sample grid or click on the Free Golden Ratio “Golden Ruler” Template below for a larger, printable version.
Golden Section Gauge
Make your own golden section gauge using the template below. It will work best if you construct it from heavy cardboard stock or plastic. Drill holes and place a brad at each of the indicated points. When the gauge is adjusted the middle arm will always show the golden section or phi point between the two outer arms.
Note: The dimensions listed actually represent the distances between the rivets and the tips, not the lengths of the pieces. It’s best to think of the gauge conceptually as being made of very fine line segments connecting at golden section points. The actual length of piece AF is thus a little longer than the distance from the rivet at A to the tip at F in order to give the rivet some room to hold. The tips of the gauge should all come together when it’s closed.
You can also download this in AutoCad format with an accompanying PDF file, courtesy of Bill Cummins.
You might find these videos helpful in making one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBa6lpRqfE8 – cardboard construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s37RP3mVnTg- wood construction
Note that some people call this a Fibonacci gauge, but the Fibonacci series (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, …) is a series whose ratios converge on the golden ratio as the series increases. I think it is more appropriately called a golden mean gauge or golden ratio gauge, as that is the precise ratio that it measures.
6 sided quasi-crystal shape
You can make your own quasi-crystal shape using the template below:
Dodecahedron / Icosahedron structure
You can make your own internal structure for a dodecahedron or icosahedron, both based on phi, using the template below:
Great Pyramid of Giza Template
Here’s a template to create a pyramid with the same golden ratio proportions as the Great Pyramid of Giza.
