Using array modifier with Empty on a cube

Technical Support Modeling
1

Having problems with this. I’m trying to model a crude, medieval “cylinder” made from 8 planks of wood, a bit like a barrel. Using the array modifier and an Empty rotated by 45 degrees.

The problem is that the duplicated planks are coming out in wildly different sizes. I think this is because the planks are made from a scaled cube, and the scaling is being re-applied each time.

What is the best solution? Is there a way to convert a scaled cube into a mesh with the same size, but a scale of 1,1,1 ?

2

Clear all your object scales with Ctrl+A / scale while in object mode

3

Scale in edit mode. Make sure relative offset is unclicked unless you want interesting results, which can be useful for some purposes. Keeping relative offset on, and tinkering with the values you can create a spiral stairway or other cool shapes.