Cool Rulers

[Bob Reeves]

[Tim Wescott]

Oh honestly, who could possibly have over eight minutes of video material on the subject of rulers.  And now that I've seen it, where do I get some!

[Bob Reeves]

Oh honestly, who could possibly have over eight minutes of video material on the subject of rulers.  And now that I've seen it, where do I get some!

My thoughts exactly.. I want the 6 inch Rule, T-rule and Bend rule plus an 18 inch rule. Probably $60.00 - $70.00 bucks.

[Tim Wescott]

I looked on Amazon, and was surprised at how reasonable the prices are.  I think there's at least a T-rule in my future.

[Rick_Huff]

Those ARE cool.  Bob, thanks for pointing them out.  My order is already placed!
Rick

[Randy Cuberly]

Great Bob...Thanks for showing this!

I've found my Christmas present.

Randy Cuberly

[David Hoover]

Lee Valley Tools carries them as well.

[Brian Massey]

I looked on Amazon, and was surprised at how reasonable the prices are.  I think there's at least a T-rule in my future.

Ditto me on that!

Brian

[Steve Helmick]

I got no video here. I had to put SH into Compatability View list to get the rectangular box with x in the top left corner. Got a new (to me) computer from my fine son Daniel. It has WIN 8.1, using IE something or other (not IE8) and I'm fine tuning the settings. I'm not finding a solution. I think I got "Preview Post" to work...well, not right now, but yesterday.

Hep me learn to be a ruler snob. I own a bunch of machinist's scales. Very few rulers, actually.  Steve

[FLOYD CARTER]

What's a "ruler"?

[Randy Cuberly]

What's a "ruler"?

Obama???

Randy Cuberly

[Steve Helmick]

Old Tyme Free Flight design, usually prefixed by "New". There was a smaller .29 sized version, but I don't recall it as being a "Ruler". But maybe.

Or, alternatively, a POTUS who thinks he knows what America needs is to become a 3rd World Country.   Steve

[Allan Perret]

I have had a set of these for a couple of years now.  They are well worth the money for woodworking or layout of any kind.

[Howard Rush]

Santa Claus has been notified.

[Perry Rose]

Mine will be here Wednesday. $14.95 with tax, Amazon Prime.

[Bob Reeves]

I wasn't far off, the 6 inch 3 piece kit plus an 18 inch rule with shipping was 72.14 from Amazon.
What the heck, it's only money...

[Roger Vizioli]

Where were these when we took "Drafting" in HS and "Mechanical Design/Engineering" in College?
I know computers/CAD etc were not available "way back then" but these could have been.
Gotta get some, Thanks Bob Reeves!
Roger V.

[Doug Moon]

WOW, that is awesome!

Santa will be notified from here as well. 

[Tim Wescott]

Where were these when we took "Drafting" in HS and "Mechanical Design/Engineering" in College?
I know computers/CAD etc were not available "way back then" but these could have been.
Gotta get some, Thanks Bob Reeves!
Roger V.

I don't think they would have been available for the then-equivalent of $14 -- or even $14 in then-dollars.  I'm trying to think how you might have made these before laser cutters, and all I'm coming up with is acid etch (hard to do, harder to control the surface finish) and drilling and milling (which would have cost tons for drill sharpening, and I don't even want to think of how you would have milled those slots).

[Roger Vizioli]

I don't think they would have been available for the then-equivalent of $14 -- or even $14 in then-dollars.  I'm trying to think how you might have made these before laser cutters, and all I'm coming up with is acid etch (hard to do, harder to control the surface finish) and drilling and milling (which would have cost tons for drill sharpening, and I don't even want to think of how you would have milled those slots).

Tim,
All good points. Darn !!!
Then I thought - we had a Model Shop/Prototype shop in Preliminary Design that did incredible things.
True, retail cost would have been prohibitive but the "Company" could have provided then as "mandatory tools" for engineers!  
BUT- they did not!
Double But - We did design, manufacture, test and fly, successfully, the Lunar Modules that landed our astronauts on the moon and brought them back.  
I'll accept that as an acceptable trade off!  

Now, back to Model Airplanes and some cool rulers!  

Roger V.

[RC Storick]

I wish I could afford them all but I ordered a 12 inch ruler.

[proparc]

Incra has been around for quite some time. They are known primarily for their aftermarket table saw and band saw guides. They make seriously good stuff.

[Randy Cuberly]

I don't think they would have been available for the then-equivalent of $14 -- or even $14 in then-dollars.  I'm trying to think how you might have made these before laser cutters, and all I'm coming up with is acid etch (hard to do, harder to control the surface finish) and drilling and milling (which would have cost tons for drill sharpening, and I don't even want to think of how you would have milled those slots).

They could be made with a good progressive die set but you wouldn't get them for $15.00.  The maintenence on the die would be expensive to maintain the necessary tolerances.

I've ordered a couple already...couldn't wait for Santa!

Randy Cuberly

[wwwarbird]

 Very nice. Another gold mine invention I didn't think of.

[john e. holliday]

As stated, these would have been a great help when I was doing lettering.  I see there is a local shop I can go to so I can check them out personally.

[Brett Buck]

I don't think they would have been available for the then-equivalent of $14 -- or even $14 in then-dollars.  I'm trying to think how you might have made these before laser cutters, and all I'm coming up with is acid etch (hard to do, harder to control the surface finish) and drilling and milling (which would have cost tons for drill sharpening, and I don't even want to think of how you would have milled those slots).

    The techniques to mass-produce items like this were around for at least a hundred years. Metal lettering templates and even metal eraser shields were made by the millions a long time before anyone knew about lasers or water-jet cutters. Any time after the invention of a press and a die.  Someone made the Antikythera mechanism several thousand years ago and it needed to be about as precise as this ruler.

   But you are right, something of this complexity would certainly not be available for what amounts to two cups of "coffee".

   Brett

[Randy Cuberly]

   The techniques to mass-produce items like this were around for at least a hundred years. Metal lettering templates and even metal eraser shields were made by the millions a long time before anyone knew about lasers or water-jet cutters. Any time after the invention of a press and a die.  Someone made the Antikythera mechanism several thousand years ago and it needed to be about as precise as this ruler.

   But you are right, something of this complexity would certainly not be available for what amounts to two cups of "coffee".

   Brett

Yes, and there's a Swiss developed die process called Fineblanking that could easily duplicate these kinds of parts, actually much faster than lazer cutting.  The presses are very expensive but something like this could probably pay for them.

They are mostly used for stamping out tiny gear sets for watches and it just occured that I've seen scrap sheets from the process that look a lot like these parts except for the shape for the holes.  The holes in the gear scrap are much more complex and intricate!

It wouldn't surprise me if these parts are actually made that way!  The presentation I saw about 15 years ago said they could hold tolerances of about +/- 20 millionths of an inch.

Randy Cuberly