h a l f b a k e r y"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
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An ordinary measuring tape has a ridge along its base to align it with the suface to be marked. From its bottom side a louvered track can extend 12 inches at 90 degrees to this ridge allowing the tape measure to double as a T-square.
A bit boring I know, but I want one.
Tape Measure Calipers
http://www.bayliner...TapeMeasureCalipers
Close? [csea, Mar 21 2010]
Framing square?
http://www.screwfix...20(406%20x%20609mm)
[MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 22 2010]
Adjustable square.
http://www.letsfixu...justable-square.jpg
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Mar 22 2010]
Tape Measure Square
http://www.freepate...ne.com/6233789.html
This guy has also been thinking along your same lines. [jurist, Mar 23 2010]
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Annotation:
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Not quite sure what you're getting at here, but it sounds
tricky to engineer - maintaining a good right-angle in a
flexible tape. You can of course get T-squares with ruled
edges, but this is presumably what you're not looking for. |
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See [link] for a similar oddity in my tool collection. It was made by Mitutoyo in Japan, but I don't see it in their current listings. |
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Yes, I see. For measuring, say, the width of a board, straight
across and not slantwise. This is extremely clever. Why
doesn't it exist yet? |
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Ah! Right, I underhend now. Good idea. However, for
measuring the width of a board, it's probably not needed in
most situations. |
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You can easily get within 3 degrees or better just by eye
(draw the angle, and you'll see - it looks huge), in which
case the error is going to be less than 0.15%. This is 0.4mm
on a 12-inch board, or 1.6mm on a 4ft sheet. |
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[MB] Only if the geometry permits you a good line of sight.
If you've got to squint at it from a bad angle or foreshortened
perspective, then this device'd come in handy. |
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I've gotten pretty good at seeing level and square but it is not accurate enough for what I do. I admit that this would only appeal to a smallish market, but framers would like having one for marking stud placement on 2x4's with a single tool, and for my gig, marking and then making lines on tiles without having to swap tools. |
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When your trade is all piece work it gets hard to figure out new ways to shave any more seconds off of your best times to get another raise after a while. |
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[mouse] point taken.
[2fries] sounds to me as if you could just use a regular set-
square with ruler markings on the edge. I have a framing
square, which is about 2ft on each arm and marked in metric
on one side, imperial on the other (eg Link). |
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Or is this not what you meant? |
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No, framing squares are good, just too bulky when working with a 12"x12" tile or 2x4's.
Normally framers mark 16" stud centers on the length of a top and bottom base plate. Then they pick up a square and draw lines for one side of the stud with a big X indicating which side of the line the stud should be placed.
Having a smallish t-square attached to the tape measure would save this step. |
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Point taken, but it's flexible, the precision of the angle will
be compromised. Would a smaller square not work - ie,
similar to the framing square but smaller? |
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[2fries], try a swanson's speed square. |
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[+] for the idea, although I would never buy one. My experiences have taught me that the more functions you pack into one tool, the less effective it becomes at said functions. |
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The square, [link] I use now is fine. I just think this might shave off an hour or so from a years work. |
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//Having a smallish t-square attached to the tape measure would save this step.// |
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So, could you not construct such a tool from a try-square and the guts of a tape measure and your choice of fastener? |
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Granted, it might use up the hour you'd save, but would go a way towards reinforcing that humans are tool-builders, and you'd save the hour every year going forward? |
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Solution: Buy a bigger tape measure (with a 12" housing) and let the casing be the perpendicular leg of your square. |
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Solution: draw a fine grid of lines on your glasses/contact
lenses/cornea. |
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[MB] Or, for extra fun, a target reticle. |
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I wonder if contact lenses could be weighted so that a reticle would always adjust itself to the horizon. |
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