Measuring through glass

[Sleepyhollowstu]

Hiya guys,

I need to know of any good methods for measuring something that's inside a glass display case. I've heard of using laser pointers and a ruler, but is there any other method?

Thanks!

-Andy

 

[jackdoud]

You could get a handheld laser scanner but laserpointers are cheaper. I made an attachment for my camera when WSMI came to town. Got a ton of shots of all sorts of stuff.

 

[xenocon]

Heres a link to studiocreation's tool for measuring display pieces for magic of the myth.

http://www.studiocreations.com/howto/motm_measurements/index.html

 

[Ttaskmaster]

The instant I saw the topic title, I was gonna suggest the laser method.

You do have to make sure the laser is perpendicular to the glass and it assumes also that the item is parallel to the glass.

I used to do a bit of work at a well-known museum in London.
I made friends with a couple of the security people and the curators. Initially, they spoke to the head of conservation and obtained exact measurements for me.
The last couple of times, towards the end of my project, the head of conservation very kindly copied for me a sort of Trade Only publication and took me 'behind the scenes' to the restoration room and supervised me handling the objects. Nothing like holding a real 15th Century artefact!!!

I daresay a polite letter or two to the relevant staff would help a great deal.