For my tabletop project, would you start with two objects of the same shape, or one object and different starting positions? I like the idea of discovering that the second object is not quite the same. But perhaps that is a second exercise.
Trying to choose something small enough that I can explain what I changed.
What would you compare on the second object? Same outline is only one detail; I'd want to know whether your question is about picking it up or where it ends up.
I would keep the first exercise to one object, so you have fewer possible explanations when something surprises you, then introduce the second as a deliberate new question. Two objects are not too ambitious. Two questions at once can be.
Where it ends up is the bit I want to understand. Thanks, I was treating 'picked up' as the whole exercise. I still like the second-object idea, just not as the first thing to change
Where it ends up relative to what? I'd draw the reference before choosing the second object. Otherwise 'a bit further left' can mean something different each time you look at the bench.
I was picturing a marked target on the board. Would comparing the centre with that target be enough for the first exercise, or should I include which way the object faces? I had not separated those two things
Choose what you want to compare first. You can look at position without studying orientation yet, but do not call that the whole placement. And how would you identify the centre? A target on the board does not answer that part.
I'd avoid choosing the centre just because it sounds simple. If you care about where an edge finishes, start with that question. Measuring a different feature neatly won't make it the answer you needed.
An edge is easier for me to describe than a centre I have not defined. Would you choose the edge before drawing the target, then? I still want to understand placement, not just whether it lands somewhere inside a box